Roadfood READS!

Roadfood Reads!

I would love to establish a thread here on Roadfood for sharing our favorite books about food. I have stumbled across a few titles by accident on different posts and have “eaten them up”! I love reading about food as much as preparing or eating it. Hmmm… well, almost.

I know there must be aLOT of y’all out there who also enjoy reading about food as much as I do. I mean, this is the website mentored by the Sterns! Who hasn’t read their books as well? I know I’ve read most all of them & own several. 

I will get the ball rolling & I look forward to allyalls’ responses. Because I need some more books to read.  

… I remember the first book I read by Jane & Michael Stern in 1987. Square Meals. I was working in a bookstore (Busted! Yes, I am a bibliophile) & of course Cookbooks was “my section”. At 2 a.m. the same day I took it home I was still reading & laughing out loud. My then husband could not believe it was a cookbook that had me glued to the pages in the middle of the night. Ladies Lunches! The Cuisine of Suburbia! Quivering Salads & Flaming Cabbage Head Weenies with Pu-Pu Sauce! Double Kraft Dinner (I wasn’t the ONLY one!)! If you have never read this book you need to rush out right now & buy it. 

At the same time that I discovered the Sterns books, I also became a devotee of Calvin Trillin. “In the 1970s, Calvin Trillin informed America that its most glorious food was not to be found at the pretentious restaurants he referred to generically as “La Maison de la Casa House, Continental Cuisine”. He established himself as, in Craig Claiborne’s phrase, “the Walt Whitman of American eats.” Trillin’s three comic masterpieces are now available in what Trillin calls The Tummy Trilogy.” I know his work has been referred to here on Roadfood. American Fried, Alice Let’s Eat and Third Helpings are musts on anyone’s Food Book List. 

A more recent entry in my long list of wolfed down food books is The Fortune Cookie Chronicles by Jennifer 8 Lee. I will quote a summary; “If you think McDonald's is the most ubiquitous restaurant experience in America, consider that there are more Chinese restaurants in America than McDonalds, Burger Kings, and Wendys combined. New York Times reporter and Chinese-American (or American-born Chinese) Jennifer 8 Lee traces the history of Chinese-American experience through the lens of the food. In a compelling blend of sociology and history, Jenny Lee exposes the indentured servitude Chinese restaurants expect from illegal immigrant chefs, investigates the relationship between Jews and Chinese food, and weaves a personal narrative about her own relationship with Chinese food. The Fortune Cookie Chronicles speaks to the immigrant experience as a whole, and the way it has shaped our country.” It was a fascinating read & it included a “mystery” which naturally endeared it to me (“Mysteries” was my other section in the bookstore). Check it out!

CiaoMeOwwww! 

The one that got me started was Calvin Trillin's "American Fried", back in the early 70's, before the term "Roadfood" even existed. In fact one of the two or three fan letters I have ever written in my life was to Calvin Trillin, commenting how much I enjoyed Arthur Bryant's, which I would never have known about if it wasn't for his book. I got a nice funny note back from him, which I still have.

These days most of my Roadfood reading comes from food blogs and the Roadfood Forums, although I just bought "The Food Lover's Guide to Brooklyn" by Sherri Eisenberg.

Even though I grew up in Brooklyn and still have some family there, this book has given me enough new Food Finds that I'm planning a day trip to the Williamsburg/Greenpoint section of Brooklyn in the near future.

http://www.amazon.com/Food-Lovers-Guide-Brooklyn-Specialties/dp/0762759437/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1278074624&sr=1-1

A book I have mentioned here before is still one of my favorites: I Hear America Cooking by Betty Fussell. She examines the history and lore of food in defferent regions of our country and gives recipes for some of the representative foods. Her writing style and wealth of information are delightful. 

Ken, you are a lucky man. I wonder if I wrote a fan letter to Mr. Trillin ...Nah. In my dreams. These days he is probably so inundated with mail that he would never even see a letter from me. MBrookes, I have put your book suggestion on my request list at the DPL. Thanks for letting me know about it! 

Right now I am reading Gumbo Tales by Sara Roahen. I stumbled across it somewhere here on RF, but I can't recall where. It is a moving celebration of NOLA cuisine & I am really enjoying it. So far, we have *tasted* 4 different versions/concepts of "Gumbo" & are relishing the hot summer days with Sno Blizzes... Check it out!

CiaoMeOwwwWOW!  

Tender to the Bone, by Ruth Reichl. I read some reviews that didn't like it, but I thought it was pretty good. I know who she is, but I've never read any of her stuff before, I'm not New York.

Food in History, by Reah Tannehill. An incredible scholarly work. Not a light read, but almost essential nonetheless.

Great idea SHE, hope everyone can keep it going -

I would recommend:
 
Being Dead Is No Excuse: The Official Southern Ladies Guide to Hosting the Perfect Funeral by Gayden Metcalfe and Charlotte Hays - silly really, and a light read but some of the recipes are actually good. 

The Pat Conroy Cookbook: Recipes and Stories of My Life - I really enjoyed this, part autobiography with some good recipes.

I have on order at the library, and have yet to read:

Medium Raw - Anthony Bourdain

Real Cajun- Donald Link (won a 2009 James Beard cookbook award, and curious about it)

  

sd b


 

SHE,BlackQueen


At the same time that I discovered the Sterns books, I also became a devotee of Calvin Trillin. “In the 1970s, Calvin Trillin informed America that its most glorious food was not to be found at the pretentious restaurants he referred to generically as “La Maison de la Casa House, Continental Cuisine”. He established himself as, in Craig Claiborne’s phrase, “the Walt Whitman of American eats.” Trillin’s three comic masterpieces are now available in what Trillin calls The Tummy Trilogy.” I know his work has been referred to here on Roadfood. American Fried, Alice Let’s Eat and Third Helpings are musts on anyone’s Food Book List. 

A more recent entry in my long list of wolfed down food books is The Fortune Cookie Chronicles by Jennifer 8 Lee. I will quote a summary; “If you think McDonald's is the most ubiquitous restaurant experience in America, consider that there are more Chinese restaurants in America than McDonalds, Burger Kings, and Wendys combined. New York Times reporter and Chinese-American (or American-born Chinese) Jennifer 8 Lee traces the history of Chinese-American experience through the lens of the food. In a compelling blend of sociology and history, Jenny Lee exposes the indentured servitude Chinese restaurants expect from illegal immigrant chefs, investigates the relationship between Jews and Chinese food, and weaves a personal narrative about her own relationship with Chinese food. The Fortune Cookie Chronicles speaks to the immigrant experience as a whole, and the way it has shaped our country.” It was a fascinating read & it included a “mystery” which naturally endeared it to me (“Mysteries” was my other section in the bookstore). Check it out!

CiaoMeOwwww! 

I really enjoyed The Fortune Cookie Chronicles. One chapter that stands out is the story of the Chinese family that buys a restaurant and how their dream rapidly turns sour.

I just finished Calvin Trillin's Tummy Trilogy last month. Wonderful writing.

Mosca, I highly recommend the rest of Ruth Reichl's food memoirs: Comfort Me with Apples and Garlic and Sapphires. She's an excellent writer with really wide tastes. I've reread each of those books several times.

One food writer that I really enjoy is Jeffrey Steingarten, though I've only read The Return of the Man Who Ate Everything.

I think one of the things that first made me want to find roadfood was Calvin Trillin's writing.

My favorite book on food might be M.F.K. Fisher's With Bold Knife and Fork.