Why read on Fable?
Publisher Description
A dad’s “charming, funny” memoir of trying to pass along his refined culinary tastes, with some kid-friendly recipes included (Neal Pollack).
Armed with the belief that kids don’t need puree in a jar or special menus when eating out, restaurant critic and food writer Matthew Amster-Burton was determined to share his love of all things culinary with his daughter, Iris. From the high of rediscovering tastes through a child’s unedited reaction to the low of realizing his precocious vegetable fiend was just going through a phase, Matthew discovered that raising an adventurous eater is about exposure, invention, and patience.
Sharing in Matthew’s culinary capers is little Iris, a budding gourmand and a zippy critic herself—who makes huge sandwiches, gobbles up hot chilies, and even helps around the kitchen. This account, with dozens of delicious recipes and notes on which dishes can be prepared by “little fingers,” reminds us: “Food is fun, and you get to enjoy it three times a day, plus snacks.”
“A very timely and excellent book.” —Anthony Bourdain
“A fast, funny memoir punctuated with sensible advice and recipes . . . Encourages adults to chill the heck out and have fun cooking with their kids.” —Seattle Weekly
“An antidote to the ubiquitous advice that bland food is best for little ones.” —Associated Press
“Full of great ideas for family meals. In a world of culinary pandering to kids . . . Amster-Burton gets the recipe right.” —Neal Pollack, author of Alternadad
“Amster-Burton is equal parts Mario Batali, Ray Romano, Dr. Spock of toddler cuisine, and Mr. Spock of child logic.” —Steven Shaw, author of Turning the Tables
Armed with the belief that kids don’t need puree in a jar or special menus when eating out, restaurant critic and food writer Matthew Amster-Burton was determined to share his love of all things culinary with his daughter, Iris. From the high of rediscovering tastes through a child’s unedited reaction to the low of realizing his precocious vegetable fiend was just going through a phase, Matthew discovered that raising an adventurous eater is about exposure, invention, and patience.
Sharing in Matthew’s culinary capers is little Iris, a budding gourmand and a zippy critic herself—who makes huge sandwiches, gobbles up hot chilies, and even helps around the kitchen. This account, with dozens of delicious recipes and notes on which dishes can be prepared by “little fingers,” reminds us: “Food is fun, and you get to enjoy it three times a day, plus snacks.”
“A very timely and excellent book.” —Anthony Bourdain
“A fast, funny memoir punctuated with sensible advice and recipes . . . Encourages adults to chill the heck out and have fun cooking with their kids.” —Seattle Weekly
“An antidote to the ubiquitous advice that bland food is best for little ones.” —Associated Press
“Full of great ideas for family meals. In a world of culinary pandering to kids . . . Amster-Burton gets the recipe right.” —Neal Pollack, author of Alternadad
“Amster-Burton is equal parts Mario Batali, Ray Romano, Dr. Spock of toddler cuisine, and Mr. Spock of child logic.” —Steven Shaw, author of Turning the Tables
31 Reviews
3.5
Becky Keane
Created 3 months agoShare
Report
“I finally finished reading Hungry Monkey, and I can’t believe it took me this long to write about it. I’ve certainly mentioned it enough, like how I laughed out loud on the bus, at a Mexican restaurant, and countless other places and got funny looks every time. Or how I spent most of the book trying to figure out in what neighborhood the author lived; I figured it out (Capitol Hill), and was so proud until he said it flat out two pages later. (Can’t win.)
Well, I finally finished, all that to say. The book itself is laugh-out-loud funny. I love that he’s a Seattle homeboy (did I really just type that?) and that he catalogued this journey; makes me appreciate the struggle it can be to get a child to eat something (particularly one they swore they loved last week, this morning, five minutes ago).
I also particularly enjoyed Matthew’s stories of his daughter, with her epic punchlines (“Did you know there’s a plant called chard?”) he found himself quoting repeatedly. I don’t have kids of my own but have two darling nieces, the most handsome nephew on the planet, and many, many cousins’ kids of varying ages to dote on. And they all just say the darndest things (really) that now weave their way into everyday conversation and send me, or my parents, and extended family into gales of laughter. (How I wish I could post some here; however, I will plead the fifth on behalf of each just in case some of my own ‘quotable quotes’ could ever potentially find the light of day.)
The recipes are fantastic and I look forward to trying them. The rest of the book, the actual purpose for writing, is to theoretically share about getting a picky eater to eat. It’s actually more about Matthew and his daughter, Iris, spending time together in the kitchen as she’s growing up. This is great, and entertaining, but I feel as though it was slightly mistitled/mismarketed. He even discusses this in his afterword, which is more telling than anything (I can be pretty dense to plot holes and misnomers so I’m very proud of myself when I actually pick up on it, aside from the fact that you then know it’s blatantly obvious – because even I picked up on it.)
Foodies will appreciate the read, but parents looking for tips and tricks on how to feed a picky child may find it lacking. Enjoy for the laughs, and for the recipes – like this one, Thai shrimp curry.”
Lindsey Ayres
Created over 1 year agoShare
Report
“Overall this was a fun read and I liked its (mostly) relatable stories about kids and food. What's fun is that you get kid/food stories, but in the "amped up" version (i.e. his kid asking for lobster for dinner and picking out sushi from the conveyor belt). In the end, though, you realize kids are really all the same, meaning they all have their idiosyncracies. What I didn't like was the author, at least the guy talking in the book (whether that's really the author or not). For as hard as he (seems) to not want to be labeled a "city snob" (he lives in Seattle and walks to the grocery store every day for fresh produce/meat), he is. It would be nice if he could embrace his lifestyle without appearing at times condescending to parents who don't try to teach their kids how to boil live lobsters. He seems a bit out of touch with reality for parents who aren't food critics and freelance writers, and that makes him unlikeable on a parent-to-parent level.”
Uyen Pham
Created almost 2 years agoShare
Report
Chris Christopher
Created almost 2 years agoShare
Report
About Matthew Amster-Burton
Matthew Amster-Burton is a restaurant critic, food writer, and former rock journalist with credits in The Best Food Writing, The Seattle Times, Gourmet, Seattle Magazine, San Francisco Chronicle, Parent Map, culinate.com, and egullet.com—as well as his food blog, Roots and Grubs. He lives in Seattle with his wife Laurie, a school librarian, and his daughter Iris.
Other books by Matthew Amster-Burton
Start a Book Club
Start a public or private book club with this book on the Fable app today!FAQ
Do I have to buy the ebook to participate in a book club?
Why can’t I buy the ebook on the app?
How is Fable’s reader different from Kindle?
Do you sell physical books too?
Are book clubs free to join on Fable?
How do I start a book club with this book on Fable?
Similar Books
Save to a list
0
/30
0
/100
Private List