Bought this book on a NYT rec. Nothing particularly wrong--or right--with it. The food memoir field is a crowded one, I reckon, so the competition is fierce. ( )

Poor Man’s Feast: A Love Story of Comfort, Desire, and the Art of Simple Cooking by Elissa Altman
288 pages

★★★

This is the memoir of Elissa Altman, the blogger for poormansfeast.com. I’ve never actually gone to the website. I grabbed this book from the library because the title look interesting, not because I like the blog of have a great obsession for food (regardless of what my chunky figure says). Her book circles mostly around her relationships – with her parents, with her girlfriend, with food. Most chapters end with a recipe on one of the food items mentioned in that chapter that often holds meaning to the author.

This wasn’t a bad book but I really had trouble relating to the author. She seemed fairly bitter in parts, to the point of distraction, where I just wanted to tell her to hush and suck it up. However, other times in the book I loved how she handled situations and especially loved the relationship she shared with her Dad – I looked forwards to the stories about her dad. And don’t get me started on the part where her girlfriend and she are too poor to get gas in their car but can afford a trip to Italy. I must me doing this whole poor person thing wrong because I have no idea how to afford food, let alone a trip to Italy. I kept going back and forth between being annoyed by the book and enjoying in immensely, hence the inbetween rating.

As for the recipes in this book, some are worth a try for me, being within my budget one day. Others are far too exquisite and highly priced for the average cooker out there. But if you can afford meats that cost $30 a pound and seasonings that can cost more than a car payment, then maybe these recipes are more up your alley. But there are some recipes for those that are looking for a cheap, easy dinner, some are even too easy (if you have trouble making a tomato sandwich and need the recipe, you’ve found the right book!).
( )