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.com Review ----------- A Cook's Tour is the written record of Anthony Bourdain's travels around the world in his search for the perfect meal. All too conscious of the state of his 44-year-old knees after a working life standing at restaurant stoves, but with the unlooked-for jackpot of Kitchen Confidential ( /exec/obidos/ASIN/0060934913/${0} ) as collateral, Mr. Bourdain evidently concluded he needed a bit more wind under his wings. The idea of "perfect meal" in this context is to be taken to mean not necessarily the most upscale, chi-chi, three-star dining experience, but the ideal combination of food, atmosphere, and company. This would take in fishing villages in Vietnam, bars in Cambodia, and Tuareg camps in Morocco (roasted sheep's testicle, as it happens); it would stretch to smoked fish and sauna in the frozen Russian countryside and the French Laundry in California's Napa Valley. It would mean exquisitely refined kaiseki rituals in Japan after yakitori with drunken salarymen. Deep-fried Mars Bars in Glasgow and Gordon Ramsay in London. The still-beating heart of a cobra in Saigon. Drink. Danger. s. All with a TV crew in tow for the accompanying series--22 episodes of video gold, we are assured, featuring many don't-try-this-at-home s of the author in tric distress or crawling into yet another storm drain at four in the morning. You are unlikely to lay your hands on a more hectically, strenuously entertaining book for some time. Our hero eats and swashbuckles round the globe with perfect-pitch attitude and liberal use of judiciously placed profanities. Bourdain can write. His timing is great. He is very funny and is under no illusions whatsoever about himself or anyone else. But most of all, he is a chef who got himself out of his kitchen and found, all over the world, people who understand that eating well is the foundation of harmonious living. --Robin Davidson, .co.uk Review ------ Food Writer of the Year (Bon Appétit) “[Bourdain] is a one-man army traveling the world on his stomach--and his droll wit.” (People) “None of your limp-wristed, pinch-mouthed, hoity-toity delicacies for this guy.” (Elle) “Bourdain’s mission is to show the cool, un-Martha side of the culinary world.” (Time magazine) “Mighty engaging.... [Bourdain’s] snappy, full-bore writing style--whether being sarcastic, passionate, or descriptive--is good entertainment.” (Kirkus Reviews) “Adventurous and opinionated, [Bourdain] is very good company.” (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel) “Brilliant. A chain-smoking, hard-drinking, cut-to-the-chase guy’s guy, ready to try anything new and different.” (Minneapolis Star Tribune) “Some fine food adventure reading…. Bourdain offers excellent in into real food.” (San Francisco Chronicle) “If you’re looking for a camel ride and an amiable companion, you could do a lot worse.” (Washington Post) “Vintage Bourdain.” (Dallas Morning News)