Bummer. I am dying to go to Japan - particularly for the food. I was thrilled to learn about the existance of this book and expected to love it.....good concept, but it was clear that one month in Japan to write a book about the food of Japan is simply not enough. Japan is clearly a complicated country, and a totally unique culture and unique food...when I think about the many French food or other country food books I have read...they have always spent over one month there to find the true interesting stories....this was just not that interesting. I've never been that interested in visiting Japan and it says a lot for Matthew Amster-Burton's engaging food/travel memoir that by the end I was wondering if I could have a successful week-long visit without learning to read kanji. I'm already a fan of Amster-Burton's light-hearted style because I listen to Spilled Milk, the podcast that he co-hosts. It transfers fairly successfully to a book style, though I did find myself wishing that he'd have cut out a few extraneous jokes here and there. Pretty Good Number One is fairly food-centric but without pretension and in a way that makes you understand how plain rice balls can be delicious. The food talk is woven in with plenty of interesting cultural observations that make you feel as if you understand Tokyo just a bit better. Plus it is just a fun read.
could have been much better written. 2 months in tokyo is not much material to draw from granted...
—chriss
Made me hungry and reminiscent for all of my favorite Tokyo food adventures!
—crz7n3
Lots of fun, and full of tips about the food for a visitor to Japan.
—jay
Reading this without imminent plans to go to Japan was just cruel.
—Jenn
3.5
—cookie
