Steingarten sings of his supper, grand cuisine, or Thanksgiving turkey with panache and canny wit.
The vaunted food writer for Vogue, a former lawyer who now practices the equally underappreciated vocation of gastronomy, discusses the world’s first (or at least second) most overwhelming preoccupation: eats.
Steingarten is dubious about allergies to MSG or intolerance to lactose. All food is good at his table. No picky eater, no vegetarian he. He is a true omnivore, ingesting—as long as they’re well prepared—chocolate chip cookies, pig entrails, medium-rare porterhouse, sea urchin gonads, pressed duck, caviar, and coffee, all with gusto and all described here in effusive detail. Steingarten is devoted to food of all kinds, as cosmopolitan as, say, Hannibal Lecter (though with somewhat more restrained tastes, admittedly). Take much of the highfalutin’ stuff with a grain of salt; whether it comes from Trapani, Maldon, or Guerand, it’s still salt, Steingarten concludes. He studies the biochemistry of his viands, giving due attention to flavonols and protein mechanics. He’ll dash off to Paris, Baja California, or Brooklyn at the slightest whiff of gustatory perfection and waggishly report back on how the experts do it—as in his graphic depiction of a pig slaughter in rural France. Aided by electronic thermometer, camera, and compliant assistants (women whose names change from essay to essay), he analyzes and often reproduces the gastronomic achievements of great cooks worldwide. Adepts will learn the right and wrong ways to brine a goose, prepare a pizza, construct a wedding cake, or sauté spleen in lard with ricotta. But even if the detailed recipes strewn throughout like juicy raisins may be more than a casual reader will attempt, the description is great fun and, incidentally, quite educational. Food writers, beware—this guy is out to eat your lunch.
Steingarten sings of his supper, grand cuisine, or Thanksgiving turkey with panache and canny wit.Pub Date: Nov. 6, 2002
ISBN: 0-375-41280-8
Page Count: 464
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2002
Stricter than, say, Bergen Evans or W3 ("disinterested" means impartial — period), Strunk is in the last analysis...
Privately published by Strunk of Cornell in 1918 and revised by his student E. B. White in 1959, that "little book" is back again with more White updatings.
Stricter than, say, Bergen Evans or W3 ("disinterested" means impartial — period), Strunk is in the last analysis (whoops — "A bankrupt expression") a unique guide (which means "without like or equal").Pub Date: May 15, 1972
ISBN: 0205632645
Page Count: 105
Publisher: Macmillan
Review Posted Online: Oct. 28, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 1972
This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)
Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996
ISBN: 0-15-100227-4
Page Count: 136
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
