Culinary Guidebook for Travelers Who Put Food First

"A trip in itself, Eat Smart in Poland is a fascinating, comprehensive and reverent look at Polish cuisine. Lucky the traveler who gets to not only make the trip over, but reads this in advance."

-Suzanne Strempek Shea, author of "Lily of the Valley," a novel about Polish-American life.

Travelers who like to get to the heart of a culture through its cuisine, yet never find enough material about food in general guidebooks, can get a quick handle on eating abroad with the novel EAT SMART destination cuisine guides, which contain a treasury of culinary surprises and language tips for navigating menu and market. Less adventuresome eaters will be more at ease in experimenting with new foods and food preparations since these invaluable guidebooks take the guesswork out of exotic, unfamiliar foods.

At the core of the book are two extensive glossaries in Polish with English translations. The "Menu Guide" demystifies food selection, allowing visitors to order with confidence in restaurants; the "Foods & Flavors Guide" is a comprehensive list of foods, spices, cooking utensils, cooking styles, etc., to make shopping in the colorful outdoor markets easy and fun. It contains a rich historical perspective on the origins and varieties of Polish food and extensive background on the delectable regional dishes. Polish phrases are included to make one's culinary adventure even more successful.

Authors Joan and David Peterson -- inveterate travelers, cooks, seekers of unusual herbs and spices, and new ways to prepare familiar ingredients -- have added a delicious bonus by providing a chapter of recipes for travelers to preview the tastes before departure, thus broadening the guide's appeal to cookbook lovers as well.