Bourdain's Kitchen Confidential

I like Anthony Bourdain even if in his Kitchen Confidential, the book for which he is probably best known, he totally trashes my hometown of Baltimore.  He is funny, smart and a good writer so what's not to like? Well... o.k. so I do find his opinion of himself to be a bit overblown, making his self-deprecating remarks come off as a tad disingenuous.  He seems to have an opinion on everybody and everything, not unusual in the human species I realize, and he is apparently not at all averse to sharing his. He has the right. In fact, to be honest, I get a kick out of his celebrity-bashing and his apparent disdain for the Food Network and some of its more lackluster "talent".

About Kitchen Confidential: in short it is a fun romp through the bowels of New York City's restaurant industry. If you enjoy food and/or sometimes raunchy tales of drug and sexual escapades, this is the read for you. KC takes you from Bourdain's first awakening to his passion for food as a young boy visiting his ancestral home in France up to owning his own successful restaurant in his beloved city.  As much an expose as memoir, he gives us an unflinching behind-the-scenes look at what really goes on in restaurant kitchens and it is not for the faint of heart.  In addition, Bourdain provides helpful hints on dining out such as never order mussels in a restaurant ("most cooks are less than scrupulous in their handling of them") and never order fish on Monday ("I know how old most seafood is on Monday-about four to five days old!").

From watching his show on the Travel Channel, No Reservations, I became aware that he took drugs in his past due to a methadone reference but I had no idea how extensive a list it was: heroin, coke, LSD and a variety of pharmaceuticals. He is very open about that aspect of his life and I appreciate his candor.  He does not bash drugs in general, but merely the jerks that they turn some people into, and he adamantly includes himself as one of those.  There is no doubt in my mind that Anthony Bourdain is an unapologetic hedonist, but I like him anyway and I liked this book.