This concoction of life-affirming tales about eating on the road is much like having a comforting bowl of soup before you go to sleep. The short stories focus on one theme: how one can understand the essence of life through the act of eating.

The stories, however, are not solely about discovering gourmet delights in foreign places. One tale mentions the heaps of steaming home-made tortillas at a Mexican restaurant, but it dwells largely on the wall murals which illustrate the country's history and specifically, its oppression of the native people.

Another simple tale recalls how a plate of bananas became a feast for a traveler in Africa suffering from a stomach bug. Yet another tells of a man buying oranges for his brother's birthday in Romania where the fruit is akin to gold. This book reads like an O. Henry story. But some of the tales have no place in this soft-cover compendium and I wonder if the editor was trying to jam too much into this book. A well-known magazine writer whose goal it is to drink an 1806 Chateau Lafite pens one particularly uninvolving story. Needless to say, his story fizzles. But for the most part, the stories are evocative and engaging.

I keep it near my bed to read at night every time I need a warm balm to counter a heavy day.

Sweet dreams.