A Trifecta of Tasty, Tantalizing Treatises
a.k.a. Three Essential Cle-Anchored Foodie Reads

Looking to change things up in the kitchen? Or maybe you're hoping for a new local gastronomic hangout to partake of...? Perhaps you'd like to weave a bike ride into a lunch plan? If any of these three thoughts can be attributed to you, we've got you covered in three quick book reviews that Cool Cleveland considers essential summer reading for foodies and frustrated chefs:

Cleveland cook/ chef/ scribe Michael Ruhlman's book Ratio: The Simple Codes Behind the Craft of Everyday Cooking has a simple premise: most recipes we follow have a basic ingredient combinations in (you guessed it) ratios. Ruhlman explains them all. Ruhlman's Ratio (Scribner) is not a cookbook -- at least not in the tradtional sense of the word.

It extolls the virtues of learning the fundamentals in cooking and understanding the ratios that most recipes rely on. It's the science behind the art; and if you're not hip to the scientific aspects of what comprises those recipes you lean on, you're far less likely to be able to "wing it" (read: substitute, create, improvise).

With knowledge in the kitchen comes freedom and enjoyment; Ruhlman, always the entertaining and educating read, covers batters, doughs (bread, cookies, et. al), fat-based sauces, stocks and gads of other staples with panache. You can tell he absolutely loves what he does; with Ruhlman as good a writer as he is a cook, you're in for a treat. And hey, if you've always hated cooking (never a problem for me, but I digress) this might be the key to unlock your culinary world.

Ruhlman offers Ratio as the skeleton key to the mystery of food prep. Brilliant. http://www.Ruhlman.com

The mind-blowing eighth edition of Cleveland Ethnic Eats is an all-encompassing encyclopedia for Cleveland's foodie crowd and if you can't find a place to eat in town after reading her book, you're just not paying attention.

Laura Taxel, longtime Cleveland food critic and prolific freelance writer, delivers a great all-purpose guide to the very best ethnic restaurants in the area -- focusing not only on the food that makes them great, but the atmosphere, location cost involved and more. She hits 356 different authentic restaurants and markets (that's one a day, minus bank holidays, for those of you keeping score at home... so no more complaining there's nothing good to eat). She also touches on foods from over 60 different countries and cultures. Thai? Indian? Greek? Ethopian? No problem, offers Taxel's book.

Anyone familiar with publishing knows that restaurants are a moving target; to wit, this eighth edition was born out of necessity as much as it is popularity. Many restaurants won't/don't survive a book's shelf life. But if ever there was critical reading for foodies in Cleveland, this is most certainly it.

If you've never picked up one of Taxel's Ethnic Eats volumes (published by Gray & Company, Publishers) before, now is the time. It's a chance to unlock the culinaria in your city.

Stan Purdum's book Pedaling to Lunch paints with broad brush and is geared to those who love to grab a bite to eat "along the way."

The hefty release (University of Akron Press) maps out 20 bicycle trips across 16 Ohio counties with a nosh stop halfway through each ride. North Canton native, pastor and food/cycling enthusiast Purdum encourages readers to "save some gas and get some exercise," offering detailed maps with mileage, sharp directions, insightful comments and trivia for riders from novice to expert. Along the way, riders (and readers) get a history lesson on these rides -- stops include Clarence Darrow's home, the "summer resort where Dean Martin got his start," the farthest point north engaged by Confederate troops in the Civil War and more.

And, of course, great stops for great food are a part of the tome as well.

We, as Northeast Ohio residents, often fall into complaining about the weather and change of seasons... and feeling endlessly cheated that we didn't use our warm weather time wisely. This book is a perfect way to go out and do some amazing sightseeing, eating and get some exercise in the process. In that regard, Pedaling stands to make your winter easier to deal with -- either you'll be sitting back while the January snow flies feeling completely satisfied, or you'll be reading this and mapping out your spring and summer of 2010.

In fact, each of these books offers something different for you foodies out there. Snag any (or each) one of them and feed your head before you feed that growling tummy.

From Cool Cleveland Managing Editor Peter Chakerian peterATcoolcleveland.com
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