Hungry Monkey

A dad’s “charming, funny” memoir of trying to pass along his refined culinary tastes, with some kid-friendly recipes included (Neal Pollack). Armed with the belief that kids don’t need puree in a jar or special menus when eating out, restaurant critic and food writer Matthew Amster-Burton was determined to share his love of all things culinary with his daughter, Iris. From the high of rediscovering tastes through a child’s unedited reaction to the low of realizing his precocious vegetable fiend was just going through a phase, Matthew discovered that raising an adventurous eater is about exposure, invention, and patience.   Sharing in Matthew’s culinary capers is little Iris, a budding gourmand and a zippy critic herself—who makes huge sandwiches, gobbles up hot chilies, and even helps around the kitchen. This account, with dozens of delicious recipes and notes on which dishes can be prepared by “little fingers,” reminds us: “Food is fun, and you get to enjoy it three times a day, plus snacks.”   “A very timely and excellent book.” —Anthony Bourdain   “A fast, funny memoir punctuated with sensible advice and recipes . . . Encourages adults to chill the heck out and have fun cooking with their kids.” —Seattle Weekly   “An antidote to the ubiquitous advice that bland food is best for little ones.” —Associated Press   “Full of great ideas for family meals. In a world of culinary pandering to kids . . . Amster-Burton gets the recipe right.” —Neal Pollack, author of Alternadad   “Amster-Burton is equal parts Mario Batali, Ray Romano, Dr. Spock of toddler cuisine, and Mr. Spock of child logic.” —Steven Shaw, author of Turning the Tables