Blood, Bones & Butter by Gabrielle Hamilton

In case the title doesn't give it away, BB&B is pretty much the opposite of J.S.Foer's "Eating Animals." The author eats a lot of animals in this book. She also eats a lot of vegetables and fruits, egg sandwiches from her local bodega, and homemade orecchiette from her mother-in-law's house in Puglia. At the expense of outing myself as a lazy, irresponsible eater: I liked this book a lot better than "Eating Animals."

Actually, it's probably unfair of me to compare the two since BB&B is strictly a memoir, not a book that tells us how we should eat and why. Lucky for the reader, the author's life is just as interesting as the food she eats and cooks. Surprise: she has messed-up relationships with her family and lovers! Anyway, if you like books about food and living in New York, I definitely recommend this book. Hamilton is like a female Bourdain, minus his sometimes-gratuitous vulgarity and bravado (and I love Bourdain).

I tried going to her restaurant (Prune) on Sunday, but there was a two hour wait for a table for two. I had a $6 lamb pie and some roasted brussels sprouts from the Tuck Shop next door instead. It was pretty great.