Read if you: Want an addicting, gorgeously designed, and fascinating look into world cuisine and history.

If you love learning about food history and food culture, this is for you. It's a dizzying collection of amazing tidbits and features about food from all continents. It's attractively designed so that it's not overwhelmingly busy.

Librarians/booksellers: This is a browser's delight. A fabulous addition to your culinary collection.

Many thanks to Workman Pub and NetGalley for a digital review copy in exchange for an honest review.

If food is your thing, this book is a lovely companion to your meals. This is such a generous helping of creativity and enthusiasm. Food has become more of a living culture.

What a fun book! It was truly enjoyable to read and learn about food and the world around us. The contents are well-researched, informative, and perfect for the curious reader. This would make a great addition for any curious foodie or traveler's collection, and will circulate well from libraries.

Gastro Obscura has something for everyone interested in food, culture, lore, and more. Arranged into broad geographical sections, it highlights the history of some of the world's quirkiest - and more usual - foods. Star Gazy Pie and Cookie Salad.are just two of the fascinating entries in this wonderful book. My holiday gift list has just gotten a lot easier to buy for. Highly recommended.

This has become one of my favourite books. I loved how it showed different kind of foods that may be weird in some countries but totally normal in others. I liked the history behind some types of food. I definitely recommend this book to whoever is interested in food, traveling and a bit of history of food.

Gastro Obscura is just a delightful book for all that is interested in food or food history information, as there is something for everyone here.

I enjoyed the format by region and especially liked the sections for the US and was geeked by the Antarctica section which showcased Base Station Cuisine by country. Each page, country, or region provided me with information that intrigued and informed. I liked that the book goes beyond what is often the “signature” food/dish of a place, but gave me a behind scene lesson into lesser known food patterns/habit. I came away better informed of different cultures and traditions and felt more of a participant of the world.

I recommend this book for fans of Atlas Obscura, foodies, trivia fans and curious readers. And just think of all of the interesting conversations this book will generate if you leave it out on the coffee table for others to browse.

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

This book was beautiful and I loved the way it was organized. The recipes made me excited to cook, but the complexity or obscurity of some of the ingredients meant that most of the recipes were impossible for me to try. I did appreciate the variety of alternatives and substitutions offered in most of the recipes. I would recommend for anyone with a well stocked garden or access to a variety of fabulous and varied fresh produce.

I gave Atlas Obscura to all my family members as gifts for various occasions, this year everyone will be getting Gastro Obscura. Full of the weird and the wonderful this is a gorgeous book that be of interest to everyone I know. It's not just food, it's history and anthropology, I mean, who knew that The Soviet Union paid for Pepsi in warships?

I was never able to get this book to download on my computer or IPAD. I have never been disappointed by anything Atlas Obscura so I am sure it is amazing and I can't wait for my library to get in so I can read it in all its glory.

Like the previous Atlas Obscura title, this book is a friendly guidebook that lists facts and short histories of interesting and unique things from around the world—in this case, food. The choices were varied, and for the most part, there was a good balance of food to experience. While it might have been nice to see more foods, as it would provide a way to "travel" without travelling, the mix made more a more engaging read and elevated it from being a more detailed cookbook.

I loved this nook! Fun, informative good book which any foodie will love! I highly recommend and plan on buying several copies for gifts!

Gastro Obscura explores the world through what it eats, and sometimes, what it shouldn't eat. The book is divided up by location, with lots of illustrations, captions, and sidebars, and most stories take no more than a page or two to tell, so it can be read piecemeal (sorry) or cover to cover. Regular readers of Atlas Obscura, Mental Floss, and other such sites will know some of these stories, but there is still plenty to learn and digest (sorry again). My one wish would be for more citations and/or an index to learn more about certain sections.

Thanks to the publishers and NetGalley for the opportunity to review a digital ARC in exchange for an unbiased review.

Wonder is around every corner and on every plate.

Thank you to NetGalley and Workman Publishing Company for sending me a copy for review.

Full of delightful and sometimes strange facts and tidbits of history about food. It was fascinating reading about all the different kinds of food and festivities as well as the addition of unique dining locations. Some made me rather hungry, while others made me scrunch up my nose a bit. It was also a nice treat to see that a lot of the locations mentioned from Canada I have been to and tried.

As for the format of the book, I did have a bit of a hard time reading this as the PDF was so large that it scrolled down at an excruciating pace. Aside from that, the colour scheme and the layout were very appealing to the eyes. It was fun and colourful, and the 'where to find it' section on the side was very smart. The only thing that didn't work very well was when the text was superimposed over a full-page image as it was a bit hard to read the text.

Atlas Obscura has long been one of my top go-to books whenever I plan a trip. So when I discovered Gastro Obscura, I shrieked with excitement! Chock full of odd eats, historical anecdotes, plotted maps, culinary musings and fantastical festivals both near and far, this glorious encyclopedia of eats will whet the appetite of any food-loving, globe-trotting, intrepid adventurer in your life. This book is beautifully designed, intelligently organized and richly illustrated. I can't wait for it hit the shelves!

Like most Obscura books there is a lot of information packed into this book. But my family loves it. I like how it is split up regionally and there is great historical and current information. The pictures are beautiful. And the article/sections are perfect to read 1 or 2 with the family a day while letting everyone take turns with their favorite country.

What I liked:

This book had basically everything I was expecting! There were foods I had never heard of, great photography and illustrations throughout, and enough information with every entry that if anything took my fancy more than a little it was easy enough to track down more information. I also really appreciated the sections that were about a phenomenon rather than one specific food, like certain places to find a type of restaurant, for example.

What I didn't like:

Always hard to find things I didn't like about a 5* book, but if I had to pick something it would be that I wish some of the entries that were clearly dealing with famous widely available regional foods had listed more than one restaurant in the "how to try" area. However, being pointed at a specific place as an especially good example of something never hurts either.

Overall:

If you're interested in food or food history, this is a great book. It doesn't go into depth on any one food, choosing to instead cover a vast number of dishes across the entire world. Its strength is as an introduction to what is out there, or as a great coffee table book due to the colourful pictures throughout and short entries.

Fans of the Gastro Obscura sections of Atlas Obscura's website will rejoice at this companion encyclopedia, packed with must-try delicacies, must-read histories, and must-visit eateries. Gastro Obscura spans the globe with relevant cultural insight. Entries feel collaborative in nature, calling us to partake in Pashmak, Amezaiku, Mamba, Kurtoskalacs and the like. For anyone thinking they've hit their peak culinaria discovery, this book will surprise you. Equally geared for armchair travelers, the rich, photographed pages are occasionally sprinkled with take-aways to try at home. With recipes like Chairman Mao's Red-Braised Pork Belly, Sinnapi, or Moroccan Amlou, readers will happily end up taking lots of notes. A fascinating must for all collections

Wow what a feast of a book! Readers who enjoy the Atlas Obscura series will definitely enjoy this excursion. Filled with lots of colorful pictures and trivia, and of course, mouthwatering (for the adventurous) gustatory adventures, I doubt folks who read this book won't find themselves heading to UberEats for some instant gratification. The obscure is now no more when it comes to taste buds with this tantalizing and welcoming addition to the Atlas Obscura landscape.

Gastro Obscura, like Atlas Obscura before it, is the adult version of the BrainQuest trivia decks held together by a plastic rivet I grew up on. Gastro Obscura covers interesting and little-known food facts from around the globe. The organization is wonderful - first broken down by geographic region, then country. Columns contain the corresponding photo and make reading each section smooth. There was info about everything from blood being added to Soviet-era snakcs for kids to a detective bar in Japan.

I got a digital ARC from NetGalley and a lot of formatting was there, but photos and captions were not. The pandemic lockdowns delayed the final touches and pushed back the publication, which worked out well for me as I got a copy regardless. I can't wait to see the finished product.

The keen insight, detailed and attractive design, and range of topics that Atlas Obscura is known for, they bring to Gastro Obscura. This book is so well done & informative. It's a fun and delightfully interesting read. There are some very strange topics like the spaghetti ice-cream sundae in Germany, the watermelon athletics in Australia, and soap-flavored gum from Ontario, It also dives into some fun worldly experiences like the Beer on Horseback Competition in Iceland. It's packed with historical context and beautiful photos. Excellent book if you're interested in the weird world of food & animals from all over.