The subtitle, "Aventures in the Culinary Underbelly," gives one a good hint what this book is all about: The bad, the ugly, and the downright disgusting parts of the restaurant business. Nothing is sacred to this author, a former line chef and current executive chef of a New York restaurant.

Chef Bourdain dives right into the guts of the cooking profession with no holds barred. The book chronicles his life in the business, from discovering quality food at an early age as an act of defiance, to the first job washing dishes, adventures in culinary school, and on to cooking professionally. Bourdain is brutally honest about his own less than stellar party lifestyle while learning the ropes. His anecdotes about ruling chefs and partying co-workers range from raucous to almost poignant.

Buried within Bourdain's ruminations are nuggets of information to help the avid restaurant patron select the right restaurant for the right food and to find out what days are best for eating out. For example, specials are usually concocted from foods getting a little long in the tooth, seafood is rarely fresh on a Sunday; and the toughest cuts are usually pushed back and reserved for the diner who likes his meat cooked well-done, since most well-done meat is like eating shoe leather anyway.

The trade secrets of the culinary world are exposed in no uncertain terms. The descriptive language is often graphic, accusatory and ribald, certainly not recommended reading for the prim and proper, hoity-toity crowd. However, for the rest of us with a sense of humor and a strong stomach, particularly anyone who has worked at even the lowliest task in any type of eating establishment, be prepared to nod, wink and laugh out loud at the down-and-dirty truths contained within these pages.