This is a delicious book about some of America's gastronomic greats. Read it someplace beautiful with some decadent nibbles by your side because it will definitely make you hungry. ( )

I really enjoyed this book. I cannot cook, but appreciate the time and effort that is put forth in to cooking and I enjoyed reading about the personalities who have shaped our tastes and cooking skills. Highly recommend, even for the non-foodie. ( )

nonfiction; cooking memoirs (written by MFK Fisher's grand-nephew, or something like that). I might enjoy this more as an audio-book; the written text is not that absorbing and I didn't find myself lost in 1970s Provence as I hoped I would be. ( )

More than a bit on the pretensious side, as much as he complains about snobbery. Still, an enjoyable read about people I knew something of but learned much more.

As a big fan of M. F. K. Fisher, I thought this book by her grand-nephew would be right up my alley. Barr's grandmother was M. F.'s sister, Nora, and the two women did a lot of traveling together in France. Barr used M.F.'s diaries and other documents, as well as his grandmother's recollections, to put together this picture of a period when some of the greatest names and talents in American gastronomy came together for shared meals and collaboration in Provence. There was camaraderie and conflict, and it makes interesting reading. One or two of the company were not particularly nice people, it appears. Inclined to be stabby when one's back is turned...that kind of not nice. But they weren't people I knew much about before, so I wasn't bothered to learn this. (M.F. went through some serious soul-searching about her long relationship with French cuisine and culture after the summer of 1970.) The book includes menus (but no recipes) for some of the drool-inducing meals described; there is slightly less material than there ought to be for the size of the book, and some photos would have been wonderful, but what there is, is tasty. ( )