Third Helpings By Calvin Trillin Ticknor & Fields, 184 pp., $12.95
Calvin Trillin is one of the minor reasons why 1 decided to live in Kansas City. (Just to keep things in perspective, Count Basie is one of the major reasons.) I first read Mr. Trillin’s American Fried: Adventures of a Happy Eater while still a big hungry boy, college division, doing time at a local institution of higher learning. The first two chapters of this wonderful book are a hymn to the culinary delights of Cowtown, U.S.A.— Arthur Bryant’s Barbecue, Winstead’s Drive-In, Mario’s Grinder Shop and Deli, Jess & Jim’s Steak House—and after doing some four years’ worth of systematic, first-hand research, 1 came to the conclusion that what was good enough for the restaurant critic de facto of The New Yorker was good enough for me. So I got my sheepskin, found a wife, rented an apartment, and settled down to some serious eating. I am, needless to say, still at it.
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