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Fork It OverThe Intrepid Adventures of a Professional EaterBy Alan RichmanA review by Marty Martindale
Richman, eleven-time winner of the James Beard Foundation Award, has been the culinary critic for GQ since 1990. Before that he “dabbled in comestibles on the side and under a pseudonym, while writing about sports for the Boston Glove and the Montreal Star.” He lives in Mamaroneck, New York and commutes to Manhattan for most meals. He was also recently appointed Dean of Food Journalism of the French culinary Institute in Westchester County, New York. In the books, he posits Food Commandments, a set for Diners and another for Restaurants. The former includes helpful paragraphs on presenting one’s credit after dessert, ignoring the waiter’s “favorites,” passing on the omelet stations and more. His commandments for Restaurants include never send a patron to the bar, knocking off the fish boat routine and not being asking if everything is “OK?” He also offers his ten reasons “Why White Wine is Better than Red Wine,” not the least of which is “Ever notice that winos leave vacant lots strewn with broken bottles red wine?” Richman is a world-traveled eating man and acknowledges most everyone envies what he does. At the same time, he defends his expertise as a proven eater while possessing no knowledge of cooking. “I believe I know how to eat as well as any man alive,” he contends. To expand on this his MO includes behaviors which make him lie, steal, wander and drift usually in silence except for hearty chatter with waiters and busboys. For an example of his mastery at simplicity, we visit a baked potato eaten with is parents in Chicago at a restaurant named Tad’s, near the stockyards. The year was early, the price of his steak dinner was $1.09: “fatty steaks reeking with charred goodness. Baked potatoes as big as footballs … such tubers were unavailable at the A & P … the potatoes we eat at home were tiny and immaterial … but the Tad’s spud was buttery and vaguely nutty, a combination I don’t recall encountering again, even on one of my trips to Idaho.” The book is a collection of Richman’s stories as they appeared in GQ, rife with Alan’s “what to look for’s.” It’s a great out-of-context read, a great airport read, any chapter is entertaining. Bring snacks. Remember: With the word, Montrachet, both the “t’s” are silent… © Marty Martindale, 2005, Largo FL |
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TM
Remember
the early days on Food Network when they had a little program featuring a man
and a woman, in a restaurant booth, relentlessly discussing plates of food? They
were subjective, believing they were objective, bringing off the snob appeal
food critics are supposed to exhibit. David Edelstein describes them as the
“satiny blonde Nina Griscom and helplessly dweebish Alan Richman.” The show was
Dining Around, described as being a non-cooking show. It was also a fun
show and a hook for me with the Food Channel evermore.