If you were watching the Food Network a couple of years ago, you may have had the pleasure of catching a show called A Cook's Tour, where a sarcastic chef named Anthony Bourdain ate anything and everything in his travels across the world. The show sadly no longer exists as it never quite fit in with the rest of the cookie-cutter, perfectly-packaged, mmmm-everything-is-so-good crowd on the network. But give me a man who spits out haute cusine in a 5-star resturant any day over Rachael ( I have no taste buds, but I make up for it with my annoying trademark giggle) Ray.

Recently, David bought me his book Kitchen Confidential, and while I had my doubts about the writing---the man clearly has a few screws loose---I have been quite surprised and delighted. While incredibly self-indulgent to the point of being distasteful, especially when Bourdain describes his early experiences with food, the book remains highly enjoyable. Snappy, full of sleazy behavior and disturbing facts that you'll wish you didn't know, Anthony Bourdain takes the reader through the world of the Manhattan restaurants and the hellish underbelly that is the kitchen. You'll learn to never order seafood on Monday, and that it's standard industry practice to reuse uneaten bread. It's fun, it's disturbingly educational, it's slighty unsavory, and it'll pack more punch than anything you'll see on the Food Network.