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Food as:

- a business
- an artform
- an intellectual interest
- a link to the soil
- a tenuous and evocative link to the past

plus:

- recipes (of a sort, since recipes are for home cooks, we learn) for linguine with clams, the tuscan version of beef bourginion, and more
- mario batali is a foul-mouthed drunk who loves the ladies
- restaurant kitchens are no place for the myth and mystery of food (e.g., the $29 bowl of "peasant" soup made from scraps); dried pasta served at high-end italian restaurants

buford is a fine writer, and his intellectual curiosity about food -- the ingredients, the history, the cooking process, the eating and enjoyment -- drives the reader along from one experience to the next. olive oil, working the line, ancient breeds of cattle, appreciating the flavors of a slice of pure pig fat. if you appreciate your food as more than a source of fuel, you'll find something to like in this book.