stop. start. stutter.

Friday brings us Books About Cool Topics. (Disclaimer: Links to go Amazon; if you buy with the link, I get a kickback. Which I will use to buy more books. Please, allow me to buy more books.)

The topic: The NYC restaurant scene
The book: Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly by Anthony Bourdain

This is a little less academic than the previous two; I figured it was time for something lighter! This is Bourdain's memoir about life in the NYC restaurant scene, and it's great. Fascinating in places, disturbing in others, hysterical in yet others. If you're the type of person who can't stand thinking where your food comes from and what might have happened to it before it hits the table, you'll probably want to give this one a pass, but if you're down with the concept that we all eat a little dirt, this is a great book. It covers what goes on in the kitchen of restaurants, what drugs your chef has likely done this afternoon, the economics and basics of running a restaurant, how to deal with suppliers, and what not to order in the restaurant. (And why!)

Bourdain's got a light, deft prose style, but he doesn't hold back, either. In a lot of ways, he reminds me of Hunter S. Thompson (may he rest in peace, with booze and loose women). This is a great look into the food service industry, both good things and bad, and it's entertaining even as it's educational.