Outside of a Dog, #35

"Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog, it's too dark to read." - Groucho Marx.

"Say, hey, good-lookin’, whatcha got cookin’… How about cookin’ somethin’ up with me?" - Hank Williams

While cookbooks are a mainstay of libraries everywhere, if you’re more of a taster than a chef, try these food-related nonfiction finds and novels.

Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly – Anthony Bourdain
We’ve reviewed this book before, in August of 2008, and we revisit it again for this list. Bourdain’s wit and wisdom about food and the restaurant business are interesting and funny. Also available is a collection of short works by Bourdain, released in 2006, called “The Nasty Bits.”
Bio Bourdain WCV WDB
CD Bourdain MCL

Heat: An Amateur's Adventures as Kitchen Slave, Line Cook, Pasta-Maker, and Apprentice to a Dante-Quoting Butcher in Tuscany - Bill Buford
New Yorker editor Buford gave up his desk-jockey life to learn the ins and outs of cooking under famous Babbo chef Mario Batali. Included in the book are adventures with knives, some biographical details about Batali, and lots of humor.
641.5945 B ROG SBL SCS WAM
Also available as an e-book and e-audiobook.

Waiter Rant: Thanks for the Tip—Confessions of a Cynical Waiter – The Waiter
While Kitchen Confidential specializes in ‘back-of-the-house’ (a.k.a. the kitchen) tales, Waiter Rant is all about the ‘front-of-the-house;’ telling of diners both rude and sweet, and adventures with managers and other waiters that stemmed from “The Waiter”’s Waiter Rant blog.
642.6 D TPL
647.9506 W EPL
Also available as an e-book and e-audiobook.


Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder (Hannah Swensen #1) – Joanne Fluke
The first of the foodie murder mysteries by Fluke (#12 – Cream Puff Murder comes out later this month) finds heroine and cookie-baker extraordinaire Hannah Swensen trying to solve the murder of a delivery man – after he’s found dead in a pile of her famous chocolate chip cookies! Each book contains thematic recipes, too!
MYS Fluke RAY WAM
Playaway Fluke SCS

Dying for Chocolate (Goldy Bear #1) – Diane Mott Davidson
Goldy Bear is an inventive caterer with a shaky past – her ex-husband stalks and threatens her, and her bills are piling up! She takes a job at the ritzy Aspen Meadow Country Club to both get away and get on top of her mounting problems. But when one of the men at the club courts her, then ends up dead, Goldy’s new life may be in danger!
The Goldy books also include recipes – Dying for Chocolate features “Scout’s Brownies,” so good shivers will run down your spine!
Mys Davidson WCV WDB WMB UPL RAY
BCD Fic Davidson TPL
AC Fic Davidson CHE

Bone in the Throat – Anthony Bourdain
Bourdain goes fiction in this first novel involving gangsters and restaurateurs in New York’s seedy Little Italy district. Also available is his second novel, which strays away from foodie interests, “Gone Bamboo.”
Fic Bourdain RSV MTC