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Reading

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I have absolutely nothing to tell you about cooking-wise, because I spent the entire weekend devouring this book. It is the best thing I’ve read all year, and, people, I read for a living. Bill Buford, the former fiction editor for The New Yorker, worked as an unpaid grunt in Mario Batali’s kitchen at Babbo and then traveled to Tuscany to apprentice under master butcher Dario Cecchini. The account of his time in the kitchen at Babbo and in Italy is beautifully written, hysterically funny, and totally, utterly captivating. It’s the kind of book I wish wish wish never had to end.

And if I didn’t already have an insatiable desire to eat at Babbo – just once! – I certainly do now.

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12 responses to “Reading”

  1. Vanessa Avatar
    Vanessa

    I randomly ate at Babbo on a visit to NY without knowing anything about it (Mario Batali hasn’t been heard of here in Ireland or the UK…) and had the most amazing meal of my life.
    I ordered Heat from Amazon.com rather than .co.uk because it’s not out here yet and devoured it like a feast over the weekend.
    Happy girl…

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  2. Leah Avatar
    Leah

    Oh!! I am so jealous! I’ve been dying to read this book since I saw the very first review… Thank you for yet another super thumbs up, Luisa. The summer book list grows ever longer!

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  3. julie Avatar
    julie

    Thanks for the reading suggestion…I’ll definitely read this one!!!

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  4. Ilva Avatar
    Ilva

    Now I want to read it too! Thanks Luisa!

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  5. shuna fish lydon Avatar
    shuna fish lydon

    maybe you could wait until I get there… (In July.)? I worked with the pastry chef at Gramercy Tavern but I have never been to Babbo either!

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  6. Luisa Avatar
    Luisa

    Vanessa – I’m so glad you liked the book as much as I did! It was like a feast, indeed.
    Leah – I figured if I deviated from the food path, it’d have to be for something really special. Hope you enjoy reading it!
    Julie & Ilva – you won’t be disappointed, I’m sure. What I esp. liked was how he managed to “get” the Italians that he worked with. Not so easy to transcribe personalities and characters of an entirely different culture and country without turning them into caricatures, but he did it.
    Shuna – yes! It’s a deal! You and me and Babbo. Can’t wait!

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  7. Julie Avatar
    Julie

    Wow! The best thing you’ve read all year is quite a recommendation. It’s on my wishlist which becomes ever larger the more I read food blogs and read about people’s favorite cookbooks and other books.

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  8. molly Avatar
    molly

    Oh, I can’t wait to read it! Buford’s New Yorker pieces are my favorite — the Babbo one, the one where he goes to Italy, the one where he buys a whole pig and butchers it in his apt after bringing it home on his Vespa…so good!

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  9. Leland Avatar
    Leland

    I have a plan: when you meet Nathan, convince him that that we should do a double-date at Babbo. You’re so charming, he’d probably go for it. Especially if you say something in Italian! That really gets him going. Anyway, the pasta tasting isn’t that expensive ($64).

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  10. Nicky Avatar
    Nicky

    Hi Luisa,
    It’s a fact, I have a huge stack of books piling up next to my bed. Most of them unread… I wish my days had some extra hours just to enjoy more books! And now I have to add another title to my wishlist.
    Your sentence “It’s the kind of book I wish wish wish never had to end. ” did it 😉

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  11. Luisa Avatar
    Luisa

    Molly – if you liked that piece, you will LOVE this book. The rest of the book is even better than the piece about him bringing home the dead pig.
    Leland – that sounds like a lovely idea, though I’m sad to say the tasting is completely and utterly out of my price range right now. I think I’ll be a one-pasta girl when I’m at Babbo, at least for the foreseeable future! Sob.
    Nicky – I’m glad I convinced you to add this to your stack of books! I found the book so un-put-down-able that I finished it in three days 😉

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  12. Marc Avatar
    Marc

    Thanks for the book review. I read Buford’s piece in the New Yorker a few years ago and loved it. I’ll put Heat on my list.
    Bill Buford has been on the radio a few times recently. For 1 hour on San Francisco’s KQED Forum program last week, with audio in the archive (http://www.kqed.org/epArchive/R606141000) or through an iTunes free podcast. And for about 10 minutes on KCRW’s Good Food (audio at http://tinyurl.com/pgvxp or free through iTunes).

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