The Sterns, best known for their books about vernacular American cusine, dug their claws into pop culture in this book full of short (1-3 page) essays about topics as diverse as Death Cars, Fish Sticks, and Florida's Fountainblu hotel.

The tone is generally mocking, sometime excessively so (some of the phenomena the Sterns spear are not so much in bad taste, but merely goofy), but the pieces are almost always informative and entertaining.

Out of print? What a shame. But come to think of it, this book could use an entirely new edition, with the Bad Taste items of the 1990s worked in and a few obscure items (Boudoir photos) expunged.

The entry on Las Vegas, which has outdone itself in recent years, could be expanded into a book.

A wonderful book. if you are mid 30's to mid 50's, this book's for you. I bought it in 1990- laughed out loud MANY times---I still read parts of it today, although the cover has come off! It has short articles on some of our nations funnier, and awfull-er things, from accordians to zoot suits- with stops at dino parks, liberace,diners, & fake fur, to name but a few. Reading it now, some things are definitely dated, and I would LOVE to see an updated edition ( hint hint, jane & micheal stern). All in all a fun, fast read, blast from the past for all of us to laugh at ourselves, and recognize someone we knew. and remember,"just because something is in bad taste, doesnt mean it has to taste bad."( the sterns, on cool-whip)

Witty and sharp-tongued, this book guides readers in a primer of that which was bizarre and tasteless in the 70s and 80s. Topics range from "Frederick's of Hollywood" to Jell-O [tm] to Chippendale's Dancers to those obnoxious cedar plaques you used to be able to find at truck stops across the country (and maybe still can, somewhere). Some of these topics will be totally lost on younger readers -- my 25-year-old boyfriend had never heard of the Mayflower Madame, never knew the glory of ring-pull caps, and had never seen a macrame plant hanger. For me, however, a child of the 80s, these are just part of the general background of my life.

Some topics are strangely absent (where was the section on raccoon-style eyeliner? Where were edible underwear, slogan-bearing buttons, and Love's Baby Soft perfume?), and others are explored in far more depth than might be strictly necessary (Charo is a prime example -- she just never blipped my radar like fish sticks did, I guess).

I loved it, though. It's a good source of laughs. Actually, it made me feel a bit nostalgic. I'm making Jell-O tonight.

Warning: There is some strong language in this book, including a few examples of the F-word. There are also some R-rated pictures in it. Also, it really pokes fun at people named Tiffany. I wasn't offended, but I thought I'd mention it in case someone else wanted to avoid such things.

If the excellent "Roadfood" can be thought of as the complete guide to America's roadside eateries, "Blue Plate Specials" would be the Greatest Hits collection, at least in the opinion of our tireless guides, Jane and Michael Stern. This book is a fine collection of some of the Sterns' most distinctive and interesting roadside restaurant experiences, along with a memorable recipe (or facsimile of one) from each. Sadly, some of the restaurants discussed here are no longer in business, but the Sterns help keep them living in memory.

Personally, I found this title less evocative than "Roadfood." That book made me want to toss a copy of it in the glove compartment and head out on a cross-country tour, hitting one great-sounding diner or rib shack after another. This book didn't. It was nice to read about the Sterns' experiences in their travels, but I didn't catch the passion of it all like I did with "Roadfood." Your mileage may vary.

Still, if you're a fan of the Sterns, this is a title worth checking out -- not, perhaps, as a guide to your own future travels, but as a good example of "foodie lit" and the vicarious excitement of sitting down and studying a never-before-seen menu.

Although there are recipes in this book, it is much more than a cookbook. It is an interesting and entertaining look at America's eateries. Each entry contains a short history or background on the establishment, its food, and the people who work there and eat there, followed by a recipe or two.

Anyone who travels and has eaten "roadfood" (or just dreams of it!) will enjoy this well-written book. And for those of us who will never get to visit even a small percentage of the eateries examined, it is a wonderful glimse at these businesses and the people who love working at them and eating at them.

Another reviewer stated that some of the places listed are no longer in business. With a book of this nature, that's inevitable. So many small, family-owned businesses are closing up fast. I'm just glad that the Sterns were able to document their existence for us enjoy, if only from the comfort of our easy chairs. I put this book on my list of must-haves and look forward to reading other books by the Sterns.

Some of America's most unique and talented cooks serve in humble roadside cafes and friendly neighborhood eateries. Jane and Michael Stern have gone "on the road" to encounter and retrieve outstanding recipes from the culinary heartland of American "blue plate specials" and showcased them in Blue Plate Specials & Blue Ribbon Chefs: The Heart And Soul Of America's Great Roadside Restaurants. As much fun to browse through as it is to cook from, this compendium of roadside cafe introductions and wonderful dishes ranges from Every-Friday Haddock Chowder; Becky's Whoopsie-Pie Cake with Poor-Man's Icing; and Enrico Biscotti's Almond Macaroos; to Tennessee Cornbread; Horseradish Pickles; and Mrs. Rowe's Summer Squash Casserole. Blue Plate Specials & Blue Ribbon Chefs is a wonderful addition to any personal or professional cookbook collection.

There are two components to this book: the Blue Willow Inn and the Sterns.

The Blue Willow Inn: If you own any self-published community cookbook from small-town USA, you have these recipes. There isn't one surprise here (unless you mistakenly thought the restaurant cooked completely from scratch).

The "theme" of the restaurant and these recipes is Sunday dinner at your Southern grandmother's. Well, I happen to have had a grandmother from Greenville, South Carolina. She would have felt very much at home with this food and the manners espoused by the Inn's owners. So I vouch for the excellence of the way the Blue Willow has carried out this theme.

The Sterns: I own several of the Sterns' books. I especially enjoy their WAY OUT WEST and ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BAD TASTE. The Sterns are both funny and astute.

While reading through the BLUE WILLOW INN COOKBOOK, I had a picture of the Sterns just trying to hold themselves back from taking easy potshots. From time to time, the temptation must have been too much and they crossed the line into unkind. It is the only time I have seen them do that.

All in all, keep your money.

One of the other reviewers on this page is probably right that most any Southern grandma will already know most of the recipes listed between the covers of this book. But as American food, like the rest of American culture, becomes more monolithic and regional distinctives are paved over, even recipes as generally undistinguished as most of the ones here are, are certainly worth preserving -- especially by fans of the food and culture of the American South.

It's true that The Blue Willow Inn isn't on the cutting edge of haute cuisine. Billie and Louis Van Dyke would never have been invited to compete against Masaharu Morimoto ("I summon Iron Chef Southern!"). Nevertheless, the restaurant is, to hear the Sterns tell it, immensely popular, proving that there's still a market for sweet potato biscuits, chicken divan, and fried okra, with a big peach cobbler for dessert. Readers browsing this book are much more likely to find things suitable for a church potluck than for an elegant dinner with friends or romantic evening for two (unless your beloved likes Coca-Cola cake with broiled peanut butter frosting). I don't think the word "wine" appears anywhere in here, though "Southern champagne," sweet tea, is the very first recipe.

Fans of the Stern's food-writing will find a decent balance here of their commentaries on recipes and a few small articles on aspects of The Blue Willow Inn -- interviews with personnel, a bit of history, a section on rocking chairs, and the like. Even if you never find yourself -- or could never even imagine yourself -- making any of the recipes from this bastion of Southern cookery, I think food fans, or fans of the Sterns, will probably find this a trip worth taking at least once.

The Blue Willow Inn (owned and operated by Louis and Billie Van Dyke) is located in Social Circle, Georgia, and is about as southern as you can get, having been voted the best small-town restaurant in the South by the readers of "Southern Living" magazine. In The Blue Willow Inn Cookbook, regional food experts Jane and Michael Stern have collaboratively compiled a culinary wealth of recipes for drinks, breads, sandwiches, salads, appetizers, side dishes, main courses, and desserts -- plus occasional anecdotes drawn from the history and patronage of the Blue Willow Inn. From Angel Biscuits; Spinach Cornbread; Sugared Pecans; and Fried Green Tomatoes; to Baked Pineapple Casserole; Orange Pecan Glazed Chicken and Wild Rice; Banana Pudding; and Coca-Cola Cake with Broiled Peanut Butter Frosting, The Blue Willow Inn Cookbook is a perfect celebration of Southern dining and a wonderful addition to any kitchen cookbook collection.

ROAD FOOD just doesn't do it for me. Each synopsis seems to be a repeat of the previous one depending on the region. Sticking pretty much to the main highways and spending far too much time in the big cities (8 places in Pittsburgh alone) the repetitious style starts to wear thin. In NJ (My home state) you are pretty much limited to subs and hot dogs. This is repeated throughout the book, lobster roll and clams in New England, BBQ and fried food in the south, you get the picture. Occasionally peppered throughout are a few personal commentaries about the people and places, but I think this could have been a more useful guide by focusing on fewer places with more detail. The summary says you should carry it with you, but its size keeps it from being a good traveling companion, especially considering its narrow culinary focus. While not a total waste of time for the road food adventurer, it is so much less than it could have been.

Few things can make the tedium of a long drive more bearable than the prospect of a decent place to eat along the way, and the restaurants listed in this guide are destinations in their own right.

Helpfully arranged by sections of the country, road food aficionados will find more than enough to keep them busy. Personally, I wanted to take off and tour Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana, as well as old haunts in Virginia. Being in the opposite corner of the country, though, I found a number of interesting looking places here to check out (as well as one or two I've already been to, and so I can attest to the reliability of the Stern's reviews).

I should note, though, that family members in Cody, Wyoming tell me that Franca's, which the Sterns list in this book, has in fact been closed for several years. So *caveat lector.* Things can change quickly in the restaurant world. Nevertheless, this is both a great reference and a fun title just for entertaining (if stomach growl-inducing) reading. If you're out on the road, be sure to keep a copy of this guide in your glove compartment.

I have traveled with the Sterns for many years (virtually!) I have most of their previous books on regional food and their pages are ketchup, mustard and butter stained with notes scribbled in the margins. When I heard that they wrote another new and updated version, I ordered one just in time for this summer's 1000 mile New England odyssey, make that vacation. Every recommendation was right on - priced right and exactly as described. This is important to note because I know in their "Eat Your Way Across The USA" release of a few years ago there were many out of date references. (We were disappointed last year in Wisconsin as our search for a Bratwurst joint ended at a boarded up and abandonded store front.) Happily, this one seems to be more current and we have yet to find a dead reference. If you love to eat and love to travel, this is the book for you.

While I couldn't disagree with the main premise of this book - that patients need to be informed partners with their physician in the management of their chronic illness - the fact that the author felt compelled to write the book not only because of his deeply felt belief in this partnership, but more because of the urgent need for this relationship due to the increasingly impersonal nature of managed health care, disturbs me. Long does offer good advice in his chapter on selecting a managed health care organization and what to look for when selecting a physician. The author has a rather pat prevention and lifestyle section followed by a chapter devoted to a discussion of each chronic disease. The disease information section I found to be very good, containing a thorough discussion of drugs and valuable resource listings. Long also has chapters on terminal illness and chronic disease in the elderly. He follows with numerous appendices, which are relatively informative, with his prescription drug appendix and glossary being the most valuable.

I have a couple pet peeves with this book centering on what I find to be inadequate information regarding nutrition and vitamin supplements. Long goes out of his way to write "avoid 'megavitamin doses" but never connects each disease with the specific nutritional deficiencies and vitamin needs they possess. He doesn't even encourage readers to take a generic multivitamin/mineral supplement! In his health care provider directory, where he describes the background of individual health care providers (i.e., nurse practitioners, gastroenterolgist, etc.), he lists "homeopathic physician" as an "outdated" form of medicine. I'm sure the government of France, which requires homeopathic remedies to be sold in pharmacies in that country, would express surprise that they were peddling an "outdated" form of medicine. Even if Long didn't find compelling medical evidence to support homeopathy, the innocuous nature of this type of treatment deserves better treatment. The whole point of "chronic" illness centers on the fact that it is "chronic" because the medical establishment has no cure. With that in mind, alternative therapies that would not harm and could possible help alleviate symptoms need to be treated with more respect.

I found the strongest aspect of Long's book to be his thorough understanding of how chronic diseases affect all aspects of a patient's life. "A chronic disorder can be one of life's most difficult challenges. It can affect so many aspects of our lives - impairing the basic activities of daily living, compromising the pursuit of education and gainful employment, limiting social interaction, and seriously degrading the quality of life."(p.7) His observation that a patient who lives with a chronic disorder is faced with three realities - coping with the health care system, coping with the disorder itself, and coping with the emotional adjustment - also resonated with me. I felt disappointed that Long, while expressing so well the way in which chronic disease affects an individual on so many levels, completely neglects a more holistic approach to illness in his discussion of each disease. Only in the chapter on terminal illness is therapy and support groups mentioned as an important aspect of treatment. Overall, read the book for information on conventional therapy for your specific chronic disease but don't expect too much more.