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Gastro Obscura

A Food Adventurer's Guide

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Gastro Obscura

By: Cecily Wong, Dylan Thuras, Atlas Obscura
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About this listen

A New York Times, USA Today, and national indie bestseller.

A Feast of Wonder!

Created by the ever-curious minds behind Atlas Obscura, this breathtaking guide transforms our sense of what people around the world eat and drink. Covering all seven continents, Gastro Obscura serves up a loaded plate of incredible ingredients, food adventures, and edible wonders. Ready for a beer made from fog in Chile? Sardinia’s “Threads of God” pasta? Egypt’s 2000-year-old egg ovens? But far more than a menu of curious minds delicacies and unexpected dishes, Gastro Obscura reveals food’s central place in our lives as well as our bellies, touching on history–trace the network of ancient Roman fish sauce factories. Culture–picture four million women gathering to make rice pudding. Travel–scale China’s sacred Mount Hua to reach a tea house. Festivals–feed wild macaques pyramid of fruit at Thailand’s Monkey Buffet Festival. And hidden gems that might be right around the corner, like the vending machine in Texas dispensing full sized pecan pies. Dig in and feed your sense of wonder.

“Like a great tapas meal, Gastro Obscura is deep yet snackable, and full of surprises. This is the book for anyone interested in eating, adventure and the human condition.”–Tom Colicchio, chef and activist

“This exquisite guide kept me at the breakfast table until dinner time.”–Kyle Maclachlan, actor and vintner

©2021 Cecily Wong, Dylan Thuras, and Atlas Obscura (P)2023 Workman Publishing Company
Cooking Food & Wine

Critic Reviews

"[Wong and Thuras'] lavishly photographed volume, more eye-opening than mouthwatering, slakes (and often quells) the armchair gourmand’s appetite. Combing 120 nations and all the continents... they have produced a cabinet of culinary curiosities."—​The New York Times Book Review

"You cannot help but be drawn to Gastro Obscura.”—​The New York Times

"There’s so much information in this book. If you love food, the photos are beautiful and for me, it really made me feel like on my couch like I was getting back out there and traveling again. That’s why I love this book. They know what they’re doing. These books are always good, they’re filled with facts, you gotta pick it up.”—​bestselling author Isaac Fitzgerald on the TODAY Show

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