Lunch break

Totally agree about "No Reservations." Tony Bourdain's books are well worth reading as well.

Thanks for pointing to this. Having hot pot in Chongqing (formerly Sichuan) ranks as one of my top two most memorable meals ever, though my experience wasn't nearly as painful as Anthony's.

Ezra, did you mention this meal on your blog or did I find it somewhere else? http://tinyurl.com/yflz3yu I can't recall where I heard about it. If it was you, thanks! It's a new favorite. If it wasn't you, make it for yourself, with the greens and egg and everything. Delicious!

Read Tony Bourdain's "Kitchen Confidential" to learn why you should never take your in-laws out to a restaurant Sunday brunch buffet again....

Bourdain is a refreshing revelation. If you've ever worked in the restaurant biz, you know he's spot-on, too.

By the way and slightly OT, Martha is totally copying my decor--I have two of those Eero Saarinen pedestal dining tables, one white marble and one variegated black marble--which are originals from the mid-1950's. We bought ours in 1987, just before the big midcentury modern craze took hold, when original Knoll stuff could be bought for very reasonable money in second-hand furniture shops all over Florida. Now, not so much

No reservations is generally very good. The only thing that bothers me is that Bourdain thinks that his alcoholism or his 70's "cool" act is cool.

litbrit is right about Bourdain's appeal to those of us who used to work in the business. I will still share stories of the scars from my years spent in kitchens to fellow cooks. Kitchen Confidential reminded me of the reasons I used to love being a chef and why I have no interest in going back to it as a career.