Though he doesn't call himself one, Jeffrey Steingarten is a food detective, conducting experiments on the best way to make fries, the ideal pie crust recipe, and other culinary topics. Even better, he writes about his 'research' with insight and humor, making for a very entertaining collection of essays. ( )

I hate to say this: I love food writing, but this book bored me. Maybe it would have been better in small bites, a few chapters at a time, rather than trying gorge myself on the whole thing.

I tried sampling, I tried pacing myself. I tried taking a break of years between attempts. Didn't work. I'm putting this one down and stepping away from the table. ( )

This book consists of a series of essays written by Steingarten from 1988 - the mid 1990s about his favourite subject, food. Clearly a man who loves his work, he tackles topics as diverse as baking a loaf of yeast-free bread, finding the perfect french fry, and the challenges of returning to American cooking after time spent abroad sampling authentic Japanese cuisine. Educational and entertaining, the essay format lends itself to bursts of reading in the tub, before bed, or on the subway. Steingarten includes some of his favourite recipes, which alas seemed far too complicated for my simple abilities, but still interesting. Worthwhile and engaging. ( )

This is an enjoyable collection of essays originally published in Vogue , HG, and Slate, by Steingarten, a lawyer-turned-food-writer. The author is at his best when he obsessively attacks a food-related question (how do you make the perfect pie crust? can microwaved fish taste good? what is the best-tasting ketchup?) by concocting messy experiments in his kitchen, interviewing experts, and pouring over the scientific literature. I also love it when he gets all crotchety and debunks common food myths (low-fat is good! alcohol is bad! meat is bad! salt is bad!). Some of the essays are a little dated (like a weirdly gushing piece about how awesome Olestra is), and Steingarten's humor is definitely more suited to a single piece of journalism than a whole book. This one is way more fun to read if you space it out over time instead of plowing through one piece after the other, but definitely worth dipping into.

[full review here: http://spacebeer.blogspot.com/2008/10...] ( )

This highly-enjoyable collection of Jeffrey Steingarten's food essays includes several absolute classics, including 'Salad the Silent Killer'. Steingarten's take on food is simple: if it's tasty, let's eat it, and to hell with all those neurotics who think of it only as 'fuel' or 'poison'.

Steingarten's also a consummate stylist, with a distinctively playful voice. His flights of egotism are neatly balanced by self-deprecation, and his willingness to march off on quixotic food quests (e.g. trying to come up with his own recipe for good-tasting water by mixing distilled H2O with pharmaceutical chemicals).

Highly recommended. ( )