Nasty Bits: Collected Varietal Cuts, Usable Trim, Scraps, and Bones

Good for fans and the curious

If you know Tony and like his style (spoken/written...no real difference), you'll love this book. It's basically a transcript of his 'No Reservations' Travel Channel show which are all essays and travelogues with the Bourdain sarcasm. That's not a bad thing; it just is. I really enjoyed it...I'm a smart ass too.

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Pure Tony!

Fast reading, fast paced, Tony spills the beans. Little bits of thoughts from the head of Tony.... some from the heart, and some pure BS. At the end, he critiques his own writing, and i was happy to see him come clean and admit when he was just talking for effect! Tony takes you to on various rides.... put your seat belt on and GO! Highly recommend.

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Just Fabulous!

I'm a huge fan of Anthony Bourdain and have enjoyed all of his cook books. I think he is amazing. I have become such a good cook because of this man. THANK YOU! Do yourself a favor and buy all of his great books!!!

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Very enjoyable, but not as engaging or focused as Kitchen Confidential.

I found this collection of short works to be interesting and entertaining if not as engaging as Kitchen Confidential. The pieces are organized according to the basic tastes (bitter, salty, sweet, sour, umami) and for the most part, the feeling of each matches the taste grouping. The subject matter is not limited to things culinary and in that respect, the book is more like the show "No Reservations."

The flow between the various writings is at times smooth and other times choppy. This may be attributable to the varied subject matter and how much I was drawn in by each writing. Some, like "Food and loathing in Las Vegas" and "A chef's Christmas" totally sucked me in and left me wanting more. Others just came across as simple journal entries - still entertaining, but somehow incomplete. At times, the jump from a kitchen/food-centric piece to more of a travelogue piece was a bit odd.

Bourdain's writing style is consistent with what readers experienced in Kitchen Confidential and what they find on "No Reservations." If anything, more of his personality comes across via the written word because within the narrative he provides insights as to what he's thinking at the moment. Add to that the commentaries for each writing provided at the end of the book, and you get a nice complete picture for each work.

There aren't any surprises here and that's not a bad thing at all. While some of the pieces may be considered "raw" or "shocking" by some, I think that if you're familiar with Bourdain you won't find anything unexpected here. I especially appreciated the glimpse into his fiction writing that "A chef's Christmas" provides. I'm now looking forward to reading those as well. If you enjoyed Kitchen Confidential and enjoy watching No Reservations, you'll be happy with The Nasty Bits.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Artful, Witty, and Expertly Written

Bourdain manages to draw the reader in to his culinary adventures around the world in such a way that you can not help but be in awe. His writing is comical and intelligent, with the perfect hint of the profane. Highly recommended for anyone who eats.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

A Great Read

Anthony Bourdain is a hard drinking, smoking, profane, ex-junkie, carnivore who is unapologetic about his strong opinions. Some people love him in spite of this. Many others love him because of it. For all of Tony's faults, I've always found that he is without prejudice when exploring cultures other than his own. Bourdain is unfailingly gracious to his hosts, wherever he is in the world. He is honest and, although he will not admit it, a very good writer. This book could have rehashed his current TV show. Instead, it is a series of articles he has written over the years. Even though I am a fan of both A Cook's Tour and No Reservations, most of what is in here is new material to me. I have to say I remember the show about Las Vegas. Tony was really pissed off about the quality of steak frites at Thomas Keller's place and spilled a glass of wine. It was very funny. It is rare that I notice editing, but Nasty Bits was skillfully put together. Otherwise, it would have been a mishmash of unrelated stories. There are 36 anecdotes that are an average of 6 1/2 pages long. In our busy lives, it is simple to fit in a few minutes reading one article. Unlike a novel, you can skip some of them, read them out of sequence and they will still make sense. The final chapter, 'A Taste of Fiction', is very entertaining. The last part has a commentary of each chapter. It is an enjoyable way to end the book.

1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Hard to get past his potty mouth.

And that's what he'll be remembered for - if he is remembered.

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

IF YOU LOVE FOOD....

ANTHONY BOURDAIN WILL TAKE YOU IN A JOURNEY OF LOVE FOR FOOD AND NEW PROFOUND EXPERIENCE AND EXCITMENT DIFFERENTS WAY TO LEARN HOW TO ENJOY SIMPLE FOOD PLUS HIS UNIQUE WAY TO SAY HOW HOW HE FEEL AND SEE THINGS IT WILL FUNNY AND YES HE USES PROUFUND LENGUAGE BUT SOME HOW IT MAKES SENCES...

Tony's written better

This book was okay. I felt the layout was creative by dividing his stories into sweet, bitter, salty, sour. A couple were re-hashed from his previous works. And it seemed like he was trying to hard to maintain his bad boy attitude yet at times he was lamenting that he didn't have the energy nor stamina to be the bad boy. And his fiction short story at the end was quite bad.

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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