tallblackguy's review
5.0
This is half recipe book, half memoir, but all good. Really enjoyed my man's life story, especially as he's a hometown cat who ran the same streets I did as a youngster. Clearly aman who loves food, and has seen his share of ups and downs, to be taken along as he finally figures out that his salvation and purpose is in food is great, and his embrace of just regular-ass food, done well and with flavor, is refreshing in the age of big plate, little portions.
mikolee's review
3.0
Fun read about food truck chef Roy Choi's complicated and very American rise to fame through hardship, struggle and perseverance. Filled with a mix of recipes from simple spicing up of ramen to very complicated dishes. Will make you hungry. Loved the ending rules for eating with respect entitled "cultural shit".
newbatteri's review
3.0
If I could give half stars to a review, I would give this a 2.5.
Perhaps it is because "Fresh Off the Boat" was, well...fresh on my mind, and perhaps it's unfair to compare one Asian-American chef memoir to another Asian-American chef memoir, but Roy Choi's memoir left me with more questions than answers.
While Eddie Huang was able to layer insightful self-reflection with great food imagery and his own beginnings as a chef, Choi's in comparison was just really lacking. There were no deeper dives into race/identity/living in LA, we learn almost nothing (literally 3 pages on a Kindle) about Kogi or his life post-gambling problem. He spends a very long time writing about his downward spiral in gambling but we never see much of a redemption since the second half of the memoir is rushed from one event to another. He casually references that he gets married and a few chapters later, that he has a kid. Maybe they're not significant to his food-inspiration but talk about gliding over details!
The memoir--perhaps because the publisher/editor realized his story was lacking any depth--is sprinkled with recipes. Some of them are interesting, some of them are laughably unnecessary (roasting vegetables comes to mind...), but none of them are cohesive save for the fact that they tangentially relate to his life (but I mean...does it???).
Perhaps it is because "Fresh Off the Boat" was, well...fresh on my mind, and perhaps it's unfair to compare one Asian-American chef memoir to another Asian-American chef memoir, but Roy Choi's memoir left me with more questions than answers.
While Eddie Huang was able to layer insightful self-reflection with great food imagery and his own beginnings as a chef, Choi's in comparison was just really lacking. There were no deeper dives into race/identity/living in LA, we learn almost nothing (literally 3 pages on a Kindle) about Kogi or his life post-gambling problem. He spends a very long time writing about his downward spiral in gambling but we never see much of a redemption since the second half of the memoir is rushed from one event to another. He casually references that he gets married and a few chapters later, that he has a kid. Maybe they're not significant to his food-inspiration but talk about gliding over details!
The memoir--perhaps because the publisher/editor realized his story was lacking any depth--is sprinkled with recipes. Some of them are interesting, some of them are laughably unnecessary (roasting vegetables comes to mind...), but none of them are cohesive save for the fact that they tangentially relate to his life (but I mean...does it???).
satyridae's review
3.0
Read at the behest of my father. I found the memoir part to be absorbing and kinda cute. This kid! He's adorable, except when he's in the gutter, all methed up. But then he's in cooking school, and it's much better. He's profane and hip and hilarious.
The recipes, though, didn't do much for me. Most of them would kill me, and many of the rest were too meaty/greasy/fried. A few sounded delicious, though, and I'm going to try them out. Or not, since the book is already a week overdue.
The recipes, though, didn't do much for me. Most of them would kill me, and many of the rest were too meaty/greasy/fried. A few sounded delicious, though, and I'm going to try them out. Or not, since the book is already a week overdue.
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