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4.12 AVERAGE
4.12 AVERAGE
If you have ever enjoyed a piece of food writing (whether by a food critic, a chef, or just a Yelp reviewer), I think I can guarantee you'll find something you enjoy in this collection. It's incredibly varied, and most surprisingly to me, represents a LOT of points of view.
There are the types of pieces I expected: a eulogistic article on the closing of Wylie Dufresne's avant-garde restaurant WD-50, for example. Or articles based around "the perfect recipe for ___".
Then there are some articles that really go beyond food itself, to plumb the anthropology behind what we eat, how we eat, and why we eat what and how we eat (I know, you may have to reread that sentence). The "coding" of restaurants in DC, for example -- how do you know if you're opening a restaurant that will be more "white" or more "black" in terms of what diners it attracts, and how do restaurateurs try to control that? I was fascinated by the examinations of aspects of dining that typically go unexamined.
And finally, there are articles that surprised me because they seemed so un-foodie-like. The history of Starbucks's Pumpkin Spice Latte. An argument for Taco Bell being the best Mexican food in the US. An article about depression that's food-related only in that the depressed writer is baking bread while contemplating his depression.
In short, there's definitely something for everyone. It's a great book to keep somewhere you might read for short periods, since each article is discrete and does not need to be read in order.
Note: I received a complimentary copy of this ebook from the publisher in exchange for my honest review.
There are the types of pieces I expected: a eulogistic article on the closing of Wylie Dufresne's avant-garde restaurant WD-50, for example. Or articles based around "the perfect recipe for ___".
Then there are some articles that really go beyond food itself, to plumb the anthropology behind what we eat, how we eat, and why we eat what and how we eat (I know, you may have to reread that sentence). The "coding" of restaurants in DC, for example -- how do you know if you're opening a restaurant that will be more "white" or more "black" in terms of what diners it attracts, and how do restaurateurs try to control that? I was fascinated by the examinations of aspects of dining that typically go unexamined.
And finally, there are articles that surprised me because they seemed so un-foodie-like. The history of Starbucks's Pumpkin Spice Latte. An argument for Taco Bell being the best Mexican food in the US. An article about depression that's food-related only in that the depressed writer is baking bread while contemplating his depression.
In short, there's definitely something for everyone. It's a great book to keep somewhere you might read for short periods, since each article is discrete and does not need to be read in order.
Note: I received a complimentary copy of this ebook from the publisher in exchange for my honest review.
I love food writing and this was a solid collection of essays that varied from a company making vegan meats and eggs to the search for the perfect ragu. In fact, there were quite a few essays devoted to ragu this year which even as a vegetarian I enjoyed as it used to be one of my favourite dishes. While I enjoyed some essays more than others, it worked well as a collection and among the best were a travel diary through Bologna, a rather fascinating history of the now ubiquitous pumpkin spice latte, a moving meditation by a cancer sufferer on being brought food by loved ones during his illness, and my favourite, a vivid and quite heartbreaking account of a young woman's struggle to build a healthy relationship with food after a difficult upbringing (Elissa Altman's "Infrequent Potatoes"). You know a collection has some gems when you make a note to seek out some of the contributors' other work.
Enjoyable and satisfying, not unlike a good plate of food.
With thanks to the publishers for supplying me with a review copy via Netgalley.
Enjoyable and satisfying, not unlike a good plate of food.
With thanks to the publishers for supplying me with a review copy via Netgalley.
(Watch as I tear through this anthology and then forget about food writing until the next edition.) "Coding and Decoding Dinner" was a most illuminating take on de facto segregation in restaurants. You can read it online. Other highlights: the R&D behind the PSL, cast iron mythbusting, and veggie beef of the future.
Not as good as 2014, but good. Some beautiful pieces about the simplest things: a sled from Eleven Madison Park, gelatinous Osteria Francescana ragu, the Pumpkin Spice Latte history. 9/10, very enjoyable, very digestible, very emotional.
emotional
informative
reflective
slow-paced
these stories made me very hungry, more short-form than other "Best of" books I've read