America the Edible: A Hungry History, From Sea to Dining Sea

by Adam Richman

The host of Travel Channel's most popular show explains how iconic American foods have captured our culinary imaginations―you won't look at a bagel the same way again! In America the Edible, Travel Channel host Adam Richman tackles the ins and outs of American cuisine, demonstrating his own unique brand of culinary anthropology. Believing that regional cuisine reveals far more than just our taste for chicken fried steak or 3-way chili, Richman explores the ethnic, economic, and cultural factors that shape the way we eat―and how food, in turn, reflects who we are as a nation. Richman uses his signature wit and casual charm to take youon a tour around the country,explaining such curiosities as why bagels are shaped like circles, why fried chicken is so popular in the South, and how some of the most iconic American food―hot dogs, fries, and soda―are not really American at all. Writing with passion, curiosity, and a desire to share his knowledge, he includes recipes, secret addresses for fun and tasty finds, and tips on how to eat like a local from coast to coast. Part travelogue, part fun fact book, part serious culinary journalism, Richman's America the Edible illuminates the food map in a way nobody has before.

Genres: Food, Nonfiction, Travel, Cookbooks, Foodie, History, Food and Drink

271 pages, Hardcover

First published October 30, 2010

Reviews

[Petra X · Rating 2 out of 5]

After reading the 10 star The Cooking Gene: A Journey Through African American Culinary History in the Old South by Michael W. Twitty, I was hoping for something serious - American history and anthropology tied to food culture. I wasn't expecting what seemed like one chatty blog post after the next. I thought maybe although it is very light on knowledge, nothing I couldn't get by a simple query on Google, maybe it would be good in its own way. But really it's all about the author, a frustrated actor, an ex-sushi chef whose mother makes a kosher chicken soup nothing like my own mother's except for the matza balls (not light and fluffy in my family, but heavy and they sink, and were known as German bombs).

The sexism is rampant and appalling. After a party he goes out for something to eat, a New York any-time-of-the-day diner breakfast accompanied by a woman he describes as a "hottie in a short silk dress and killer heels". He goes off her in the diner because she is British and pronounces 'Obama' in a way he doesn't like. He doesn't like her politics either and if it wasn't for the food he was waiting for, he would have left. As it is he hints that she was good enough for one night of sex.

That was just one example of his opinion of women.

So since there is nothing either entertaining or enlightening in the five chapters (half way) I've read so far, and I don't like either the author or his attitudes, I'm knocking this one on the head.

[Ryelor · Rating 2 out of 5]

One of my absolute favorite authors is Anthony Bourdain. The guy is a genius with the written word. He's sometimes crass, often funny, and molds words with the ease of a poet. And he talks about food. It's a win-win.

So, when I saw Adam Richman (from Man v. Food fame) had a book out, I was eager to read it. On the show he seems charismatic, funny, and there's no doubting his excitement about food. The book must be great, right?

Not quite ready to pay the $25.99 sticker price for the hardcover, I passed on the book--just like we regretfully sometimes pass on that last slice of pie fully knowing you'll be back. As luck would have it, I was at the dollar store and lo, "America the Edible" was available for a buck. Boo-yeah! I saved $25!

Finally having read the book, I can say I learned many things from "America the Edible." Here they are in no particular order:

1. I am not as cool as Adam Richman: Neither are you. Neither is anyone for that matter. In fact, I don't think even he is as cool as he thinks he is. Do you remember that kid in school (everybody had at least one) who would tell you stories about how cool he was? Like the time he drove his father's Corvette and he was only six? Or when the Globetrotters went to his house for his birthday party? And you thought, "Wait a minute, I went to his birthday party and he had a poster of the Globetrotters--they didn't actually go there." Well, Adam comes off as that guy.

The book starts out with him in Los Angeles waiting for a call from his agent. He makes sure to blast you in the face with a couple of hard yet awkwardly used cuss words, just so you can get the picture that he's "'da bad boy from Brooklyn," not the sweet, unassuming gentleman in M v. F. (Wouldn't want to get them confused.) He takes you through his morning workout: fifty push-ups, seven sun salutations, cobra stretch, fifty leg raises, a hundred crunches, twenty-five twisting crunches to either side... Hold on, did he just write "a hundred" crunches? I've seen his show and the vast quantity of deep fried foods he consumes, a hundred crunches seemed like a stretch. All that was missing from his yoga/workout were the Globetrotters.

2. Momma always said not to kiss and tell: An alternate title to this book could be, "America the Erotic: A Horny History, from Bed to Sleazy Bed." Adam spends about as much time describing his women partners as he does the food he eats. In fact, sometimes the line blurs between the two and women are described like food while food is described like sex. There were a couple of times I actually cringed while reading, specifically when he says he wants to "have sex with a lobster roll." The last thing I want when reading about food is to have a visual of a chubby dude doing it with a sandwich. Come on. The chapters are full of "chance encounters" and "hook ups" with breathtakingly beautiful young women who are soft on the eyes and drink like hardened sailors. Did Adam mention the Globetrotters were at his birthday party? Thank goodness he doesn't go into gory details about his adventures with the women, other than when they're eating together. He has some sort of fixation on feeding and being fed by these "scorching hot" women. By the time I was halfway through the book I was so tired of his manly conquests and "puppy love" moping after things didn't work out that I almost put the book down... but couldn't. (DARN MY OCD!)

3. The Adam Richman drinking game: I don't drink. Let me rephrase that. I don't drink alcohol. (I almost started while reading this book--not to follow all of his "stellar" drinking advice, but to wash the dry heaves and disgust from my mouth.) I did have a great idea for a drinking game, though. Every time Adam refers to food using a sexual-metaphor OR every time he describes a food with the verb "orgasmic," you take a drink. Believe me, by the time people hit the last page EVERYONE would be giving the book 5 1/2 stars and leave a gratuity on the bar. I'm sorry, but "orgasmic" is not my first choice of adjectives, especially when it comes to food.

4. Talking about adjectives: One of my favorite descriptions of the whole book was when Adam described the lobster he was eating as "lobstery." If that's all it takes to be a great food critic, then sign me up. "The beefy beef patty was a great counterpoint to the lettucy lettuce and tomatoes that were almost tomatoey. All in all, the hamburger was downright hamburgery." Adam's other favorite words are "nutty," "buttery," and "almost." Everything tasted nutty or buttery or almost nutty or almost buttery followed by the authors described groans of ecstasy. Gag.

To be fair, there were some things I liked. Adam embraces diversity, both with food and culture. I love that about him. He praises foreign food as much as he does American staples. There is no question this guy loves food and he loves the people, cities and cultures he shares his time with. The guy gets excited about things and I find his excitement admirable. It's nice to read a book that expounds upon the positives of something instead of focusing on the negative. (Yes, I see the irony of writing that at the end of my mostly negative review.)

All in all, if I were you, I'd skip this book. Read Anthony Bourdain if you want edgy food books. Save your $25.99! If you want the Adam Richman you see on TV, shun the book and keep watching Man v. Food reruns. Enjoy the spunky, sweet, teddy-bear Adam who dominates the screen and seems a little awkward and blushes when pretty girls are around. Best to keep him that way in your mind and heart. I'll still watch his program, but I know I will always see the womanizing, over-sexed, overly cool Adam Richman behind the innocent foody facade. And that makes me feel a little sad.

I want my dollar back.

[Rachel · Rating 2 out of 5]

I like the show Man Vs. Food, and I like Adam Richman on it, but I didn't particularly care for this book. There are two main problems: first of all, the prose is just too much. Richman's writing style is a strange mix of too conversational (there are only so many times you can write the word "awesome," and it's fewer times than you can get away with saying it) and overwrought. It gets pretty purple in places. The second problem is the sex, by which I mean that there are too many "I ate some food with a hot girl! Then we banged!" stories and that it's gross to say you want to have sex with food. Which Richman does. Repeatedly. As to the first thing, I don't know why the parts of the book about women he had sex with bothers me so much--I think it's partly because he describes women in the same drooling detail he does the food, and partly because one of the things I like about him on the show is that he seems a little shy around pretty girls. I guess that's an act, though.

One minor note: I know it's more expensive to publish a book with color pictures, but this book proves that if your only choice to print tiny black-and-white pictures of food, you should just skip the images altogether.

Basically, it's obvious from this book that Richman is very smart and has genuine enthusiasm for food, people, and travel, but he comes off a little skeevy when describing it.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you're a fan of Adam Richman from the Travel Channel's "Man vs Food," you may be expecting this book to be a bit of a companion piece to the hit show, full of stories about how Richman overcame various food challenges across the United States.

If so, "America the Edible" will probably disappoint you, as it did me at first.

If you take the time to read the introduction Richman includes in the book and realize what he's trying to do with the book--look inside the distinctive food of ten cities across the United States, you'll probably like what he has to offer here. In the introduction, Richman talks about keeping a food journal during his journey across our country. And in many ways, this book is a more structured journal, detailing some of his edible delights and the history behind them. Like "Man vs Food," the books shares the sensibility that food is about more than just eating--it's about the company, the experience and much more. Richman's book details various meals, delights and treats he's experienced as well as giving a bit of history of each city's regional food.

In the end, you'll feel like you've been on a food journey with a good friend. And that makes the book worth the ride.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I got this one from the library because I like watching Man vs. Food, and I kind of expected it to be more of the same. But it was more of a journal of Adam's experiences in several American cities, consisting mostly of eating and heartbreak. Seriously, I learned a lot about Adam Richman's love life reading this book. Ultimately, it was a nice, light bedtime read - Adam has a very friendly, accessible voice as a writer, and, of course, he's great at describing and recommending good eating experiences, but, while he gives Portland, OR a few nice shout-outs, I am not likely to visit LA, or San Fran, or Cleveland anytime soon, so I can't really use what he's writing.

[Ben Goodridge · Rating 4 out of 5]

No one was ever going to mistake Man V. Food for fine art. Apart from the ridiculous food challenges, like a pizza the size of a bus tire, the core of the show was a Brooklyn actor traveling the country seeking out the best in dude food. And one thing that rarely saw the light of day during the show was host Adam Richman's own relationship to food. It was, for the most part, some guy traveling the country eating hearty of the Travel Channel's dime. His enthusiasm for his subject made the show much better than it sounds, and he at least opened a bright and airy window into the sort of restaurants that might get short shrift in a genre generally given over to gourmet, but it wasn't big on biography.

This is where "America the Edible" sets the record straight. To some extent, yes, it's Man V. Food, The Book, but its strength is how Richman's descriptions of history and culture combine with his personal experiences in his career and his relationships to explain his relationship to food, and our own. It's about diners the day after a disastrous audition, bistros in cities where he's performing in a play, road trips in a rickety jeep through rural Hawaii, and hometown pride in Brooklyn's annual street fair.

[Cheryl · Rating 2 out of 5]

Maybe fans of the writer would like it more. But it's an awful lot about him, and not a whole lot about regional influences. Yes, it tries, but generally it tends to focus on just a couple of special restaurants in an area. Or special flavors - how many lobster rolls does one need to eat in Maine before deciding how one likes them? And where is the Asian district in OKC?

Read United Tastes of America: An Atlas of Food Facts & Recipes from Every State! for a more comprehensive, but still fun, history.

[Jennie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm a bit torn about my starring of this book. From a culinary anthropology perspective it is rather interesting - I really enjoyed the background and history that Richman provided for each of the 10 metropolitan areas that he visited. I felt like sometimes the food descriptions got to be a little too much, though as the reader I now want to visit those places to experience it myself - but it was hard to get too excited simply reading the words on paper. But the things that really annoyed me that I have to mention? 1. His over use of the word 'myriad' and the way he used it. Perhaps he really was grammatically correct (he better have been, or he needs a new editor) and I'm grammatically incorrect (also very likely), but it annoyed me. He never used the "of", so it was "the myriad restaurants" instead of "the myriad of restaurants". 2. In his chapter on Cleveland? There was no need to specifically call out Progressive for purchasing the naming rights to Jacob's Field. And in downtown Cleveland, we use the east/west as part of the street numbers. Contrary to Richman's belief, we don't go partying on "Sixth Street". We go partying on "W. 6th". Same for that ballpark on Carnegie and Ninth. No, sir, for someone who claims to have lived here, you would know that its Carnegie and E. 9th. 3. And my final rant, was it really necessary to provide the reader with how much ass he got? Did that *really* add to the value of the book?

[Alaina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Adam Richman is a likeable guy, particularly as a TV host. He is not the most advanced writer.

That being said, I loved reading about his food adventures. I now have many new places to add to my "to try" list when in the cities he wrote about. He visits a mixture of tried and true tourist destinations and hole in the wall hidden gems.

What I didn't like were the anecdotes, particularly those dealing with his travel partners - who were almost always women he was dating. I don't really care whether he scored in Savannah or nailed someone in Nashville, I want to know where he ate in those cities. I appreciate him adding color to the big picture, just felt too much attention was paid to secondary details.

[Keli Wright · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love books where people travel around and eat food. This one was a bit aimless like oh I am in this place where they have good food and I am eating it! But why ? And when? And what made you go there then? Also all the food he would eat in one day or sitting ...gross...also he had to explain what dive was and how lots of times they are good..again we get it..you said that last chapter ..and I felt like he was telling us about all the ladies just so we could know he gets the ladies...Like I care...

[Aubrey]

Man vs. Food, the book!!!! Yeah!

[Jethro Farrell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Loved Man vs Food, loved watching Adam go to restaurants and do the challengers. Unfortunately reading this book has proven harder to handle than a spicy wing challenge, the hottest wings on the planet, wings so hot they will not just slap you but slap your great ancestor, then sucker punch their neighbor, in the middle of winter during the great depression (Is you read the book you get my meaning). One paragraph took up the entire page into the next. One sentence ran on and on for the entire paragraph (not the page lone one). In short, this 270-page book is 50 pages of Topic, 230 pages elaborating on the subject, too many references you need to look up about local history, movies, TV, books, sports and more. And in the end of Man vs Book, even though I completed the book, Book won, I am still not sure if I zoned out reading sections of this book.

[Travis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Adam is the foodie that inspired me the most to become one as well. This was all through the show "Man V. Food" that aired back when I was an undergrad. He's more than a foodie though, he's also a great entertainer and is personality shines just as much in his writing as it does on TV. As much as I enjoyed the food details and advice in this book (I mean that's why I originally picked it up), I found that I was just as enamoured by all Adam's anecdotes. It's almost like an autobiography as well as a travel guide. I would have read this book much sooner, but I had not realized he wrote one. This book felt a little bit like an appetizer though as it left me craving for more at the end.
Doughboy_Food_Reviews

[Mark Nathan · Rating 1 out of 5]

The book starts out OK and Richmond isn’t exactly the best author. You admits this himself. Here, we get to find out about his escapades at different points in his life, where He’s eaten, his cavorting around with different women in different cities . the book does change a little bit as he gains fame and more women enter his life. So between gluttony and sexual escapades alluded to, this is about as far as the book gets. if you’re a fan of Richmond, great, if you want to learn about a guy eating his way through the US in random cities with random hook-ups that nobody really cares about - skip it.

[Brandon Cohick · Rating 2 out of 5]

In the simplest terms…this book is a love letter to Adam by Adam.

You’ll spend 40% of the book hearing stories about his love life the way that you would expect two 10th graders to tell while standing at their lockers in the morning.

You’ll spend 40% of the book learning where to get (and not get) a decent dish in a few States.

The remaining 20%, you’ll wonder how a guy could write such flowery and fluffy sentences littered with metaphors and assimilations to describe either a woman or a hot dog, only to turn around and say “Side bar…”

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

1. I'm a Chicago historian so my viewpoint is skewed, but it was really shocking to see the lack of discussion about Chicago food in this book. Every food book I've ever read has had some mention of the place that Chicago holds in food culture, so this was startling to read but probably in a good way. I do love that he gave non-typical foodie cities their due.

2. Adam, I do not want to hear about your love life unless I am in it.

[Nathan M. · Rating 1 out of 5]

There's an episode of Friends where Joey writes a recommendation letter to an adoption agency so that Monica and Chandler can hopefully adopt a child. In an effort to sound smart, since Joey absolutely is not smart, he uses a thesaurus on every word of his letter. This, of course, makes him sound extremely pretentious and ridiculous.

Adam Richman did the same thing when writing this book.

End review.

[Susan Witte · Rating 4 out of 5]

I bought this book having no idea who Adam Richman was, I believe I would have had more enjoyment if I were a fan. I found the book very beautifully written and engaging. When he would describe a place, you felt like you were there, when he described a food, you could almost taste it. I will be the first in line to buy anything that he pens in the future. Only 4 stars because the pictures weren't done justice in black and white, and some of the narratives just felt like a humblebrag.

[Seth · Rating 3 out of 5]

I very much enjoyed this book. I found it easy to read and gave a good look at some impressive dishes from the star of man vs food himself.

As one reviewer accurately described; Richman spends a bit too much time on his “ladies of the night”. It also seems like he semi ran out of steam towards the last chapter about Los Angeles, but I enjoyed this book.

[Christine · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was a fan of Adam when he hosted Man vs. Food and ive had this book in my Kindle for forever and never finished it. I decided to start over to finish it. It was a light read and made me very hungry every time I picked it up. Haha.

[Patrick Book · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty adorable! Learned a lot about Richman and more than I'd have expected about these cities.

[Danielle Laman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Personally dont have a lot to say, a culinary appetizer with a main of autobiography. Plus some of the restaurants mentioned sound delicious

[Lindsay · Rating 2 out of 5]

Honestly? I really wanted to love this book. I like Adam Richman as a tv host and I love his Travel Channel show Man v. Food, but sometimes a wonderful tv personality does not translate well into best-selling author/book. While Richman comes across as down-to-earth, funny, and likable on tv, the tone of his book made me feel like maybe he's just trying too hard.
For someone as well travelled, well educated, and widely experienced in the food industry as Richman, I expected to learn about more restaurants that are off the beaten path or gain more insight into American food culture. As it stands, the book is very light on cultural context and heavily based on personal experience with very little emphasis beyond the major cities of the U.S. Seriously, does anyone doubt that you can find some of the best food in the world in L.A. and New York? That New York has some of the most authentic international cuisine due to its varied and vast ethnic communities? Let's just say Richman isn't breaking any new ground here.
The book works best in the chapters that focus on places where you'd least expect... Hawaii, Cleveland, St. Louis. Richman does capture the idea that our strongest memories of food are often tied to our best (or sometimes worst) experiences with people and places and how the context of where/when/what we eat can make or break how we feel about certain meals.
Overall, this book has a lot of moments that can be classified as "food porn" but if you're looking for something with any kind of deeper meaning, you'd probably be best to look elsewhere. Disappointing.

[M.electro · Rating 4 out of 5]

I adore Adam Richman and find him a very likable guy. If anyone has seen his show "Man v. Food," expect his writing style to be very simila...moreI adore Adam Richman and find him a very likable guy. If anyone has seen his show "Man v. Food," expect his writing style to be very similar, except this time there is no "BLEEP."
I felt like it was more of a friend telling me stories than reading a book. Except that when it comes to his personal life, said friend leaves me hanging quite a few times. I did love his take on different cultures and liked the wide variety of topics through out the book. He goes into detail about location, how the location affects the food, and where to (and not to) stop by and eat. His lists were interesting and I enjoyed the little blurbs he threw in. The recipes were also interesting and fun.
One major issue I had was the title. "America the Edible" fits in perfectly but the "Why We Eat, What We Eat, Where We Eat" bothered me a bit. I completely understand where he's coming from because some of the spots he visits were recommended by locals and friends. But for the most part he seems to stumble upon them himself, and this is more of a map of what Adam Richman eats than the rest of us. (Some of these places I know I could never afford).
This is definitely one of those fun reads, and if you're a fan of this show, a fun peek into a fun guy's food style.

[Pedro Almeida · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love Man vs Food but Adam's book isn't quite as good as the show.

There are some nice parts to the book. I love the premise of travelling around eating great food and all the memories it can bring back. Some of the descriptions of what he ate are superb and they make me want to jump on a plane and drive around America recreating his steps.

However, there were some annoying parts. Sometimes the descriptions go too far and it feels like he is trying too hard to make me see, taste and smell the dish. Sometimes less is more and I feel this is certainly the case with some of the food he writes about.

There also seems to be a tad too much talk of his past relationships. I know that these help with why and when he is eating certain dishes but to be honest, I bought the book because of the food and his charisma, which I thought would work well in a book.

The book also seems to miss a trick. With all the great food he writes about, I am disappointed that all we get are little, black and white pictures to accompany the writing. Some of the pictures are so difficult to make out that it would have been better not putting any in at all. Here was an opportunity to have big, colour pictures to help his words whet my appetite even more but unfortunately this opportunity was missed.

Overall, this book is slap bang in the middle. It has a mixture of good and bad qualities but I'm glad I read it

[j o r y 👻🪩 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Before I go on reviewing this book, I just want to fully disclose something. And that something is I am in love with Adam Richman. I have been for quite some time now. His love of food, his pop culture quips, I love it all. I think he is one of the sexiest men, and I have no shame in admitting that. Sadly, my attraction to him DID NOT influcence me to love this book as much as I wanted to.

There were some excellent parts and he has a way with words, that's for sure, but I just couldn't get into him having one night stands in every chapter and then taking her on this epic food adventure. And it's essentially that EVERY chapter. I just don't want to hear about your sexual escapades to be honest. MOAR FOOD.

I did enjoy the book, however. The chapter about the lobster roll, entitled "The Loster Roll: Or Why I Want To Have Sex With One" or something along that lines, was quite stellar. He just went all across the Maine coast eating as many lobster rolls as her could. I would do something like that. And I loved it. It was without a doubt, THE BEST chapter in the book.

That being said, if you are a foodie, I do reccommend it for some light reading. It's got some interesting facts and restaurants that any foodie would love to go to.

[Ben Casper · Rating 3 out of 5]

i am a huge fan of adam richman, and his show, man vs food. my favorite parts of the series are not the competitive eating challanges, (which are great) but mr richmans exstensive knowlidge of culinary history and americana. when i saw that he was writing a whole book deticated to this as well as gustatory anecdotes, i was absolutely ecstatic. unfortunatly, adams creative ability ends at the tv camera. while many parts of the book were enjoyable, his food descriptions were luducrous. he used the word "orgasmic", which has no place outside cinemax, especially describing a good meal at a diner. he called lobster lobstery, and seemed proud of himself for using, reusing, and overusing the word "nutty", which was his only nuanced food adjective, used ad infinitum. the backround went on to long, was frequently off topic, and seemed to be written by a pedantic historian with bipolar disorder. a typical 20 page chapter consisted of 15 pages of historical rantings, and 5 pages of pg rated cavorting with "hotties" (his 2nd most used word after nutty) followed by bland descriptions of the food he ate. while the book has several fascinating factoids and redeaming factors, i would only reccomend it to true fans.

[Charlie Cox · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am absolutely in love with Man v Food! It's a lighthearted show that can cheer me up no matter what, so when I heard that the host Adam Richman had a book I was super stoked to read it!

America the Edible is quintessentially a food journal. It takes the form of a city by city guide of the best places to eat in some of America's best foodie cities such as Portland, San Francisco and New York City. Richman talks us through some of the great eateries and their even greater eats with such enthusiasm and fervour! The same enthusiasm that all us viewers love from Man v Food.

I specifically loved the way that with each plate of food we get his story behind the food. We hear about his life and the trials and tribulations that have come from his life and I think that is what food is all about. Food is as much about the great taste as it is about the great memories - you'd be hard pushed to remember the exact taste of food but you, more often than not, can remember the exact thing you were laughing about or the beautiful/handsome date across from you!

Overall, I really enjoyed this book! A definite read for any Richman fans out there.

[Gina · Rating 4 out of 5]

There really is more than meets the eye (or stomach) with Adam Richman, I love his show "Man Vs Food", but after reading his book, I discovered that he is a talented and clever man with a sensitive soul and of course a love of food. He has immense knowledge of the history of America and the origin of American food and culture, which is highly impressive.

The book goes full circle, starting with Adam in LA as a struggling actor looking for work and then ending back in LA as a successful TV host, with a vast array of wonderful stories inbetween, making you feel very hungry.

A very well written book, making you feel like you are there with Adam on his endless quests for awesome sushi, lobster roll and beautiful and intelligent women.

Hopefully Dan and I will take that American roadtrip (which we are always threatening about) at some point in our lives and we will defintely be including most if not all of the places Adam has recommended. I'm hungry now..............!

[Dan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This isn't a companion piece to "Man Vs Food". Each chapter is the story of a chapter of Adam Richman's life, a description of the city in which it was set, what he did while he was there, and (of course) what he ate. But my God, every story is about him either breaking up with, or charming the pants off, some girl. Sometimes, both happen to the same woman in the same chapter (and a lot of banana pudding is consumed when *that* happens).

But the overall effect is of being on a journey with a friend who's opening himself up to you. And maybe you don't approve of every action or decision, but you like your friends regardless. And his way of talking about food works just as well on paper as on screen.

And if nothing else, there's a chapter called "The Lobster Roll: Why I Want To Have Sex With One". That's got to be worth a few pounds of anyone's money.