Street Food - Hardcover

The basic premise of Street Food is just brilliant. A survey of food cooked and/or eaten on the streets of cities around the world promises some of the most excitingly vivid eating imaginable, and, continent by continent, Clare Ferguson delivers.

• From the Americas: Hush Puppies, Corn Dogs, and Cheeseburgers from the North; Chicken in Banana Leaves, Tortilla Wraps, and Jerk Pork from the Latin South and the Caribbean
• Europe: Italian Pizzas and Ice Cream, Scottish Fish and Chips, Greek Tiropitakia (fried cheese pastries)
• Africa and the Middle East: Turkish Lamb Pies, Iranian Roasted Beetroot, Nigerian Caraway Pastries
• India: Samosas, Tandoori Chicken (a particularly good version of this favorite), and Mango Kulfi
• Southeast Asia: Vietnamese Beef Noodle Soup, Philippines Pork Spring Rolls, Burmese Coconut Ice Cream
• China, Japan, and Korea: Fried Wonton Dumplings, Tempura, Korean Barbecued Beef

When the book reaches Australia and New Zealand, the sheer variety goes into overdrive, with cuisines from all over the world contributing to these young nations: Vietnamese Pork Satays, Lebanese Souvlaki, and Hokey Pokey (Scottish-Italian honeycomb toffee ice-cream).

Many readers will regret the omission of that one item that, for them, epitomized the experience of eating in the street. Mine would be the spicy, charred bratwurst grilled over fruit wood at a stall in one of Berlin's Christmas markets, smeared with mustard and eaten in a roll, washed down with hot mulled wine. I'm sure Clare Ferguson meant to include it, had her publishers allowed her more space.

Street food at its best is pure pleasure--it has to be. Why else pay for it and eat it? Pure pleasure is what Street Food offers in abundance. This is a fabulous collection, evocatively written, beautifully designed, and ravishingly illustrated. --Robin Davidson, Amazon.co.uk