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Driving Hungry: A Memoir
A delicious memoir that takes us from Buenos Aires to New York to Berlin as the author, driven by wanderlust and an unrelenting appetite, finds purpose, passion, and unexpected flavor.
After putting her dream of opening her own restaurant on hold, Layne Mosler moves to Buenos Aires to write about food. But she is also in search of that elusive something that could give shape to her life. One afternoon, fleeing a tango club following a terrible turn on the dance floor, she impulsively asks her taxista to take her to his favorite restaurant. Soon she is savoring one of the best steaks of her life and, in the weeks that follow, repeating the experiment with equally delectable results. So begins the gustatory adventure that becomes the basis for Mosler’s cult blog, Taxi Gourmet . It eventually takes her to New York City, where she continues her food quests, hailing cabs and striking up conversations from the back seat, until she meets a pair of extraordinary lady cab drivers who convince her to become a taxi driver herself. Between humbling (and hilarious) episodes behind the wheel, Mosler reads about the taxi drivers in Berlin, who allegedly know as much about Nietzsche as they do about sausage. Intrigued, she travels to the German capital, where she develops a passion for the city, its restlessness, its changing flavors, and a certain fellow cab driver who shares her love of the road.
With her vivid descriptions of places and people and food, Mosler has given us a beguiling book that speaks to the beauty of chance encounters and the pleasures of not always knowing your destination.
After putting her dream of opening her own restaurant on hold, Layne Mosler moves to Buenos Aires to write about food. But she is also in search of that elusive something that could give shape to her life. One afternoon, fleeing a tango club following a terrible turn on the dance floor, she impulsively asks her taxista to take her to his favorite restaurant. Soon she is savoring one of the best steaks of her life and, in the weeks that follow, repeating the experiment with equally delectable results. So begins the gustatory adventure that becomes the basis for Mosler’s cult blog, Taxi Gourmet . It eventually takes her to New York City, where she continues her food quests, hailing cabs and striking up conversations from the back seat, until she meets a pair of extraordinary lady cab drivers who convince her to become a taxi driver herself. Between humbling (and hilarious) episodes behind the wheel, Mosler reads about the taxi drivers in Berlin, who allegedly know as much about Nietzsche as they do about sausage. Intrigued, she travels to the German capital, where she develops a passion for the city, its restlessness, its changing flavors, and a certain fellow cab driver who shares her love of the road.
With her vivid descriptions of places and people and food, Mosler has given us a beguiling book that speaks to the beauty of chance encounters and the pleasures of not always knowing your destination.
320 pages, Hardcover
First published July 14, 2015
46 people are currently reading
2401 people want to read
About the author
Layne Mosler
4 books21 followersLayne Mosler is a writer living in Berlin. She has written for New York magazine, the Travel Channel's worldhum.com, NPR Berlin and numerous other venues.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 95 reviews
August 28, 2015
Meh. I get that she was restless and wanted to travel, and eat and live like a local. The Buenos Aires section of the story was great! I want to go there, and learn the tango, and eat steak and everything else... But then she went to New York, and it all went downhill faster than you can say "tourist trap" or "Burger King." I didn't like her friends. I didn't like the restaurants. I didn't like her decision to drive a taxi (which came out of left field). Then on to Berlin... which made even less sense. By the end of the story, I was eager to be done. I think the part I enjoyed most was reading her bio inside the back cover and seeing that she lives in Berlin - hooray, she's settled down!!
The verdict: yay Argentina, boo everything after that because it felt like a distracted wannabe "Eat, Pray, Love" or "Wild" but with better eats.
The verdict: yay Argentina, boo everything after that because it felt like a distracted wannabe "Eat, Pray, Love" or "Wild" but with better eats.
August 17, 2015
I can see why some people would be drawn to a book like this, however, in the same vein as Elizabeth Gilbert, I found Layne Mosler to be exactly the type of person I seek to avoid in life.
But hey, if you like erratic people with Peter Pan syndrome who look to crowd funding to fulfill their own agendas, then by all means, read this book and enjoy.
But hey, if you like erratic people with Peter Pan syndrome who look to crowd funding to fulfill their own agendas, then by all means, read this book and enjoy.
April 6, 2017
Driving Hungry is part travel memoir and part foodie experience, as Layne Mosler chronicles her adventures of finding good, cheap food by asking taxi drivers in Buenos Aires, New York City and Berlin.
I will admit that this is more of a travel adventure, with a few comments about food, but that was okay with me. I enjoyed seeing Argentina through Mosler's eyes, learning the tango and feeling romantically conflicted by her partner. I used to live in New York City, so I very much understood her challenges in getting cab drivers to open up. She eventually got her own hack license, and her experiences of being a New York City cab driver were both interesting and amusing. On the word of an essay she read, the author decided that Berlin was a city she needed to experience, and so we, the readers, also traveled there, experiencing a city that is in continual change.
Driving Hungry is a must read for anyone interested in travel and adventure!
I will admit that this is more of a travel adventure, with a few comments about food, but that was okay with me. I enjoyed seeing Argentina through Mosler's eyes, learning the tango and feeling romantically conflicted by her partner. I used to live in New York City, so I very much understood her challenges in getting cab drivers to open up. She eventually got her own hack license, and her experiences of being a New York City cab driver were both interesting and amusing. On the word of an essay she read, the author decided that Berlin was a city she needed to experience, and so we, the readers, also traveled there, experiencing a city that is in continual change.
Driving Hungry is a must read for anyone interested in travel and adventure!
February 1, 2023
I love this book. I wish she'd written more books but she teaches writing instead. With 50 pages left, I found her book read on utube and that felt like I'd met the author. This book was such great timing as a close family member was going to be travelling to Chili and Argentina. This eased my mind reading about her meeting people and finding food places as a solo woman. I couldn't really relate to the joy of tango in her chapter on Buenos Aires as I'm not a dancer at all. But the next two sections on driving taxi in New York and Berlin were very interesting. Her writing is wonderful, the people she met intriguing, and who doesn't get excited about multi cultural food!!!! A good January read.
May 6, 2021
Layne Mosler goes to live in Argentina, and, while she is there, she begins a search for good restaurants as suggested by taxi cab drivers. Soon she starts a blog that shares her adventures. Eventually, she moves to New York, and, later, Berlin, where she continues pursuing leads on good restaurants from taxi drivers.
I enjoyed following Mosler's adventures, and I was especially taken with her philosophical thoughts that link finding a good life and dancing the tango.
I enjoyed following Mosler's adventures, and I was especially taken with her philosophical thoughts that link finding a good life and dancing the tango.
July 4, 2015
This is a tough one to rate. There's a lot to like about Layne Mosler's memoir. She writes about her adventures in three cities, Buenos Aires, New York, and Berlin. The hook for the book is that she writes a popular blog about her habit of asking taxi drivers where they like to eat out, getting a recommendation about what to order, going there and trying it out, and writing about it. It's gimmicky but Mosler is a good writer and often she ends up writing (at least in the book, I haven't checked out the blog) about people she meets or events that happen.
Still, after reading about fifty pages I found myself skimming the rest of the section on Buenos Aires, then skimmed through the somewhat bleak section on becoming a taxi driver in New York. Then Mosler decided to spend six months in Berlin and the story turns from black and white to technicolor. The people in Mosler's Berlin are more fully drawn, you get a sharper picture of what she likes and doesn't like about the city. Once her visa expired and she returned to New York, it became bleak again. For me, the Berlin section was the entire book. And evidently, Berlin was It for Mosler as well, since she returned as soon as she qualified for a new visa.
Still, after reading about fifty pages I found myself skimming the rest of the section on Buenos Aires, then skimmed through the somewhat bleak section on becoming a taxi driver in New York. Then Mosler decided to spend six months in Berlin and the story turns from black and white to technicolor. The people in Mosler's Berlin are more fully drawn, you get a sharper picture of what she likes and doesn't like about the city. Once her visa expired and she returned to New York, it became bleak again. For me, the Berlin section was the entire book. And evidently, Berlin was It for Mosler as well, since she returned as soon as she qualified for a new visa.
August 15, 2015
Just couldn't finish this one - seemed shallow and self serving
March 19, 2025
Before reading, I took a look at the reviews and almost decided to forego the book altogether. Some said that parts of the book were so boring that they were near unreadable, while others criticized the author, saying she needed to grow up and be realistic. I am so happy that I didn’t take these reviews as gospel and gave the book a shot for myself.
This book is broken into 3 parts, starting in Buenos Aires, then moves to New York, and finally ends in Berlin (kind of). Mosler’s search for hidden gems of restaurants in these cities evolved throughout the book, starting with her as a rider exclusively, to ultimately becoming the driver herself. I loved how she described the people that she came into contact with, and felt like she had a deep appreciation for almost all of the food she came to enjoy throughout her journey.
Were there parts that were harder to get through than others? Absolutely. Ultimately, I think it’s because this book isn’t necessarily a food/travel memoir at its heart, but the story of someone who is finding themselves and where they belong, while also featuring travel and food along the way. Some parts are more uncomfortable and hard for the reader because they were uncomfortable and hard for Mosler. If anything, these portions made me root for her more, sometimes prompting me to say out loud, “There’s nothing here for you anymore, onto your next adventure!”
Overall, this wasn’t the best book I’ve ever read, but it was an enjoyable ride and I got great satisfaction from the end.
This book is broken into 3 parts, starting in Buenos Aires, then moves to New York, and finally ends in Berlin (kind of). Mosler’s search for hidden gems of restaurants in these cities evolved throughout the book, starting with her as a rider exclusively, to ultimately becoming the driver herself. I loved how she described the people that she came into contact with, and felt like she had a deep appreciation for almost all of the food she came to enjoy throughout her journey.
Were there parts that were harder to get through than others? Absolutely. Ultimately, I think it’s because this book isn’t necessarily a food/travel memoir at its heart, but the story of someone who is finding themselves and where they belong, while also featuring travel and food along the way. Some parts are more uncomfortable and hard for the reader because they were uncomfortable and hard for Mosler. If anything, these portions made me root for her more, sometimes prompting me to say out loud, “There’s nothing here for you anymore, onto your next adventure!”
Overall, this wasn’t the best book I’ve ever read, but it was an enjoyable ride and I got great satisfaction from the end.
December 21, 2015
Read this and other reviews at Ampersand Read.
This book is less about getting into taxi cabs and asking the driver to take the passenger to their favorite place to eat, and more about one woman’s search for who she is in three different foreign countries.
In Buenos Aires, we get a lot of Mosler desperately wanting to be great at tango dancing. More than just a hobby in Buenos Aires, our Mosley attempts to get to that effortless, sensual level that tango dancers who have been dancing for years achieve every night of the week. Unfortunately, she suffers heartbreak and setback after setback, having a brief flame with her tango teacher, and leaving several nights from the tango club in tears and blisters.
While I understand that being seen as the clumsy American who lacks the skill and history to ever be good at the tango, and to see every dancer in the place as better than you to be discouraging, I found some of Mosler’s complaints to border on the whiny. Being a tango prodigy takes time and effort over years, sometimes lifetime, and her frustrations and departure from Buenos Aires to find herself in some other way seemed flippant and childish.
The New York section was the darkest. In a city that is often portrayed as The Best City in The World, with so much going on at once, with so many people doing so many things, Mosler bottoms out. She rather inexplicably decides to drive a taxi in New York City (why? Whyyyy?). The stories of the passengers she carries, the overwhelming hardships she faces as a new taxi driver, and even details about how hard it is for even accomplished drivers to drive and own a piece of their business in the city, are fascinating and eye-opening. She has her typical impatient businessman screaming at her to somehow change gridlock traffic. In a particularly low point, she has to use a Starbucks cup to go to the bathroom because she doesn’t have the means (or the parking spot) to find a place outside of the car to do so.
While it was the saddest and darkest (not that the book ever really gets that dark) part of the story, I found the bit on New York to be one of the more interesting sections. I don’t read a lot about the down-on-your-luck New York. Or if I do, it is only so that fictional characters can triumph and Find Their Way in the city. Again, Mosler leaves New York rather defeated, and makes her way to Berlin.
Taking an instant liking to the city, Mosler paints Berlin in a decidedly more positive light. Or maybe it’s just so sparkly because New York sucked so much. She loves the streets, she loves the place she’s staying, she loves the food. And she loves the taxis!
In fact, she meets and falls for one of the drivers. For a few chapters, this book is all about their meet-cute (he takes her on a taxi adventure to eat a dish called Dead Grandma, of all things), their differing personalities, and how that throws some bumps in the road (pun sort of intended) for their relationship.
Berlin is undoubtedly Mosler’s favorite city (and continues to be, apparently – She married that driver and now lives in Berlin). But overall, the book left with me with the impression that flighty Mosler is hard to impress (maybe not food wise – she did try the Dead Grandma and liked it) and for me, hard to relate to. I do love to travel, but Mosler seemed to be constantly trying to find something and not succeeding, bringing the mood down in the process and making her seem whiny sometimes.
This book is less about getting into taxi cabs and asking the driver to take the passenger to their favorite place to eat, and more about one woman’s search for who she is in three different foreign countries.
In Buenos Aires, we get a lot of Mosler desperately wanting to be great at tango dancing. More than just a hobby in Buenos Aires, our Mosley attempts to get to that effortless, sensual level that tango dancers who have been dancing for years achieve every night of the week. Unfortunately, she suffers heartbreak and setback after setback, having a brief flame with her tango teacher, and leaving several nights from the tango club in tears and blisters.
While I understand that being seen as the clumsy American who lacks the skill and history to ever be good at the tango, and to see every dancer in the place as better than you to be discouraging, I found some of Mosler’s complaints to border on the whiny. Being a tango prodigy takes time and effort over years, sometimes lifetime, and her frustrations and departure from Buenos Aires to find herself in some other way seemed flippant and childish.
The New York section was the darkest. In a city that is often portrayed as The Best City in The World, with so much going on at once, with so many people doing so many things, Mosler bottoms out. She rather inexplicably decides to drive a taxi in New York City (why? Whyyyy?). The stories of the passengers she carries, the overwhelming hardships she faces as a new taxi driver, and even details about how hard it is for even accomplished drivers to drive and own a piece of their business in the city, are fascinating and eye-opening. She has her typical impatient businessman screaming at her to somehow change gridlock traffic. In a particularly low point, she has to use a Starbucks cup to go to the bathroom because she doesn’t have the means (or the parking spot) to find a place outside of the car to do so.
While it was the saddest and darkest (not that the book ever really gets that dark) part of the story, I found the bit on New York to be one of the more interesting sections. I don’t read a lot about the down-on-your-luck New York. Or if I do, it is only so that fictional characters can triumph and Find Their Way in the city. Again, Mosler leaves New York rather defeated, and makes her way to Berlin.
Taking an instant liking to the city, Mosler paints Berlin in a decidedly more positive light. Or maybe it’s just so sparkly because New York sucked so much. She loves the streets, she loves the place she’s staying, she loves the food. And she loves the taxis!
In fact, she meets and falls for one of the drivers. For a few chapters, this book is all about their meet-cute (he takes her on a taxi adventure to eat a dish called Dead Grandma, of all things), their differing personalities, and how that throws some bumps in the road (pun sort of intended) for their relationship.
Berlin is undoubtedly Mosler’s favorite city (and continues to be, apparently – She married that driver and now lives in Berlin). But overall, the book left with me with the impression that flighty Mosler is hard to impress (maybe not food wise – she did try the Dead Grandma and liked it) and for me, hard to relate to. I do love to travel, but Mosler seemed to be constantly trying to find something and not succeeding, bringing the mood down in the process and making her seem whiny sometimes.
August 18, 2016
If this were fiction I would have said, "What a great idea for a book." Instead I can't help but think, "What a great idea for a life!" This isn't as polished as a novel, but it's well-written and interesting. What I particularly liked was that the author didn't present her story as some kind of spiritual awakening. It was just her life. What inspired me was her openness to listening to her heart and her willingness to do whatever it told her.
She has a knack for capturing the atmosphere of a city as well as for describing food and people. I was a little disappointed by the end until I realized that, because a life is always a work in progress, there is no such thing as a pat ending.
She has a knack for capturing the atmosphere of a city as well as for describing food and people. I was a little disappointed by the end until I realized that, because a life is always a work in progress, there is no such thing as a pat ending.
July 30, 2015
Quick memoir about a 30-something free spirit who's a bit of a nomad. While living in Buenos Aires she comes up with an idea to ask taxi drivers to take her to their favorite place to eat. And thus a blog and a book were born. She goes from Argentina, to New York, to Berlin using the same formula and tries a myriad of foods she never would have otherwise. She even gets a hack license and drives a taxi in NYC for a bit. I love her bravery. Great, descriptive writing too. Her food descriptions made my mouth water!
August 2, 2015
How unlikely would it be for an American "foodie," who writes a blog "Taxi Gourmet," to meet and marry a German cab driver in Berlin who has his own blog "Autofiktion?" Great story, right?
After Layne begins dancing Tango in Buenos Aires, she asks Taxistas to drive her to their favorite restaurant and listens to their take on Argentine politics and culture. In New York, she takes a bite out of the Big Apple by getting a hack license to drive a cab. And in Berlin, she meets up with Rumen, who knows as much about Nietzsche as he does about sausage, and well, you know the rest. A fun ride~
After Layne begins dancing Tango in Buenos Aires, she asks Taxistas to drive her to their favorite restaurant and listens to their take on Argentine politics and culture. In New York, she takes a bite out of the Big Apple by getting a hack license to drive a cab. And in Berlin, she meets up with Rumen, who knows as much about Nietzsche as he does about sausage, and well, you know the rest. A fun ride~
October 30, 2015
I devoured (right?) this delightful story of Layne's eating and taxi-driving and -riding adventures in Buenos Aires, New York City, and Berlin. In the process, I discovered Layne's (Taxi Gourmet) and Becca's (Eating Berlin: From A to Z)Berlin blogs, which I have really been enjoying. I want to go to Berlin! And eat!
December 3, 2015
Different cities, cultures, lots on FOOD combined with personal encounters. So much love for this book!
April 26, 2024
There were precisely two good things about this book:
1. The descriptions of Buenos Aires and Berlin. I HATED the NYC section.
2. The potential restaurant recommendations in Buenos Aires, if they even exist anymore.
All other portions of this book were ruined by the main character, the author since this was a memoir. She was insufferable. I have never read about any real-life adult having less of a plan than Layne. She also picks up things and drops them shortly after. Tango? Tried, failed, dropped. (Also, small complaint, but who on earth shows up to any dance class, let alone a class in tango, in flip flops?) Taxi driving? Tried, failed, dropped... picked up slightly again, and then dropped again. Instead of the "wandering soul" that I think Layne wanted to come across, she instead came across as a confused, petulant child who's "woe is me" story permeated the entire book until the ending.
In fact, that is what I hated so much about the NYC section. That entire portion of the book was devoted to Layne talking about how she couldn't afford anything, how her tele-remote job was ridiculous, how taxi drivers weren't nice, how she got lost, how her taxi PASSENGERS weren't nice... not that I had any sympathy for her before, but I definitely didn't have any sympathy for her after. If she was someone I knew, I would tell her to get her life together. I also didn't appreciate the fact that she crowd funded for her trip to Germany. If you want to make food blogging into a career and travel the world that way, then you need to work to make that happen rather than have other people pay your way for you. I also found her choice to become a taxi driver just mind-boggling. Why choose to pay for training and begin in an oversaturated, very unstable job when you literally can't afford to put food on the table?
Unfortunately this book was less about food and travel and more about whining, complaining, and unrealistic expectations of the author that causes her to quit if she isn't an instant success.
1. The descriptions of Buenos Aires and Berlin. I HATED the NYC section.
2. The potential restaurant recommendations in Buenos Aires, if they even exist anymore.
All other portions of this book were ruined by the main character, the author since this was a memoir. She was insufferable. I have never read about any real-life adult having less of a plan than Layne. She also picks up things and drops them shortly after. Tango? Tried, failed, dropped. (Also, small complaint, but who on earth shows up to any dance class, let alone a class in tango, in flip flops?) Taxi driving? Tried, failed, dropped... picked up slightly again, and then dropped again. Instead of the "wandering soul" that I think Layne wanted to come across, she instead came across as a confused, petulant child who's "woe is me" story permeated the entire book until the ending.
In fact, that is what I hated so much about the NYC section. That entire portion of the book was devoted to Layne talking about how she couldn't afford anything, how her tele-remote job was ridiculous, how taxi drivers weren't nice, how she got lost, how her taxi PASSENGERS weren't nice... not that I had any sympathy for her before, but I definitely didn't have any sympathy for her after. If she was someone I knew, I would tell her to get her life together. I also didn't appreciate the fact that she crowd funded for her trip to Germany. If you want to make food blogging into a career and travel the world that way, then you need to work to make that happen rather than have other people pay your way for you. I also found her choice to become a taxi driver just mind-boggling. Why choose to pay for training and begin in an oversaturated, very unstable job when you literally can't afford to put food on the table?
Unfortunately this book was less about food and travel and more about whining, complaining, and unrealistic expectations of the author that causes her to quit if she isn't an instant success.
August 2, 2021
Figuring that she wants to someday own a restaurant, Layne Mosler drops out of college to work in a San Francisco kitchen. But she doesn’t like cooking as much as she thought she would, so she decides to become a food critic instead, traveling to Buenos Aires on a whim. There, she falls in love with tango, which consumes her as much as each previous infatuation. As she bounces from job to job, and country to country, trying to find herself, Mosler writes in mouth-watering fashion about the savory delights she discovers along the way.
Driving Hungry is emblematic of the “finding oneself” memoir, except this one sprawls across the flattened topography of the 21st Century world. Mosler recognizes her own impetuous nature and tries to harness instead of suppress her impulses. As she writes, “I began to search for a new vocation, jumping from job to job, from lease to lease, moving back and forth across the Bay, growing more restless and more jaded each time a novel scenario became reduced to a routine. …Everybody’s serious but me, I thought. But I believed choosing one path meant eliminating too many others. I didn’t want to ‘make a living.’ I wanted to live everything. Taste everything, go everywhere I could.”
Driving Hungry is emblematic of the “finding oneself” memoir, except this one sprawls across the flattened topography of the 21st Century world. Mosler recognizes her own impetuous nature and tries to harness instead of suppress her impulses. As she writes, “I began to search for a new vocation, jumping from job to job, from lease to lease, moving back and forth across the Bay, growing more restless and more jaded each time a novel scenario became reduced to a routine. …Everybody’s serious but me, I thought. But I believed choosing one path meant eliminating too many others. I didn’t want to ‘make a living.’ I wanted to live everything. Taste everything, go everywhere I could.”
July 27, 2024
Gdybym miał porównać "Podróż w trzech smakach" do wizyty w polecanej restauracji, to w pierwszej kolejności wspomniałbym o znakomitej przystawce, która rozbudziła apetyt na więcej. Potem niestety musiałbym z pewnym rozczarowaniem w głosie opowiedzieć o średnim daniu głównym, by zakończyć kilkoma ciepłymi słowami o deserze. To opowieść nierówna, którą - co trzeba jednak oddać - autorka opowiada ciekawie i zgrabnie. Sęk w tym, że jedynie część poświęcona Buenos Aires zaspokaja apetyt w kwestii podróży w różnych smakach, przybliżając z interesującej perspektywy kulturę, pasję i kuchnię regionu. Kiedy opuszczamy Argentynę, zaczynamy oddalać się od kulinariów i jakby tego pierwotnego, tytułowego założenia książki, by wrócić do niego jedynie częściowo w rozdziale o Berlinie. O ile więc czytało się całość nieźle, to opowieść pozostawiła mnie z pewnym niedosytem, skręcając mocno w stronę obyczajowości, by nie powiedzieć nawet, że romansu. Ale oddaję Layne Mosler, że zachęciła do poznania Buenos Aires i Berlina i za to jej bardzo dziękuję.
August 27, 2019
This one popped up in the “recommended reads” in the library ebook app. It turned out to be a really good read. For a non-fiction book it read almost like a fiction book at times. There were parts of the story that seemed impossible and there were parts that I feel many people have felt. The desire to find where you fit the world. The desire to find the people that fit in your world. To find the intersections of interests and attraction. To explore and learn about the world through culture, food and conversation.
This book hit home for me and I would love to try so many of the place that were documented in the book. The idea of asking a taxi (or now Uber) driver for a restaurant recommendation sounds like such a great idea. They always know a “spot around the corner”. If you’re a foodie or have an interest in learning about people, places and cultures this book will likely speak to you. I hope you enjoy it.
This book hit home for me and I would love to try so many of the place that were documented in the book. The idea of asking a taxi (or now Uber) driver for a restaurant recommendation sounds like such a great idea. They always know a “spot around the corner”. If you’re a foodie or have an interest in learning about people, places and cultures this book will likely speak to you. I hope you enjoy it.
August 4, 2017
3.5 stars
I didn't think Mosler was an excellent writer but you have to admire her wanderlust, openness, and passion for food and for people! She is certainly a solid writer though - and draws you in! I loved hearing about her experiences, good and bad, in Argentina, New York City, and Berlin. Even though she seems like a very different person than me, I loved hearing about her experiences - especially the food. I'd like to make a whole list of all the restaurants she tried, although hopefully someone has already posted one online. And I had never thought much about Buenos Aires or Berlin before and they sound great! In different ways.
I'm happy to read a bit of non-fiction, travel books written as a story are always fun!
I didn't think Mosler was an excellent writer but you have to admire her wanderlust, openness, and passion for food and for people! She is certainly a solid writer though - and draws you in! I loved hearing about her experiences, good and bad, in Argentina, New York City, and Berlin. Even though she seems like a very different person than me, I loved hearing about her experiences - especially the food. I'd like to make a whole list of all the restaurants she tried, although hopefully someone has already posted one online. And I had never thought much about Buenos Aires or Berlin before and they sound great! In different ways.
I'm happy to read a bit of non-fiction, travel books written as a story are always fun!
November 4, 2019
I really enjoyed this! It was a fun way to get to know more about Buenos Aires and Berlin, two cities I've never been to. I enjoyed the NYC parts too. Having lived there, I was able to recognize some of the restaurants and areas she mentioned and it was valuable to learn about what taxi drivers go through to survive and make a living. I think the fact that the author drove a taxi made this whole thing more believable and feel like a two-way street with taxi drivers rather than something one-sided and self-serving.
February 22, 2025
I throughly enjoyed this book. I picked it up because I’m a sucker for food-travel memoirs, and I studied abroad in Buenos Aires. So, yeah, it was inevitable that I read it. I was surprised by her rapturous response to the city’s endless steaks, but fully tracked her enthusiasm for the perfect specimen that is an Argentine empanada. As she ventured to New York and Berlin, I appreciated her astute but not overwrought depiction of life in these three very different cities. And the love story at the end? It got me.
April 12, 2025
4.5, there are a couple of scenes that felt unnecessary, but considering is a memoir they makes sense.
I had a hard time coming up with this reciew. Its a good book, an interesting story and is well written.
I think that it can affect every single perso different, if you never travel, if you travel in backpacking style, if its always for work, family style. If you missed out on things when you were young, if you did way to many things when you were young.
As a woman it gave me a lot of anxiety thinking of her getting on taxis and not knowing where they were taking her, but the adventures, the people, conversations, those bring wonderful personal memories to mind.
Like a memoir, it might take you down to your own memory lane. It could also open your eyes, to go out, experience and create new memories for yourself... and maybe others.
Dont read too much into the reviews about the Peter Pan syndrome, we all have been lost at one point of our lives, some earlier than others, but there is nothing wrong with looking for adventure, at any age in your life.
I had a hard time coming up with this reciew. Its a good book, an interesting story and is well written.
I think that it can affect every single perso different, if you never travel, if you travel in backpacking style, if its always for work, family style. If you missed out on things when you were young, if you did way to many things when you were young.
As a woman it gave me a lot of anxiety thinking of her getting on taxis and not knowing where they were taking her, but the adventures, the people, conversations, those bring wonderful personal memories to mind.
Like a memoir, it might take you down to your own memory lane. It could also open your eyes, to go out, experience and create new memories for yourself... and maybe others.
Dont read too much into the reviews about the Peter Pan syndrome, we all have been lost at one point of our lives, some earlier than others, but there is nothing wrong with looking for adventure, at any age in your life.
August 7, 2021
This was a great food memoir for someone who really appreciates all kinds of food, a true foodie. I particularly liked how she divided the book into places: Buenos Aires, NYC, Berlin and again, NYC. I felt like I was with her during the journey and every morsel. I loved her descriptions and imagery, very well written. A quick, fun and enjoyable read. Was able to read this in a day.
Recommended for any foodie and found this at my library.
Recommended for any foodie and found this at my library.
June 22, 2018
This book is a book after my own foodie soul! You're not just given a taste you're given a buffet! Plus a real encounter of life as some of us will never see! I highly recommend this as a fun book for a long plane ride (I read mine on my vaca in Mexico) because it's entertaining and captivating in so many ways. But don't read on an empty stomach!!!
April 14, 2021
Having had lived in Buenos Aires and eating my way through too short of visits to NYC and Berlin, this book tugged at my heart strings and the desire to return. I truly feel you can't get a great feel of city until you sit down and eat local food. I appreciate the author's sense of adventure and bravery to go against the grain and follow her heart.
May 23, 2017
I like memoirs. I like food. I didn't really like this. She mentions food a lot and talks about her blog etc. but she doesn't really talk about food--it's much more the driving which just isn't that interesting. And neither was her personal angst about it.
September 17, 2017
It is rare when I pick up a book with zero expectations. I don't even recall when or where I purchased "Driving Hungry" but so glad I did - loved it from start to finish! And now I want to be a lebenskünstler. Lovely read.
February 19, 2018
My review could be titled "Reading Hungry" because that's Mosler's descriptions of food were mouthwatering! I enjoyed her Taxi Gourmet adventures and wish there had been more of them and less tango and failed romance.
May 23, 2018
Buenos Aires nostalgia (food! tango! taxis!) kept me going through the first third, but could not sustain me through the rest of this book. I ended up stopping somewhere in the second part. This was a little more Eat, Pray, Love than I was hoping for.
March 15, 2019
I enjoyed hearing her love of Berlin, a city I've never visited, made me want to go there. The whole turning a blog into a book is a little weak, as well as her premise of dining based on taxi driver's recommendations - but still, I liked her love of travel, interesting food, and her gumption.
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