Review by Booklist Review
In the early 1980s, when Calvin Trillin decided to stop writing about what he calls "barbecue divining and boudin hunting," this country lost its funniest food writer and perhaps its most impassioned defender of the joys of regional cuisine (though Trillin would dislike the highfalutin term cuisine). For those of us who devoured Trillin's food stories like the author himself gulping down a plate of dirty rice, the appearance of this omnibus volume couldn't be more welcome. Reprinting three collections of essays that appeared originally in the New Yorker--American Fried (1974), Alice, Let's Eat (1978), and Third Helpings (1983)--the book offers a chance to reacquaint ourselves not only with the mouth-watering local foodstuffs Trillin lusts after (barbecue in Kansas City, crawfish in Louisiana), but also with the eccentric cast of characters who accompany him on his crusades: the inimitable pizza baron Fats Goldberg; his fishstick-loving daughters; and, of course, his long-suffering and ever-ironic wife, Alice. A must for libraries where the earlier books need replacing. (Reviewed October 15, 1994)0374279500Bill Ott
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Library Journal Review
This trilogy consists of American Fried, Alice, Let's Eat, and Third Helpings, which were published between 1970 and 1983. LJ's reviewer was charmed by the food writings, stating that "Whether Trillin is writing about changing the traditional Thanksgiving meal from turkey to spaghetti carbonara, or about a clambake at a gentleman's club, his humor is of the very light sort, a cup that cheers, but does not inebriate" (LJ 4/1/83). This edition contains a new foreword by the author. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
