A review by aziz_reads
Prison Ramen: Recipes and Stories from Behind Bars by Clifton Collins, Alvarez, Gustavo "Goose" Alvarez

5.0

So I happen to know a friend who has been to our local county jail a couple of times. You can imagine how awkward it was for me to ask "Hey, can I ask you some things about jail food because this seems kind of crazy."

Fortunately he agreed, and assured me that Ramen Tamales are an actual thing, as are 'nuts to butts'. I also heard a few stories about jail that are pretty much only funny in retrospect, but still good stories.

What I like about this book is that it's not just a recipe book. A prison recipe book with no context is boring. But the authors give us context in the form of a story before every recipe, Yeah, there are also letters and things from a few celebrities, but it doesn't need them. The stories and recipes stand on their own.

Overall: I'm still scared to give it as a gift for fear of being offensive, BUT I will definitely be buying it for a few high school grads I know who have never been to prison but will most likely be living off Ramen for a couple of years.

A big thank you to NetGalley and the Publishers for a complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review