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3.2 AVERAGE
3.2 AVERAGE
funny
informative
lighthearted
slow-paced
I hadn't read Cathy's blog of her experience, so I came to this book completely fresh. I really enjoyed her look at the finance side of eating out all the time. As someone who is trying to control the amount of eating out (or take out), I appreciated her attitude towards dishes that she used to only get via take out or restaurant. Having a pizza craving - figure out how to make it yourself. I enjoy that she challenged herself in the kitchen and met her cravings at the same time. Overall a very enjoyable book and bolstering if you're also trying to reduce the amount of money you spend on restaurants and take out.
This was one book that while based on a blog was still well-written. And while the author's lifestyle is incredibly foreign to me (several trips abroad just for fun, hipster friends, dance parties, and underground supper parties??)-- I still liked it.
For two years she avoids eating out at restaurants- of any kind. Not too easy anywhere, but especially not in New York City. Not to say she was cooking every ingredient from scratch- which would have been pretty unbelievable. But that's why I found this really motivating- it's so easy to buy your food, eat out when you don't feel like making anything, or buy pre-made. But how often that food isn't good! And then it's harder to justify. You don't have to make your own bread and cultivate your own yogurt cultures (although she does her own bread), but you should try to make food more, if for no other reason than to get in touch with what you're putting in your body.
I found it very motivating- last night after finishing the book, I made an enchilada casserole and butterscotch ice cream. And I felt pretty awesome about it. (Sidenote: the butterscotch ice cream was not in the casserole, that would be gross.
For two years she avoids eating out at restaurants- of any kind. Not too easy anywhere, but especially not in New York City. Not to say she was cooking every ingredient from scratch- which would have been pretty unbelievable. But that's why I found this really motivating- it's so easy to buy your food, eat out when you don't feel like making anything, or buy pre-made. But how often that food isn't good! And then it's harder to justify. You don't have to make your own bread and cultivate your own yogurt cultures (although she does her own bread), but you should try to make food more, if for no other reason than to get in touch with what you're putting in your body.
I found it very motivating- last night after finishing the book, I made an enchilada casserole and butterscotch ice cream. And I felt pretty awesome about it. (Sidenote: the butterscotch ice cream was not in the casserole, that would be gross.
The title is a little open to misinterpretation. The author already enjoyed cooking and already knew how. A primary way she was able to avoid restaurants was by finding other ways to get out of the house for dinner -- ways that aren't available to people outside of major metro areas. It's an interesting look at what foodies in New York are up to, but for most of us it is all vicarious rather than ideas to try at home. Also, you get a lot of someone in their 20s figuring out life and I've read enough reviews of similar books to know that not everyone can tolerate reading that for very long. So you're warned.
She starts out with some great points on gender balances in cooking (the fact women spend less time in the kitchen does not give men an excuse to starve, especially when you consider the % of food network programming devoted to them) and maybe a few too many caveats about acknowledging her privilege. Some great turns of phrase, like scuttling her feet with joy while reading a good review. And she picked just the right quote to finally make me want to read Pollan's Omnivore's Dilemma. As the book goes on, however, the need for an editor grows. By the last chapter, we're getting entirely unnecessary, cloggy phrases like "It was past one o'clock in the morning, according to the numbers at the bottom right-hand corner of my computer screen..." And I expect (hope?) her to eventually regret how consistently harsh she was when discussing her dates.
The recipes could also have used some third party review. Many miss steps or are vague. There's no recipe index in the back and a disappointing number of tasty-sounding dishes don't get a recipe at all. (Still wondering about her father's pepperoni meatloaf. And her award-winning chocolate pain.)
An amazing number of cooking anecdotes -- especially once she's involved in supper clubs and competitions -- seem to be building to a disaster but then apparently everything's fine. It gets a little frustrating. I have no interest in schadenfreude; it's great that this stuff tended to go well, especially with such expensive ingredients. It's the implying otherwise that gets to be a cheat. And repetitive. There are other ways to make the tales interesting.
There's not a lot of research behind this, but it was a hobby project rather than a full-time job, so go figure. I was surprised she got through the chapter on frugalistas without mentioning Judith Levine, and I still have trouble believing all New York bakeries just throw away their bread each day, despite all the publicity of groups like Second Harvest.
I think you get enough food for thought to make it worthwhile, if occasionally frustrating. Like with any of these projects, even when you disagree with the directions she takes (I don't think convenience store food is less of a cheat than pre-fab pizza by the slice), you're still stopping to consider the issues and how they should effect your own behavior. The discussion of all the packaging waste involved with takeout and with processed foods is useful to anyone anywhere, for example. It's not just about the money spent. Little attention is given to the health angle of eating out vs eating in but that's one area so thoroughly covered elsewhere these days.
As a bonus, there are adorable illustrations that reminded me a lot of the ones Hilary Knight did for Peg Bracken's books.
She starts out with some great points on gender balances in cooking (the fact women spend less time in the kitchen does not give men an excuse to starve, especially when you consider the % of food network programming devoted to them) and maybe a few too many caveats about acknowledging her privilege. Some great turns of phrase, like scuttling her feet with joy while reading a good review. And she picked just the right quote to finally make me want to read Pollan's Omnivore's Dilemma. As the book goes on, however, the need for an editor grows. By the last chapter, we're getting entirely unnecessary, cloggy phrases like "It was past one o'clock in the morning, according to the numbers at the bottom right-hand corner of my computer screen..." And I expect (hope?) her to eventually regret how consistently harsh she was when discussing her dates.
The recipes could also have used some third party review. Many miss steps or are vague. There's no recipe index in the back and a disappointing number of tasty-sounding dishes don't get a recipe at all. (Still wondering about her father's pepperoni meatloaf. And her award-winning chocolate pain.)
An amazing number of cooking anecdotes -- especially once she's involved in supper clubs and competitions -- seem to be building to a disaster but then apparently everything's fine. It gets a little frustrating. I have no interest in schadenfreude; it's great that this stuff tended to go well, especially with such expensive ingredients. It's the implying otherwise that gets to be a cheat. And repetitive. There are other ways to make the tales interesting.
There's not a lot of research behind this, but it was a hobby project rather than a full-time job, so go figure. I was surprised she got through the chapter on frugalistas without mentioning Judith Levine, and I still have trouble believing all New York bakeries just throw away their bread each day, despite all the publicity of groups like Second Harvest.
I think you get enough food for thought to make it worthwhile, if occasionally frustrating. Like with any of these projects, even when you disagree with the directions she takes (I don't think convenience store food is less of a cheat than pre-fab pizza by the slice), you're still stopping to consider the issues and how they should effect your own behavior. The discussion of all the packaging waste involved with takeout and with processed foods is useful to anyone anywhere, for example. It's not just about the money spent. Little attention is given to the health angle of eating out vs eating in but that's one area so thoroughly covered elsewhere these days.
As a bonus, there are adorable illustrations that reminded me a lot of the ones Hilary Knight did for Peg Bracken's books.
I found the writing stiff and a little too meandering, but I would guess that's due to this being a first book (the current writing on her blog seems much more natural). I also found the fact that nothing ever went wrong for the author to be a little bit annoying, but other than the fact that it sometimes made the stories feel a little anti-climactic, I think that's more my problem then Erway's. She herself seemed to be relatively down-to-earth about her success (which she certainly worked hard for), and I enjoyed the overall story of her cooking adventures in New York. She's definitely a creative cook, and the recipes in the book are unique and interesting as well. I wasn't aware of her blog before reading this, but I definitely plan to keep an eye on it in the future.
An engaging memoir about a young woman who decides to give up eating out and becomes subsumed into the NYC foodie culture. Bonus: some good-looking recipes are included.
This was a fascinating read as I transitioned from eating out frequently to almost not at all. Cathy's books taught me a lot about different aspects of food culture and the impact that capitalism has had on our own appetites. Erway has a wonderful conversational style that makes the book easy to read and her experience acts as a solid throughline for her journey. The recipes were interesting, but there were some menu items she discussed in detail that didn't make it to the recipe section and I wish they had. This was a book that made me think about food culture differently, but I didn't feel compelled to check in more with Erway after I finished the book.
Enjoyable read, I love NY and its food and this book is kind of the antithesis, how to avoid eating out. still..the story is enjoyable and the recipes (a few each chapter) go with the learning curve of the author.
In my recent spate of obsessive reading about food and cooking, Cathy Erway's book seemed like a perfect fit - a focus on home cooking over restaurant eating. And, for the most part, it met my expectations. I did slow down in the middle of the book, when it got to be more about freeganism and environmental issues than about cooking, and Erway's level of expertise when starting this experiment meant that I didn't actually learn very much about food or cooking (which is my problem, not hers), but I loved the ultimate message that I took away from it: don't settle for terrible food and bust out of your normal routines.
I'm not so big on memoirs, but Cathy's combination of stories about her two years of not eating out in New York City, food culture, and recipes really made for an interesting read. Great insights into how food really connects to just about everything and that so much can be learned about yourself by actually making the food you eat.