Spain...A Culinary Road Trip
by Gwyneth Paltrow, Mario Batali
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Book Reviews of Spain...A Culinary Road Trip
Book Review: Not bad but lacking in substance
Summary: 3 Stars
I mostly enjoyed this book but the anticipation of it was a bit better than the actual thing. The idea of documenting a road trip where the focus is on the food encountered is a good idea but I found there was a bit too much fluffy padding and not enough about the food. I always liked Mario Batali's cooking shows and, if Gwynneth Paltrow was my dinner companion, I could probably enjoy a bowlful of cold-gravel with relish... still, the celebrity angle is not enough to make a mediocre book great. There are some nice pictures of the places visited and some decent pretty recipes but there is too much repetition, with lists of what was eaten in one place are often being not much different than what was eaten elsewhere. I also have to say that devoting a whole page to such topics as the favorite candy bar, or the preferred way of taking coffee, of the four people on the road-trip did not engage my interest all that much. Finally, rather than a picture of a castle or a Spanish shopping mall I would rather see lots of pictures of restaurants featured, and, instead of pictures of the celebrities mugging for the camera I would much preferred to have seen illustrations of the dishes they ate... there was a surprising dearth of these, in my mind.Book Review: Celebrity Spanish Travelogue
Summary: 3 Stars
"Spain-A Culinary Road Trip" would be best described as "Jamon,Jamon (Ham,Ham)" like the Pedro Almodovar movie. There are plenty of hams on this journey--between Italian divo Mario Batali and actress/mother/wife of Coldplay's front man Gwyneth Paltrow. "Spain" is more of a scrapbook than a cookbook. There are plenty of gorgeous sights--from the Costa Brava and Gibraltar to Frank Gehry's modernist Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao. It is a feast for the eyes. As medieval pilgrims journeyed to Santiago de Compostela,so does the quartet- Paltrow,Batali,as well as New York Times food writer Mark Bittman and Spanish actress Claudia Bassols-make a pilgrimage through Spain.
"A Culinary Road Trip" does have some recipes. It's classified according to region. There's Valencia Paella,as well as Paltrow's own take on clams (isn't she a spokeswoman for PETA? Aren't she&Chris Martin vegans? Nevermind) They get to see the Alhambra,go to Toledo,Madrid, and Barcelona. Their journey to the Basque region is somewhat disappointing--considering its uniqueness in Europe.
"Spain" is a feast for the eyes,but not so much for the kitchen. It's a standard celebrity coffee table book. Not all who wander are lost...
Book Review: Fantastic Book about Traveling and Eating in Spain
Summary: 5 Stars
A lot of time and energy went into this book with beautiful pictures and remarkably fun dialogue and stories. If you've already visited Spain, this book will make you want to go back. If you haven't been there yet, I'm sure you'll want to put Spain at the top of your list. Part of the fun is the teasing and laughing between the characters, Mark, Mario, Gwyneth and Claudia. It is obvious that they had the time of their lives over there and all of this fun and enjoyment of food translate very well into the book.
If Mario says it's the best place in the world for food, that's saying a lot. I've noticed that Mark, the minimalist on the NY Times has translated his experience into some of his current column.
Pick this book up to read about the culinary world of Spain or give it as a nice gift for Christmas or in lieu of a bottle of wine next time you're invited to a party.
Book Review: Celebrities go adventuring in Spain
Summary: 2 Stars
Mario Batali has several excellent cookbooks he was written. Spain has a delightful and unique cuisine. This book fails to combine the two. I think this book makes an ok coffee table book at best. Many beautiful pictures of pain, food ingredients, scenery, and photos of the author is what the book is mostly comprised of. This book is thin on recipes, and recipes are simple. One recipe for serving pineapple was chopped pineapple, zest of a lime, and 2 tablespoons of molassas. To me, that is a preparation, and not a real recipe.
So if you are looking for a coffee table book and you like Mario Batali, this may be a good choice for you. Beautiful pictures, and tid bits about Spain make this book interesting. If you are looking for definitive recipes of Spain, you need to look elsewhere, this book is extremely thin on recipes.
Book Review: Seems a little fishy
Summary: 3 Stars
I spent a few weeks in Spain in the mid 90's and enjoyed it immensely. I also enjoyed the "on the road" show on PBS as it made me remember parts of my Spanish trip.
This book is a very good representation of the show.
And while they ate a lot of seafood on the show, and you tend to eat alot of seafood when you're in certain spots in Spain -- there's also a lot of fish in this book. Almost too much.
Some of the recipes are interesting, but not much that you could or would want to pull off in your own kitchen.
It's a good book about the quartet's Spanish adventure (I'm not sure why Mark and Claudia were not also brought in as co-writers) -- but if you're looking for a Espana cookbook, there are better options.