A haute take on one of America's most traditional cuisines--that of the Texas ranch.Don't be thinking this book is just full of ribs, beans, and biscuits . . . . unless, of course, you're thinkin' South Texas Venison Ribs with Peanut Dipping Sauce, Black Bean Nachos with Chargrilled Chicken, and West Texas Biscuit Pudding with Southern Comfort en Glace. You see, at the Reata Restaurant in West Texas, hot chef Grady Spears is cooking cowboy cuisine with an emphasis on the cuisine. Filled with fresh, strong flavors, fascinating ranch memorabilia (these Texans take their history seriously!), gorgeous full-color food photography, and truly marvelous, utterly real food, this is American cooking at its kick-off-your-boots-and-get-down-to-business greatest.From Library JournalReata is the name (after the ranch in the movie Giant) of the restaurant Spears opened in Alpine, TX?part of the trans-Pecos region?in early 1995; since then, he and his partner have opened another booming Reata in Forth Worth. Spears thought he wanted to be a modern cowboy, but he ended up in restaurants instead, where he serves hearty, satisfying dishes like Grilled Strip Steak with Cilantro Butter, Jalape?o Beef Stew, and Creamed Spinach with Texas Tarragon. A Martha Stewart Living editor told him his menu was "such a throwback it seems new," but Spears adds his own twist to these dishes, and with coauthor Walsh, he tells a good story, too. Recommended for area and most other larger collections.Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.About the AuthorFood writer ROBB WALSH has won the James Beard Award for his magazine feature writing. He is a columnist for Natural History, former food editor of the Austin Chronicle, a contributing editor for the American Way, a commentator on NPR's "Weekend Edition" and the founder and head judge of the Austin Hot Sauce Contest, the world's largest hot sauce contest.GRADY SPEARS was the founding chef and co-owner of the Reata restaurants in Alpine and Fort Worth, Texas, and Beverly Hills, California. His food is now a hit at the historic Nutt House Hotel restaurant in Granbury, Texas, and at the Chisholm Club in Fort Worth, Texas.