Lair of the Ice Demoness

I borrowed this book from the library because I had been interested in reading it for a few years. This book has been out for almost eight years and I did not happen to get the updated edition. I have that requested from the library but it's fairly popular. This book is mostly an autobiography of Anthony Bourdain's life to date with some interesting bits thrown in from a Manhattan chef's perspective. Tips like never order fish on Sunday (it's been sitting in the cooler since Tuesday), never order mussels (their too easy to prepare poorly or unhealthily) and never order well done beef (the worst cuts/quality meat is used for well done). I did find other aspects of this fascinating. The culture of the kitchen that he works in is very macho and is an extreme example of male culture that is naturally (and possibly intentionally) designed at excluding females. Yes, a few females do work in these kitchens but they have to act like the men and wouldn't be the ones calling HR for sexual harassment when pornographic pictures of naked women are posted on their workstations. As a female working in an area largely still populated with men, I found this extreme perspective enlightening. As a writer, Anthony Bourdain chose an interesting order for things in his book. He throws in an explanatory chapter of some of the terms he's used throughout the book near the end as well as a look at another chef's kitchen atmosphere in rather marked contrast to his own. Overall Anthony Bourdain is a good writer and I enjoyed the book. I've taken A Cook's Tour out of the library to see what it's like.