Eat Street

April 4, 2016
Lest there be any worry that the street food scene is lacking in machismo, enter these three gents from Chicago who refer to themselves, in the collective, as ManBQue. With a clear affinity for pork products and a vocabulary rich in four-letter words, the guys toss out their take on 200 different recipes from around the world. One section discusses six types of fries and six dipping sauces; another considers a dozen different hot dogs, including a Chicago-style dog, a Norwegian fransk dog, and a Columbian that is topped with crushed pineapple and quail eggs. Pineapple also shows up in the Hawaiian empanada (not to be confused with the ’merica empanada, which has apples and peanut butter). Bacon is in abundance, starring in a classic English bacon butty as well as a worrisome dessert, bacon s’mores. The ManBQue credo is “meat, beer, rock and roll,” so each recipe is paired with a brew. There are no explanations for the pairings, but just go with it. Then rock out to a section titled “Kick Out the Jams,” where the authors offer a playlist of tunes for any dining dilemma in which a bro might find himself.

June 15, 2016

ManBQue (manbque.com) originated with monthly grilling events in Chicago. Carruthers, John Scholl, and Jesse Valenciana follow the group's debut grilling collection, ManBQue, with a new book of street food recipes written for laid-back home cooks who've grown tired of expensive food trends and stringent dietary guidelines. Dispensing with formality, the authors share recipes such as bacon lime fried rice, Nashville hot chicken, doritomales (a concoction of boiled instant ramen mixed with crushed cheese-flavored corn chips), and Telenovela hot chocolate. There's plenty of humor in their directions as well. The book concludes with suggested songs that readers can listen to when they're "hungover at Waffle House," "getting invited to a boat party," or in other situations. VERDICT Recommend this humorous, unconventional cookbook to readers who like meaty and fried comfort foods with a healthy dose of sarcasm.

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