The Providence and Rhode Island Cookbook: Big Recipes from the Smallest State Review

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(More customer reviews)Being a native Rhode Islander transplanted to New York I found myself missing the old RI grub. I longed for "tree all da way" and Palmieri's Pizza Strips and a cold Del's, but to no avail. Nothing here compares to a weiner from Olneyville.
Are these recipes exact duplicates? Not quite, but close enough to take the edge off the homesickness. I highly recommend this book to any lost Rhode Islanders longing for home-even just a taste of it. Just the names conjure up memories of Providence and the ocean--Silver Lake Pizza, Coffee Milk, Lemon Squares and Zeppoles, Rhode Island Clear Chowda or Buddy Cianci's Marinara Sauce.
Now--if I could just figure out how to make Allie's Doughnuts.....


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Diners, Drive-ins and Dives: An All-American Road Trip . . . with Recipes (Food Network) Review

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(More customer reviews)I really wanted to LOVE this book, I really did. I'm such a huge fan of Guy Fieri's "Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives" television show, and I've been hoping he'd come out with a cookbook containing recipes featured on his shows.
I'm a sucker for great road food, and often go out of my way to try a "hole in the wall" diner. Guy has traveled the US highlighting exactly the kinds of places I love to visit. His show on Food Network is loads of fun. No one can describe food like Guy, with his blend of humor and killer adjectives.
The humor doesn't translate all that well in print, and the jokes just aren't that funny. But I didn't get this book for the jokes -- I got it for the recipes.
The recipes that are included are OK -- but if you're a fan of the show, don't expect to find very many of the dishes Guy spotlighted. There are a few (the Cap'n Crunch French Toast from the Blue Moon Cafe in Baltimore, for example), but the bulk of the recipes are "new."
It was more than a little frustrating to read about the wonderful dishes in Guy's descriptions of the restaurant, only to find few recipes for any of them. While each establishment is represented by a recipe, almost none of the recipes are described in the narrative.
For example, Baby Blues Bar-B-Q in Venice, CA -- Guy waxes rhapsodic over the "killer mac and cheese made from four cheeses" and "grilled corn with chipotle-poblano butter and cotijo cheese sprinked on top." The featured recipe: sautéed okra. Huh?
That's not to say these are not GOOD recipes -- in fact, most of them look pretty darned tasty. And if your expectations don't include recipes for dishes featured on the show, these will be just fine.
As a travelogue, it's probably OK, too. And maybe that was its intended purpose, rather than a "cookbook." Or maybe it can't really decide what it wants to be.
But if you're like me, you might be a little disappointed that the dishes included in the book are NOT the ones that made your mouth water when you watched the show OR read about them here.

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