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3.77 AVERAGE
3.77 AVERAGE
Standouts for me were “How a Cheese Goes Extinct”, “Good Bread”, “How to Feed Crowds in a Protest or Pandemic”, “Close to the Bone”, “Celia Chiang”, “Get Fat Don’t Die”, “The Nazi Origins of Your Favorite Natural Wine”, “What a 1944 Starvation Experiment Reveals About 2020 Food Insecurity,” and my favorite “Who Will Save the Food Timeline”.
I really enjoyed this collection of essays though there was a sense of loss in many. That is just where we were in 2020-2021 and it still rings true in 2025.
I really enjoyed this collection of essays though there was a sense of loss in many. That is just where we were in 2020-2021 and it still rings true in 2025.
3 1/2*
Some of these were absolutely fascinating!
There were 8 I rated 5/5* :
- How a Cheese Goes Extinct ( Ruby Tandoh )
- Good Bread ( Bill Buford )
- How to Feed a Crowd in a Protest or Pandemic? ( Priya Krishna )
- Once the Disease of Gluttonous Aristocrats, Gout is Now Tormenting the Masses ( Ligaya Mishan )
- SF Restaurants $200 Per Person Dome is America’s Problems in a Plastic Nutshell ( Soleil Ho )
- All Brandon Jew Wants is for Chinese Restaurants to Know Their Worth ( Mackenzie Chung Fegan )
- Soli/dairy/ty ( Liza Monroy )
- Who Will Save the Food Timeline ( Dayna Evans )
Some of these were absolutely fascinating!
There were 8 I rated 5/5* :
- How a Cheese Goes Extinct ( Ruby Tandoh )
- Good Bread ( Bill Buford )
- How to Feed a Crowd in a Protest or Pandemic? ( Priya Krishna )
- Once the Disease of Gluttonous Aristocrats, Gout is Now Tormenting the Masses ( Ligaya Mishan )
- SF Restaurants $200 Per Person Dome is America’s Problems in a Plastic Nutshell ( Soleil Ho )
- All Brandon Jew Wants is for Chinese Restaurants to Know Their Worth ( Mackenzie Chung Fegan )
- Soli/dairy/ty ( Liza Monroy )
- Who Will Save the Food Timeline ( Dayna Evans )
The essays were really interesting and eye opening in some cases. Liked the variety of topics and felt the essays were relevant, informative, and engaging.
funny
informative
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
A fantastic find from my local dollar store! This collection of creative, narrative non-fiction was a lovely "start of the year" read.
These articles, written as the world emerged from the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 are poignant historical artifacts. I found myself (reading them in 2025) reminded of that time and how awful it was -- especially for those in the food and hospitality industries.
This collection of essays, however, do not solely focus on the pandemic (though many do); a few are historical and others illuminate specific niche industries, their problems, and critique our current consumer/food industry culture.
These articles, written as the world emerged from the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 are poignant historical artifacts. I found myself (reading them in 2025) reminded of that time and how awful it was -- especially for those in the food and hospitality industries.
This collection of essays, however, do not solely focus on the pandemic (though many do); a few are historical and others illuminate specific niche industries, their problems, and critique our current consumer/food industry culture.
adventurous
informative
fast-paced
I think with this book I've made my way through all of the 'Best American' books on food writing. Having started with the 2022 version, and then enjoying it so much I backtracked through the others, I'll say that this one was probably my least favorite, but still held quite a few stories that were well worth reading.
While there were a few highlights in this book (have you heard of a water sommelier before?). There were also stories that didn't really resonate with me all too well. I think because everything kind of ran into each other. Which can be attributed to the pandemic, and the changes the industry needed to make to adapt. But as a result these stories felt less about food and more about those social dynamics. Which don't get me wrong, I think a lot of these stories are important, and it's good to know the producers of your food and the cultural or sociological impacts of food. It's just that that was the majority and at some point I found myself just wishing for a story that would make me crave something.
Still not a bad anthology, and I greatly enjoyed Hamilton's book when I read it years ago, but maybe not my favorite of the group.
Review by M. Reynard 2023
While there were a few highlights in this book (have you heard of a water sommelier before?). There were also stories that didn't really resonate with me all too well. I think because everything kind of ran into each other. Which can be attributed to the pandemic, and the changes the industry needed to make to adapt. But as a result these stories felt less about food and more about those social dynamics. Which don't get me wrong, I think a lot of these stories are important, and it's good to know the producers of your food and the cultural or sociological impacts of food. It's just that that was the majority and at some point I found myself just wishing for a story that would make me crave something.
Still not a bad anthology, and I greatly enjoyed Hamilton's book when I read it years ago, but maybe not my favorite of the group.
Review by M. Reynard 2023
informative
reflective
fast-paced
informative
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
Now that we’ve got a little bit of distance from peak-pandemic, reading essays from this time feels so important for our collective history. Stand-out essays here are Good Bread by Bill Buford, Get Fat Don’t Die by Jonathan Kauffman, Making Reservations by Foster Kramer, & Who Will Save the Food Timeline by Dayna Evans.
