Garlic Is As Good As Ten Mothers

This video ode to that most odious of earth's garden delights, allium sativum--better known as garlic, is an exhaustive examination of the history, culinary uses, curative powers, and cultivation of the "Stinking Rose." Les Blank's gastronomically trained eye captures a luscious assortment of goodies from the kitchens of Alice Waters' Chez Panisse and Flint's Bar-B-Que in Berkeley. Viewers will also visit the Gilroy Garlic Festival, where they'll witness everything from the crowning of the Garlic Queen to the selling of Pet Garlics; bounce on their couches to the foot- stomping music of the Louisiana Playboys; and learn some interesting facts to boot (garlic is the second most-consumed spice; it's 4,000 years old; Eleanor Roosevelt ate three cloves dipped in chocolate every day). In short, it's a lot of fun. Highly recommended. (Also available in a shorter 30 min. version, which won an EFLA Blue Ribbon Award, for $44.95. Order from: Flower Films, 10341 San Pablo Ave., El Cerrito, CA 94530).