From Publishers Weekly
The ghosts of pre-Katrina New Orleans haunt Brite's latest culinary caper (after
Soul Kitchen) in the form of great meals, good times and the carefree spirit that gave the Big Easy its nickname. Hardscrabble chef John Rickey and his lover, G-Man Stubbs, are still cooking up a storm at their restaurant, Liquor, and struggling to survive daily adventures in kitchen dysfunction reminiscent of Anthony Bourdain's
Kitchen Confidential. The loose plot of this picaresque tale concerns Rickey's tribulations at crafting an all-wild-duck menu for Ducks Unlimited, a Cajun hunting club. Though Rickey's self-conscious fretting at all the possible disasters that could happen build an element of playful suspense, there's never any doubt that this will play out as a happy Cinderella story from soup to nuts. Brite does a fine job of evoking the Crescent City and its soul through delectable descriptions of its unique cuisine and the quirky characters who prepare it. This is fun foodie fiction, and readers will scarf it down as quickly as a plate of blackened crawfish.
(Jan.) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
From Booklist
What if hurricane Katrina never reached New Orleans? With this touch of alternative history as a backdrop, Brite's series featuring master chefs Rickey and G-Man takes a more ruminative turn, following the chaotic goings-on in
Soul Kitchen (2006). This time the gay duo is struggling to prepare a banquet of wild duck for the Louisiana branch of Ducks Unlimited. The real core of the book, though, is surprisingly philosophical, as Brite reflects perceptively on how we become who we are. The last few pages invoke a magical harmony between reality, imagination, and humaneness. Hardly a crime novel, but a must for followers of this quirky but fascinating series.
Elliott SwansonCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved