You Want Fries with That?: A Collection

By Ken Hoffman

Nothing is quite what you expect in the quirky world of Ken Hoffman. He's a nationally syndicated restaurant critic--but his specialty is drive-through burgers and fries. When he makes a grand tour of Europe, he does ten cities in ten days, no hotels. Instead, he sleeps on overnight trains and tosses his socks and underwear in the trash. And the sights he chooses to see? The world's, respectively: skinniest house, only serious museum of erotica (in Copenhagen), largest flea market (in Warsaw). Hoffman is attracted by the bizarre, the outlandish, and the fattening. Sports are a forte. Bjorn Borg came to town with the tennis Legends, and Hoffman took him on. Won one point, a clean forehand passing shot. The Harlem Globetrotters made their annual visit and there was Hoffman going 0 for 3 with the opposition Generals (but nobody de-pantsed him). He's even tried pro wrestling, although how that ended he can't quite remember. (He was carried out on a stretcher.) But his subjects aren't confined to food, sports, and travel. There's pop music, too. (He is a major collector of Beatles memorabilia.) And more domestic subjects, like his dog's intelligence quotient; or the day he visited a nudist resort; or his adventures with infomercials. One touching column pays tribute to the world's greatest Neil Diamond fan. Another tells of a man whose wife lost her wedding ring in a port-o-potty. Hoffman calls it, "a love story for Valentine's Day." In a more serious vein, he writes candidly about infertility and how he eventually adopted a baby. Hoffman's style is colloquial, coaxing humor out of surprising juxtapositions and references to icons of pop culture. Whether he's watching Seinfeld reruns or visiting the weirdest bar in Kenya, he remains clearly one of us--with a skewed and highly entertaining view of American life at the turn of the millennium. And you can rely on his taste for cheeseburgers.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0965746852
• ISBN13: 9780965746854
• Release Date: September 1999
• Publisher: Winedale Publishing
• Length: 244 Pages
• Weight: 0.75 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

A fun and enjoyable read

Ken Hoffman really has a way of putting a smile on my face. This collection of stories is easy to read and hard to put down. I have just lent it to my mother and know she will enjoy it, too.

An Easy Read - I couldn't put it down

This is the only time I have received a book as a gift that I actually liked. Someone gave me a copy at work. I LOVE IT. Now I am going to give it to my sister to read.

A humorous and thoughtful collection.

Ken Hoffman has a unique way of looking at the world. His ability to find the interesting aspects of everyday life make for a thoroughly enjoyable read. I would recommend this to my friends.

Highest Quality

I have read it twice. Both humorous and substantive. One part is about the Hoffman's bittersweet story of infertility treatments that result in an adoption - a tale that is both funny and encouraging. It is very easy reading and I recommend it to everyone.