Steven A. Shaw

Not sure where or when I got this book, but I brought it with me on a road trip this weekend and read it very quickly. Bookmark in the book was from a 2007 trip to Cancun so I've had it at least that long. It's autographed as well.

I've been on a food reading kick for a bit and this is a nice change from "food is evil." A bit dated, the book doesn't really cover the role of the internet in restaurant reviews, and he thought magazines and newspapers would never touch blogs. Oops. Nor did it touch on the recent recession - so some of the "new" restaurants he mentions are no longer in business; Cafe Gray, Starwich and I believe the Alain Ducasse restaurant at the Essex House. A lot has changed in the food world since this book - but in many ways things are still the same. There isn't too much new material in this book - but it's fun to see the inside of things - the daily inspection of USHG properties - whose empire has grown again since - and chefs eating at their own properties.

I'm now off to stalk his reading list and see if he's written anything else since. For a non foodie I seem to love reading about food and restaurants. I'm not familiar with his website, but I might need to go check it out.… (plus d'informations)

A mostly uncritical look at restaurants and the food industry.

Shaw is the co-founder of eGullet.com, and this book reads like another web-to-print endeavor. He touches on a lot of aspects of the restaurant industry but doesn't really explore any of them in an in-depth way. The reader picks up some interesting tidbits, but definitely leaves the table wanting more.

Shaw's writing can be pretentious and self-promoting, and sometimes leaves the reader shaking his head: as I read the description of how to make friends with a sushi bar chef, I wondered if anyone could fall for such a contrived routine.

Some of Shaw's ideas have sparked controversy, and I appreciated his willingness to raise the questions. For instance, he doesn't believe restaurant critics should be anonymous (an obvious dig at Ruth Reichl and her penchant for disguise) - he argues that, with food prepped and ready to go, critics won't receive much better food or service than the average VIP would get. While his argument is worth discussing, Reichl's review for the New York Times seem to indicate that there can indeed be quite a lot of variation in the restaurant the customer sees, and my gut feeling makes me tend to side with Ruth.

Overall, the book is worth a quick read if you can find it at your local library, but there are books that have a lot more to say on the subject if this is really an area of interest for you.… (plus d'informations)

About: Shaw, the founder of eGullet, discuses various aspects of the restaurant industry. He Visits and works in restaurants, their kitchens, and even goes to help select ingredients as well as conducts interviews and shares meals with chefs and other staff members. He provides a behind-the-scenes look at how restaurants (from the best to the not-so-great) are created, run and the food prepared. Food sources, restaurant reviews and reviewers as well as how to eat and order at a sushi bar are also covered.

Pros: There are a few good tips here about food (ahi is not a type of tuna at all, but bluefun tuna is more desirable than yellowfin) and restaurants (want primo treatment? Become a regular). Additional resources section is nice. There is a bibiliography, but there are no citations.

Cons. The bulk of the book reads like a namedropping lovefest of folks only foodies will have heard of. Shaw seems to enjoy letting everyone know who he knows and where has has eaten. He is very opinionated and shamelessly promotes himself and eGullet. The section on the internet and food blogging attempts to be written in a "you must have never heard of these things before" tone, but ends up coming off as patronizing. Even though he is a restaurant reviewer, he appears to have disdain for them, and judging from his fawning over them, Shaw is really just a wannabe chef.… (plus d'informations)