Some thoughts on A Cook's Tour

Tony’s charm, intelligence, and kindness is the glue holding this quip-of-the-week (‘Don’t order seafood on Mondays!’ ‘Hear about the gang that escaped from Arkham? They’re calling themselves Vegetarians!’) and cigarette-stained book together.

The Vietnam/ Saigon/ Ho Chi Minh City/ Cambodia chapters are the best part of the book. The place the book drags is when you hit a list of food. Descriptions of delicatessens that on their own sound exotic and exciting, but when facing down a page of clipped titles from Larousse Gastronomique they form a bland alphabet soup. When he slows down and really focuses on the region and the company he’s with, those parts really hold the book together. No rating.