If you have delicate sensibilities and an aversion to crassness, like that of an aging Anglican duchess, I don't recommend this book to you.

Truly insightful while also simultaneously being absolutely filthy, Bourdain provides the reader a look into the dark recesses of the restaurant industry. Funny and self-deprecating, there is a dark wit to Bourdain's writing that pulls you right in and while most of the stories in this book are not pretty, it is candid.

I picked this up after binging a few seasons of Parts Unknown, his former travel and food show, I came into this books uncertain how his humor and intelligence would translate to literature and how a younger Anthony Bourdain would compare. But this was definitely one my best reads of the year.

While I already came into this book knowing a touch more than the average consumer about the less pristine aspects of the restaurant business, this was still a revelation to see what happens in the kitchens of the best restaurants in the world. Crass, brutal and utterly blue (indecent); this was a fantastic read.