Review: Turning the Tables: Restaurants from the inside out

Filed in archive Reviews on November 17, 2005

You know that old question "If you could invite any three people in the world to a dinner party, who would they be?" After reading the recently released book Turning the Tables: Restaurants From the Inside Out, author Steven Shaw would be my number one pick. This award winning food critic and Founder of the incredibly successful website eGullet.com will leaves no Stone Crab unturned as he goes behind the scenes of the restaurant industry.

If you�re looking for gossip and dirt on well known restaurants and chefs, you won�t find it in Turning the Tables. If you�re looking for genuinely useful information on everything from selecting a restaurant to selecting an entr�e, however, then you will definitely want to own this book.

For Shaw, a career in the food industry was almost a foregone conclusion since his earliest memories are of sitting in diners with his father, watching how the cooks prepared food. Years later, Shaw began reviewing local restaurants and publishing his critiques on a seldom-visited personal website he put together. Then an unexpected mention in the New York Times catapulted Shaw into the view of thousands of New Yorkers who suddenly looked to him for dining advice. What began as a hobby eventually turned into a chance for Shaw to pursue a career centered around his first passion: dining. He gave up his career as a lawyer to become a restaurant critic and hasn�t looked back since.

Though Shaw�s stated reason for writing Turning the Tables is simply to share his love of restaurants and food, readers are actually treated to much more. He helps readers understand that a great dining experience doesn�t begin when the waiter sets your plate on the table but, in fact, much sooner. The chain of events that eventually lead to your plate of food is precisely what Shaw explains so well, shattering a few myths along the way.

Many people believe that locally grown organic food is not only morally correct but the basis for a truly exquisite meal as well. Shaw explains why, surprisingly, that simply isn�t so. Many diners use Zagat Surveys or the Michelin Red Guide when choosing a restaurant but Shaw explains why that may not necessarily be the best advice to take. Some diners eschew large scale restaurants like Tavern On The Green in favor of quiet little cafes. Shaw illustrates the finer points of both dining experiences and explains why large isn�t necessarily bad.

One of the most unexpected chapters in Turning the Tables is when Shaw systematically tears down the food critic industry and its writers. With biting criticism, Shaw skewers restaurant reviewers and undermines their credibility. Shaw suggests that the industry�s real focus is not on fair and accurate restaurant reviews but are instead written in a way designed to sell the most newspapers. As a former food critic himself, Shaw is certainly in a position to understand the intricacies of the industry but at times he is so bold with is criticism that I was left feeling that Shaw had a particular axe to grind and was using his book to do so.

That chapter notwithstanding, Turning the Tables is an excellent resource if you want to have a well-rounded and meaningful dining experience. Readers learn tips on how to get a reservation when a restaurant says their �booked solid,� the secret to getting VIP service in your favorite eatery (it�s easier than you think), and the proper method for tipping. There is scarcely a page where at least one nugget of information or tidbit of interest can�t be found.

For someone uninterested in restaurants and dining or eats simply to satiate hunger, then this book would be about as exciting as reading detailed instructions on how to build a birdhouse. For restaurant lovers, foodies and gastronomes, however, Turning the Tables is like being gifted with a tin of Beluga Caviar.

~~If you'd like to get a chance to see Steven Shaw in person, he will be attending the 2005 Miami Book Fair International in November. Tickets are still available at the Fair's website.~~