One of the gifts I received this Christmas was the book: Feasting on Asphalt: The River Run.

I have mixed opinions about the book.  It was a good read, but I felt that it could have used more text and fewer pictures, after all there was an entire TV series covering the trip. The pictures that were in the book were well done, but focused too much on the cast and crew, more images about places that didn’t make it into the show or of interesting sights along the way would have been nice. I would have also liked more insight into the various stops along the way and the into the trip itself. I felt that a lot of what was presented in the book was just a rehash of the show, and while it was well written and entertaining what I wanted was a journal about the trip that presented more behind the scenes information and things that didn’t make it into the show. The included map, list of locations, and list of sources is a nice addition.

It contains several recipes either from the original source or based on the original dish.  I made the bread pudding and butter rum sauce from Mulate’s Restaurant. Everyone seemed to like it, although my first attempt at making the sauce did not go well.

I would recommend it to fans of the show or of Alton Brown, otherwise I would just watch the videos: Feasting on Asphalt – The Complete Second Season: The River Run
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