Frank Bruni, probably still blushing from the longest, warmest sendoff The New York Times has ever bestowed on a departing restaurant critic, is coming to town this week to promote his new book, Born Round: The Secret History of a Full-Time Eater (Penguin, $25.95). The memoir details an improbable life path from fat kid to binging-purging adolescent to (notably slim) professional critic charged with dining out 10 or more times a week. Now that he has shed his anonymity, Brunis revealing himself to be a whip-smart, engaging guy, so the Q&A session should be as fun as the reading, unless audience members try turning it into a weight-control support group. Shout them down with questions about nemesis Jeffrey Chodorow and what Bruni thinks of Times replacement Sam Siftons anonymity problem. JONATHAN KAUFFMAN
Thu., Sept. 10, 7:30 p.m., 2009
