This book wasn't actually tagged travel, but Mr. Rayner, an established British restaurant critic, traveled to London, Vegas, Paris, NYC, and more in search of the perfect meal.

The reason I read this book is because Jay Rayner is a judge on a favorite show of mine - - Top Chef Masters (BRAVO). He is extremely witty on the show, so I thought he might be in the book as well.

I was right.

The book is part memoir, but mostly is dedicated to telling the tale of Jay's fine dining experiences around the world. Some are interesting. Some are hysterical. Some are neither. But Rayner's wit shines through without, and if you like reading snarky blogs, this book is not dissimilar.

You do need to be "into" food . . .as there are many descriptions of it throughout. I am. I was often hungry while reading :[. Not so hot for my diet. Hence the four stars ;) ( )

Boy is he snarky but that's what makes this book so entertaining. I listened to the audiobook and Rayner narrates it himself. It's a really fun listen ( )

I would hate to be a chef in any restaurant reviewed by Jay Rayner. In this book he sets out on a quest to find the perfect meal. In his exhaustive search through the world's prestigious gastronomic establishments (from Las Vegas to Paris) and despite tireless and seemingly limitless consumption, his holy grail ultimately eludes him. Considering the lofty heights of discernment to which his palate has ascended, I think this has more to do with the fact that he's impossible to please than to any consistent inferiority of the meals he experiences. He doesn't hate everything. Some things he positively enjoys, for example a woodcock presented in what he says is the traditional style "the head bisected and impaled on the breast by its long, thin beak". "It also tasted nice" he goes on to say "the delicate skull crunching beneath my teeth to release the soft brains". Having observed Mr Rayner's sardonic and scathing style as one of a trio of "celebrity" food critics on the BBC program "Masterchef: the Professionals", I suspect it's not just the brains of woodcocks he enjoys crushing. Fortunately his acerbic wit and humour deliver this book from being one you occasionally want to hurl across the room and it is, despite itself, an entertaining read. ( )

Being a person who enjoys a good meal, I definitely salivated over the descriptions of some of the dinners. I enjoyed the - at times acid - descriptions of chefs and restaurants.

BUT - I was terribly, terribly put off by the editing. For the first third of the book, all of the prices were given in dollars and pounds (but the format wasn't always the same). That stopped in the second third, and only pounds were used. The third third then resumed the double explanation. Early in the book, a footnote explained "as of November 2007." Well, just give the exchange rate and let the reader figure it out. Various misspelled/misused words and phrases (among others, "enthrall" which should have been "in thrall"). If I had been less interested in the book I wouldn't have finished it, just because of this. ( )

A solid read. He lost me when he went on his 3* Super Size Me but I really enjoyed the book overall. I liked his look into the cuisines of the different places and the challenges of looking for "Authentic" cuisine, whatever that means. It's also a nice look at places I'll never get to eat at. Some of the things that pass for "food" are somewhat frightening and I like how he wove his history into the story to shape his stories. And now I want to visit Dubai and Moscow even more.