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jess_mango's review against another edition
4.0
Trillin's witty collection of essays about sampling local food that he can't easily get in Manhattan. He seeks out such culinary delights as fish tacos, posole, macaroni pie, pan bagnat, and barbeque pork sandwiches. Excellent read for any chowhound.
wrentheblurry's review against another edition
The format of this book--food-based essays without much personal connection--didn't appeal to me. I made it just to 20%, and it took me two weeks to get there. I love food, but the depictions here didn't grab me, and I didn't really care about the author and his travels.
egonzales74's review against another edition
1.0
I wanted to like this book. the food topics were excellent. I just couldn't get into Trillin's style of writing. I enjoy food and reading about food and learning about food and history of food and culture. The food writing was good, but I really wasn't into Trillin's stories about his family. Usually I enjoy reading about such things, but not this style, not this... family.
beatniksafari's review against another edition
3.0
Humorous essays about regional food: inspires hunger and wanderlust!
msjoanna's review against another edition
4.0
I enjoy reading Calvin Trillin. When he writes about his now-late wife, Alice, it's some of the most touching prose I've ever read. His descriptions of food and his wonderful willingness to throw himself into a search for the best fish taco is fabulous. But I agree with another reviewer who commented that Trillin seems to withhold too much of himself in these essays. He comments lightly on trying to convince his daughters to return from California to New York, but never really delves more deeply into his feelings or his relationship with them. While it's certainly his right to maintain his privacy and that of his family, it does make the food writing sufficiently less personal and thus ultimately more forgettable.
But as someone who has moved from New York to mid-Missouri (and not even to Kansas City where at least a variety of great BBQ would be available), I miss the food options that Trillin has so readily at his fingertips. I too used to have more delivery options than I currently have restaurant options within an hour's drive. I admit to a bit of envy at the life reflected in Trillin's ability to gather up a few appropriate friends for a jaunt to South America to look for specific foods.
All that said, the book was comforting and entertaining and light. Recommended to foodies who have their own memories of fabulous meals eaten.
But as someone who has moved from New York to mid-Missouri (and not even to Kansas City where at least a variety of great BBQ would be available), I miss the food options that Trillin has so readily at his fingertips. I too used to have more delivery options than I currently have restaurant options within an hour's drive. I admit to a bit of envy at the life reflected in Trillin's ability to gather up a few appropriate friends for a jaunt to South America to look for specific foods.
All that said, the book was comforting and entertaining and light. Recommended to foodies who have their own memories of fabulous meals eaten.
rebecita's review against another edition
2.0
There's probably more to Trillin than self-important globe-trotting gluttony. Unfortunately that's what this collection showcases. It's not that he doesn't write authoritatively and respectfully about a whirlwind of food cultures. Everything he says about Ecuadorian cuisine (fanesca!! chifas!!) rings true, for example. It's more his tone, which he thinks is delightfully witty (he's forever quoting himself) but which reeks of entitlement and appropriation. I mean, clearly the people of the world exist just for the honor of feeding him untouched regional cuisine - bonus points if they immigrate and deliver in Manhattan.
Trillin's at his best when he humbles himself to write about someone else's tastebuds and when he takes on the truly local - I loved the chapter on "alternative eaters" in New York like chowhound.com founder Jim Leff.
Trillin's at his best when he humbles himself to write about someone else's tastebuds and when he takes on the truly local - I loved the chapter on "alternative eaters" in New York like chowhound.com founder Jim Leff.
sarahc3319's review against another edition
3.0
Calvin Trillin is a treat to read, witty, engaging and warm, but this is not food writing, per se. More of a diary of his cravings and restaurant visits. Still, very entertaining and worth a read.
gglazer's review
3.0
I will always love Calvin Trillin unconditionally, but this wasn't his best collection -- a little one-note and blah. It's awesome that he gets so focused on these random individual dishes, but hearing about them one after another after another gets old, and what this book really did is remind me that I'd like to go back and finish his Tummy Trilogy.