Good Food

Anthony Bourdain is one of a rare breed: not only the executive chef at a popular New York brasserie but a published novelist, the infamous author of Kitchen Confidential, and now author, along with Les Halles' chef-owners, of a cookbook as well. Bourdain demonstrates clearly that writing ability is a major component of a successful cookbook; taken purely as a source of recipes the Les Halles Cookbook does little to break new culinary ground. As Bourdain himself says in the introduction, "The recipes, for the most part, are old standards, versions of which you can find in scores of other books."

What you will not find in scores of other books, however, is the combination of entertaining prose combined with clear, easy-to-understand directions that Bourdain brings to his recipes. All the classic French bistro repertoire is covered in the book's 110 recipes, from onion soup through steak frites to crème brûlée. Bourdain clearly knows this territory well and conveys just the right balance between simplicity and authenticity, while simultaneously addressing you as "useless screwhead", "numbnuts", and "sorry-ass bivalve in an apron." Your grandmother probably won't want to get this one for her birthday.

If you don't already have a solid French bistro book, or if you just love to read well-written cookbooks, pick up a copy of the Les Halles Cookbook.