Books › The man who ate everything
The man who ate everything
First published 1997 · 514 pages
An outrageously funny, mouth-watering journey fueled by gluttonous curiosity and offbeat erudition.
What it feels like
Reading this book feels like embarking on a hilarious, globe-trotting culinary crusade with a brilliantly obsessive companion. The pace is brisk and energetic as the narrative jets from Alsace to Japan, driven by an impassioned, gluttonous curiosity. The tone is wry and outrageously funny, balancing offbeat erudition with a Zen-like discipline for culinary experimentation. The prose is mouth-watering, making the reader feel the sheer joy and indulgence of eating everything from hand-massaged beef to the perfect sourdough. It is an atmosphere of pure gastronomic delight, punctuated by heroic defenses of salt, sugar, and fat. This is the perfect read for anyone who loves food, cooking, and sharp wit, offering an indulgent, laugh-out-loud exploration of global cuisine.
- Mood
- mouth-watering
- joyful
- curious
- indulgent
- Tone
- wry
- impassioned
- hilarious
- erudite
- obsessive
- Pace
- brisk
- Themes
- culinary exploration · gluttonous curiosity · overcoming aversions · the joy of eating · gastronomic obsession
- The writing
- Outrageously funny and stuffed with offbeat erudition, blending sharp wit with mouth-watering descriptions.
- The arc
- Moves from systematic culinary skepticism to a joyful, impassioned embrace of global gastronomy.
- Who it's for
- Readers who love food, cooking, and sharp American wit, and who appreciate an obsessive, humorous deep-dive into gastronomy.
Content notes
- dieting and weight loss mentions
About the book
When Jeffrey Steingarten was appointed food critic for Vogue, he systematically set out to overcome his distaste for such things as kimchi, lard, Greek cuisine, and blue food. He succeeded at all but the last: Steingarten is fairly sure that God meant the color blue mainly for food that has gone bad. In this impassioned, mouth-watering, and outrageously funny book, Steingarten devotes the same Zen-like discipline and gluttonous curiosity to practically everything that anyone anywhere has ever called dinner.
Follow Steingarten as he jets off to sample choucroute in Alsace, hand-massaged beef in Japan, and the mother of all ice creams in Sicily. Sweat with him as he tries to re-create the perfect sourdough, bottle his own mineral water, and drop excess poundage at a luxury spa. Join him as he mounts a heroic--and hilarious--defense of salt, sugar, and fat (though he has some nice things to say about Olestra). Stuffed with offbeat erudition and recipes so good they ought to be illegal, The Man Who Ate Everything is a gift for anyone who loves food.
Description from Open Library.
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