I found this book tedious in the extreme. Did NOT enjoy. I suppose that if you don't know much about food or shopping for it, then it would be a great introduction. For me, it was the food-focused equivalent of "see spot run." ( )

Eh... This book was ok. Definitely not one of my favorite foodie books. Basically the majority of the book was descriptions upon descriptions of food stores, farmer markets, etc. Yes there was some useful information in there such as every tool a cook should have in their kitchen, explanation of meats, spices, vegetables and foods from different cultures.

For the rest of the review, visit my blog at: http://angelofmine1974.livejournal.com/74687.html ( )

What we need is a library full of books like this. People crave local foods which reflect the broad ethnic diversity of this nation. I commend Clara Moore and Matt Sorrell in their accomplishment of this task for the city of St. Louis. This well written digest of local neighborhoods, shops, stores, and resources is peppered with recipes, resources for non- "St.Louis-ers" (I made that up!) which reflects the vibrance of not only St. Louis but America. I will be calling Volpi's for salami, The Smokehouse Market for some real sausages, and several others. This book is a St. Louis Foodies dream. Get it - read it - and go forth and eat great things! ( )

My wife and I like to take vacations in cities. We've been to many of the great cities in the United States. We are planning a trip this summer to St. Louis. When we travel we focus on 3 primary activities: 1)Eating in restaurants, especially various ethnic restaurants, that we can't find in our local community; 2) Visiting farmers markets, ethnic grocery stores, and other places food stuff is found; 3) Shopping at antique stores, malls, flee markets, estate sales, etc.

"Shop Like A Chef" by Chef Clara Moore and Matt Sorrell has proven to be a great planning tool for our visit. In a consolidated place we could find the places to meet 1 and 2 on our lists and with the neighborhood guide we could quickly interface and compare the locations of eating and food markets with the antique shopping guides we have for the St. Louis area. This was a time savor and a real help in our planning.

Additionally the book was an interesting read providing a wealth of information about St. Louis that I have not seen in any of the other materials we have including information from official city and visitor information sources.

As avid cooks we have circled a couple recipes from the book to try, especially after we visit the stores and restaurants in a couple months.

Great job. ( )

St. Louis is one of those surprising places where you can get a wide variety of really excellent food. This book covers the various ethnic neighborhoods in the city and surrounding area with a guide to local grocery stores, butchers, bakeries and specialty kitchen supply stores

As someone who lived in St. Louis for 35 years, I can vouch for the accuracy of the book & the quality of the information it contains.. This is a great resource for St. Louis foodies and those who will soon live in the area. ( )