cover image A Glutton for Punishment: Confessions of a Mercenary Eater

A Glutton for Punishment: Confessions of a Mercenary Eater

Jay Jacobs. Atlantic Monthly Press, $19.95 (314pp) ISBN 978-0-87113-397-7

After 15 years as Gourmet magazine's restaurant critic, Jacobs ( New York a la Carte ) tells all. The writing is witty, at times laser sharp, especially when the author targets his unadmired colleagues at Gourmet , but he acknowledges his own bloopers as well. At his entertaining and instructive best, the ``hired belly'' praises dishes respectfully prepared, whether in an overlooked eatery or in a famous restaurant. He makes his toughest attacks on places that reap profits from mediocre food because tyro critics, some bribed, recommend them. This is a tasty adventure, not only describing the discovery of culinary treats in America, Europe and Asia but recalling friends who shared Jacobs's pleasures and disappointments along the way. (Jan.)