Breakfast With Buddha

My book club read "Breakfast with Buddha" by Roland Merullo this month.  This is a story about an ordinary guy; a husband, a parent of two teenagers, an editor of cooking books who gets tricked into a cross country trip with a spiritual guru by his kooky little sister.  He travels from the east coast to a small town in North Dakota.  The guy's name is Otto and he is a good guy.  He loves his wife and he loves his children.  He is very close to them.  Once in a while he has tantrums but that is his major flaw.  He is skeptical of eastern religions.  The spiritual guru, Rinpoche, is an unusual traveler.  They spend hours traveling together.  If I was on that trip, I'd buzz across on I-90.  They take side roads.  Otto enjoys fine food so they seek out good food at local restaurants.  Part of the book is like a travelogue and part of it is about meditation and spiritual growth.  The author actually did take a road trip to North Dakota and he describes towns and actual restaurants.  Their road trip brought them into Minnesota at Duluth and out again in Fargo.  One person in the book club traveled to Duluth and checked out the Cedar Creek Cafe (up the hill near the colleges). She said it was a small, non-descript place with excellent food.  She talked to the owner about the book.  He had never heard of "Breakfast with Buddha" and had no idea his establishment was mentioned in it.  I thought the book was okay. The ending left a lot to be desired. I enjoyed the discussion about the book more.