Become large with food

Since I gave Amazon some love it seems appropriate to give Powell's love as well. I was checking out the review for Two for the Road, the new book from the Roadfood people, Jane and Michael Stern when I noticed a user review. All lovers of Powells should help Powells out by writing product reviews for the site.

I have to disagree with the reviewer here who claims that the Sterns are glorifying "bad" food. There are no "bad" foods, unless of course there is a medical reason to avoid certain things. The problem is unhealthy food, it is too many calories and not enough exercise. Eat what you want but watch the calories. The reviewer points to these people as an vegetarian alternative to the Sterns travel guide. It's not for me, but I must admit they have some great travel links. For example, here is a cool site devoted to the notion of building your tourism around bookstores, a bookgasm if you will.

I would recommend the Stern's book to anyone who likes their radio snippets on the Splendid Table. Each chapter tells the tale of some adventure in a tucked away corner of a state. There is usually some misadventure involved, some colorful local characters (who are often very friendly) and then some recipes. The book is philosophically aligned with William Least Heat Moon's Blue Highways. The Sterns like local and authentic, not nationalized and packaged. What is nice is that the local world that seemed to be disappearing in Blue Highways appears to be hanging on, at least in some places.