Book Review: "The Reservation" by Rebecca Kauffman

I was looking forward to reading this for two reasons. First, I enjoy the way Rebecca Kauffman writes. Second, and perhaps more important, is how much I love reading about restaurants, chefs, and cooking.

Aunt Orsa’s is a fine dining restaurant in a small midwestern college town. It was once described in a review as “offbeat, eccentric Italian-ish.” Tonight is going to be a huge night for the restaurant: famed author John Grisham, who will be speaking at the college, will be part of a group dining at Aunt Orsa’s tonight.

As excited as everyone is about “Grisham Day,” chaos erupts early in the day. Apparently 22 ribeye steaks have been stolen; the thief left two in the refrigerator. Orsa blows a gasket and is determined to figure out which member of the restaurant staff stole the steaks.

While Orsa figures out which employees were most likely to have committed the theft, a number of secrets, arguments, resentments, and relationships surface. It seems as if almost everyone holds a grudge against a fellow employee.

The book is organized into separate chapters that focus on one or more of the staff, as well as Orsa. We get glimpses of their past as well as how they came to work at the restaurant. Some of the characters are vividly drawn and it felt like a few of the chapters could stand on their own as stories.

There is a lot of drama here, much like in many restaurants. At times things get a bit repetitive and once or twice they get hokey, but it was a fun read. And as usual, the book made me hungry!