Realistically, if there were half stars I would've given this book a 3.5. I have read Kitchen Confidential and watched No Reservations and I love Anthony Bourdain for his wit and sarcasm. The stories he tells in this book are well written and detailed as I would expect. However, I did notice a distinct change in his sardonic nature. He tended to be softer on his rivals than he had been in the first book. I blame this on his fame. In fact, he alludes to the fact that this is the issue as he states that he could not be trusted to be a critic. He wouldn't give anyone a bad review for fear of losing some of the perks that come with his status. I find this a little sad. I still enjoy him, but now the fact that his honestly could be tainted - in a man who I thoroughly enjoyed purely for his brutal honesty - has somewhat wrecked it for me. I will still continue to read his books and watch his shows, but the gild has come off of the lily so to speak.