Barolo (Hardcover) (ISBN-13: 9780803226746)

After a childhood of microwaved meat and saturated fat, Matthew Gavin Frank got serious about food. His "research" ultimately led him to Barolo, Italy (pop. 646), where, living out of a tent in the garden of a local farmhouse, he resolved to learn about Italian food from the ground up. Barolo is Frank's account of those six months. At once an intimate travelogue and a memoir of a culinary education, the book details the adventures of a not-so-innocent abroad in Barolo, a region known for its food and wine (also called Barolo). Upon arrival, Frank began picking wine grapes for famed vintner Luciano Sandrone. He tells how, between lessons in the art of the grape harvest, he discovered, explored, and savored the gustatory riches of Piemontese Italy. Along the way we meet the region's families and the many eccentric vintners, butchers, bakers, and restaurateurs who call Barolo home. Rich with details of real Italian small-town life, local foodstuffs, strange markets, and a circuslike atmosphere, Frank's story also offers a wealth of historical and culinary information, moments of flamboyance, and musings on foreign travel (and its many alien seductions), all filtered through food and wine.

Author: Matthew Gavin Frank
ISBN-10: 0803226748
ISBN-13: 9780803226746
Publisher: University of Nebraska Press
Language: English
Published: 04/01/2010
Pages: 246
Format: Hardcover
Weight: 0.98lbs
Size: 8.70h x 6.38w x 0.89d

Review Citation(s):
Booklist 04/15/2010 pg. 14