A witty collection, organized thematically, with a rich selection of writing by the likes of Liebling, MFK Fisher, Escoffier and Alice B. Toklas. Kurlansky's rather catholic tastes include (in more or less order of presentation) memorable meals, favorite restaurants, markets, bread, eggs, vegetables, fish, fat, fruit, chocolate, desert, bugs (yes, insects), and the cuisines: French, English, American and German. He concludes with Levi-Strauss, Plato and Proust on the meaning of food. Kurlansky has also written memorably about salt, cod and the Basques.  (GEN253, $16.00)