I apologies in advance for sounding hard and harsh in this review... 
 So... one of the most anticipated books of 2016 according to some (literary and press) sources. 
 In their reviews and in the first GR-reviews it was said to be 'Anthony Bourdain meets Jay McInerney with a sprinkling of Siri Hustvedt.' 
 So Anthony Bourdain? Tough luck I just read his Kitchen Confidential. Sweetbitter is supposed to 'engulf your gastronomic senses'. Except for a short episode of eating a first oyster, the first (and one of very few) real recipe descriptions was an omelet with cantaralles on page 106! Kitchen confidential had by then collected an entire Jamie Oliver Cookbook. 
 And wow: I encountered some namedropping of wines that weren't the usual Chablis or Bordeaux! Maybe it's 'cuz I'm a European gastronaut (pun intended) but as Shania Twain exclaimed once: that don't impress me much. 
 Siri Hustvedt? It felt that the writer didn't dare to choose between full-on incrowd food porn and, euhm, a good story. 
 It felt that the writer just adored to show off her talent (which she has!) of writing playfull dialogues. 
 It felt that the author went out to play, while the reader wasn't invited to play along, sitting and staring annoyed on a courtside bench. "Look y'all, with no hands" 
 So, it's not that much more than yet another girl leaving everything behind to go to the big city tabula rasa to wait tables (another pun intended). 
 And of course there is a likable/lickable waiter that our waitress is crazy about, untill she kisses him and he doesn't seem to remember afterwards... 
 Sometimes I wonder if some readers on Goodreads actually read the novel, or just the promo talk... 
 But, I know, it's all about taste... except for the topic of this 'culinary novel'...