Cook's Tour: In Search of the Perfect Meal Paperback – October 7, 2002

"A Cook's Tour" by the wonderfully worldly and well-traveled Anthony Bourdain, is a book about food like no other, and it is simultaneously entertaining, exciting, and revolting. Tony travels the world in search of the perfect meal; it's an exciting quest for any chef to ponder, but along the way he comes across numerous local delicacies that can be best described as only for the strong of heart.Although he encounters several problems with dishes from around the world (the Mexican sautéed ant eggs and Scottish deep-fried haggis with curry sauce and deep fried egg stand out), the most stunning for my money are the things he eats in Asia, and especially Vietnam. I for one would not be able to eat the traditional Vietnamese breakfast of soft-boiled duck embryo complete with feathers, followed by a steaming bowl of "chao muk", a hearty soup made from ginger, sprouts, cilantro, shrimp, squid, chives, pork-blood cake, and croutons; later Tony enjoyed some braised bat ("imagine braised inner tube, sauced with engine coolant"). Even worse than that, though, is the concept of eating a still-beating cobra heart, after a very special snake disemboweling ceremony.While Vietnam takes the proverbial cake, the book features other gastronomic nightmares from around the globe, with Japan coming in second in the contest for unusual and disturbing foodstuffs. The foodie tour of Japan started out benignly enough, with an appetizer of "amuse-gueule of hoshigaka goma-an" (dried persimmon and fried soy curd with sesame paste), but quickly progressed to things like "suppon-dofu" (a soft-shell turtle in egg pudding with green onion and turtle broth), and culminated in the classic and beloved Japanese delicacy, "natto", which Bourdain describes as "an unbelievably foul, rank, slimy, glutinous, and stringy goop of fermented soybeans". After the natto, Bourdain finished with a dish described as "mountain potato": of this he said, "I could only handle a single taste. To this day, I have no idea what it really was.... The small, dark, chewy nugget can only be described as tasting like salt-cured, sun-dried goat rectum".Throughout the book, Bourdain maintains his wry, sarcastic sense of humor, possibly as a survival tool to get him through his next meal. He mocks a vegan potluck dinner as the "real heart of darkness", discusses fabled and exotic foods such as the unbelievably rank durian fruit, and always manages to do it while being respectful of local traditions and cultures very different from his existence in New York City. This is a great book for anyone interested in foods and cultures of the world, and I recommend it highly!

This was my first read by Bourdain; I was entranced, not only by the range of what he managed to eat,but by the highly crafted sentence. He tries anything the chefs of various countries put in front of him. The big wood grub? Down the hatch. Haggis? Likewise. He eats it so you don't have to. Great travel and foodie memoir. Loved this book.

If you're sensitive, vegetarian, love animals, or don't want to think about that awful moment when say, a cow becomes a steak, this is most definitely not the book for you.Things become unalive and turned into meals often here, which seems in part for shock value, and in part because the author is still trying to digest - no pun intended - what he's experienced.I have not seen the TV series, and now don't need to as I've read plenty about the experiences, the cameras panned away while he shares his view.Anthony is, as ever, a unique mix of cynical, excited, and weary. He seems continually surprised that this is his life:"Things had not turned out as I’d hoped. Two days of travel up a no-name river and across the worst road in the universe – and for what? This was no gamblers’ paradise. The ‘vice capital’ was the same collection of dreary whorehouses and bars as everywhere else, only less welcoming. The citizens seemed stunned, lethargic, frightened, angry – not what you want in a destination resort."Some of the descriptions of other cultures (read: not New Yorkers or carnivores, as his disdain for vegetarians is near legendary) verges on racist, while others are more generous, even delighted.I'd be remiss if I didn't mention Anthony's noted substance issues - cigarettes and alcohol here - and obvious mental health issues, pep talking himself through things. He's missed.

I love taking the trip with Bourdain. His writing makes you feel you’re sitting next to him and enjoying and experiencing what he does.

Amazing book ...Always been a fan of Bourdain, seen every show, and even travel to all the South East Asian destinations that he mention on his shows, try to eat at the same places. As Tony once said I’m also. “Pork slut” I like his shows because I identify with him, it was like I was looking at my self. This is my first time reading a Bourdain book, the only thing I regret is that I didn’t read it before. The book is insightful, gritty and the story telling style of Tony makes you feel like you are there, the way he describes the locations, the food, the people is amazing, I felt as if i was actually there. I could see the KR in Cambodia, feel the adventure, and taste the food in Vietnam. What a gifted story teller. RIP Mr Tony

I have been looking for this audio for years since a car accident when my last copy was destroyed! Thank you!

I had already watched all the episodes so unfortunately there weren’t many surprises in the book but it’s nice “hearing his voice” again. Miss him terribly. Such a cool, laid back, not pretentious traveler.

I know I’m about 20 years or so late to this read, but it came ar a perfect time for me. Since Bourdain’s untimely death, I miss his voice, his insight, and the enlightened way his words make me want to eat and travel! This book beautifully disperses the idea of “the perfect meal” and instead gives us a tale of food, places, people and Tony. From the worse thing he’s ever eaten to the simple food memories of his childhood, “A Cook’s Tour” reminded me why I fell in love with Anthony Bourdain in the first place - he was an incredible human with a unique twist on eating, traveling, and living.

un libro recomendable vale la pena

I've been waiting for this one so bad! Super happy it came in sooner! What a great add to the tv series Anthony Bourdain did! I recommend it to every fan, or not, if Tony!

Admittedly I am a fan of travelogues but loved this. Wonderful writing about food and travel and culture. There are chapters on France, Cambodia, Vietnam (multiple), San Francisco, Mexico, Morocco, Japan, Scotland, London, Portugal, San Sebastian, Russia. Some of the food described is mouth-watering so make sure you've already eaten when you pick it up otherwise you'll want to raid the fridge where you'll find nothing close to good as what's being described. But there are also other 'meals' which might make you want to retch.This is based from the TV series of the same name and whilst I watched it a couple of years ago and was reminded of certain passages of the book, it didn't lessen my enjoyment of it. There are also some interesting segments called 'Reasons Why You Don't Want To Be On Television' about situations he went through whilst travelling that may have not come across on TV.Preferred this to Kitchen Confidential.

It is the first book I've ever read by Anthony Bourdain and now I know it won't be the last. I enjoyed every single page of this book, it is a great choice to overcome your reading slump!Only complaint would be the Amazon deliverer putting my package in my mailbox in such an awful way, anyone in the building without keys could easily get it. I hope Amazon deliverers decide to stop putting small packages in mailbox with 70% of the package hanging out.

I have read just 3 chapters of the book and have decided to read more as I travel thru Europe this September.Found the book difficult to put down....so have packed it with my clothes for travel.