One of the reasons I decided to start up my book blog again is because I wanted to rant. And while I could rant all by myself at home (and maybe I did), I thought how much better it could be to rant on the internet, especially since I already use the internet to post cat pictures, and isn't that what the internet is all about, really? 

I like food. And I like books. So it would make sense that I like books about food and foodie culture. And I do. When they're good books. But they're not all good books. I have two specifically in mind that I so looked forward to, heard everyone raving about, and then was completely disappointed on reading them myself. This is not a situation I recommend. 

One of last year's big food books is called Kitchens of the Great Midwest. Fantastic title, especially for those of us in the great Midwest. And it starts off strong. We get introduced to the heroine of the story, Eva Thorvald, early in her life. We see some of her early influences and how her father taught her how to understand and recognize the flavor of food. Then we move on from Eva and meet another character and learn their story, over and over, until the end of the book, where all these disparate stories come together in a massive feast. 

In some ways, this story-telling style is masterful. But in other ways, it's just frustrating. I don't mind moving from one character to another, especially when it all comes together in the end (however, I did listen to this on audio, and the change from one character to another had no audio cue, so it was pretty jarring at first to figure out what was happening). The part I object to is that he takes these characters to a pinnacle in their lives, to a moment that will make or break them--we're just about to see the choice they made in this difficult and (sorry) delicious moment in their life, and suddenly we're whisked away (again, sorry) to another place, another time, another set of characters and life choices. The moments I most wanted to read about weren't in the book. And they weren't explained later. Author J. Ryan Stradal just skips right over those most emotional moments and leaves his readers hanging. Time after time after time. If I'd had a physical copy of the book, I might have chucked it across the room. 

Now for this year's big book. At the beginning of summer, everyone was talking about Sweetbitter, the fictionalized memoir of a back waitress working in one of New York City's most well-known restaurants. We meet young Tess as she comes to the Big City not knowing anyone or anything and watch her mature into a successful young woman who can manage the demands of haute cuisine. Along the way, she makes friends and falls in love and learns about food and wine. 

If you're interested in this book as a peek into those crazy New York kitchens of top restaurants, by all means read this book. I loved that part of it, and it rang true (it should--it's based on her own experiences working front of house in the Union Square Cafe. It's a fast-paced, well written story, well worth your time for that. 

But. 

If you're someone who is excited about reading the story of a young woman coming of age in a crazy environment, of learning to love and be loved, of understanding how to read people and manage relationships, then this will leave you cold in the end. There are lots of life lessons there for her, to be sure, but she seems not to learn any but the most superficial of them. I understand how sometimes in life you get through  crazy experience and then just want to put it all on paper. I understand how a book editor would read this book and want it published immediately (well, as immediately as is possible in publishing, which can take years). But I can't help but feel that this story needed a little time to breathe. Some distance from it would ave helped bring about a more robust ending, more depth for the character and more excitement about a future where she might not make the same mistakes all over again. 

If you're interested in these books, give them a try. But don't say I didn't warn you. My advice: skip them both. Go with Ruth Reichl's Delicious! and Anthony Bourdain's Kitchen Confidential instead.