Extreme Cuisine

Hungry for a bit to eat? What if alligator cheesecake, maggot cheese and deep-fried tarantulas were on the menu?

You may not salivate over these offerings, but travel long enough and you’re bound to meet someone who does. These foods, along with many others, feature in Lonely Planet’s new title, Extreme Cuisine, a guide to some of the more unusual foods from around the world.

Meals can be the perfect entrée to a culture and in this pocket-sized, full color book, you can look at the wonders of over 50 delicacies, from the origin of each exotic dish to how they are made, what they taste like and where you can try them. 

Extreme Cuisine author Eddie Lin is a food writer who has traveled the globe to satisfy his appetite for unusual food who has appeared in The New York Times, The Guardian and on The Travel Channel. “The only difference between ‘tasty’ food and ‘nasty’ food is one letter”, he says. “And similarly, it is a small twist that causes a food to be perceived as good or bad, and that twist is often in who is doing the eating. Food is very cultural, very personal experience. Indeed it’s as much about the mind as it is about the mouth”. 

Each of the 65 foods in the book is featured in a double page spread. They come from every corner of the globe and range from Canada’s duck web to Mexico’s prickly pear cactus; from the Ukraine’s pure pork fat to China’s 1000-year-old-egg. The United States is prominently featured as well, highlighting “Bacon Explosion”, Turducken, Lime Green Jell-O Salad among other national and regional dishes.

Review copies available upon request
Author Eddie Lin is available for interviews
Excerpts and images are available for reprint with permission

About the Book:
Extreme Cuisine: Exotic tastes from around the world
Author: Eddie Lin
NEW TITLE, 135pp, full color, 5’’x7’’, $9.99
ISBN: 978 1 74179 886 9
October 2009

About Lonely Planet:
Lonely Planet started in 1973 and has gone on to become the world’s most successful travel information provider. Lonely Planet covers the must-see spots, but also encourages travelers to get off the beaten track and understand more of the nature, culture and environment in each destination. For more information, visit lonelyplanet.com.