By temperament, the author, Vogue’s indomitable food columnist, is the sort of person who is not only willing to ask the chef for a recipe but to chase him around the restaurant kitchen until he gets it. The results are a heady mix of wittily intellectual inquiry and glorious gluttony, plumbing the mysteries of french fries (make them in horse fat), pursuing the secrets of perfect ice cream, or spelling out the dangers of eating salad.