The host of Travel Channel’s most popular show explains how iconic American foods have captured our culinary imaginations—you won't look at a bagel the same way again!
In America the Edible, Travel Channel host Adam Richman tackles the ins and outs of American cuisine, demonstrating his own unique brand of culinary anthropology. Believing that regional cuisine reveals far more than just our taste for chicken fried steak or 3-way chili, Richman explores the ethnic, economic, and cultural factors that shape the way we eat—and how food, in turn, reflects who we are as a nation. Richman uses his signature wit and casual charm to take youon a tour around the country,explaining such curiosities as why bagels are shaped like circles, why fried chicken is so popular in the South, and how some of the most iconic American food—hot dogs, fries, and soda—are not really American at all. Writing with passion, curiosity, and a desire to share his knowledge, he includes recipes, secret addresses for fun and tasty finds, and tips on how to eat like a local from coast to coast.
Part travelogue, part fun fact book, part serious culinary journalism, Richman’s America the Edible illuminates the food map in a way nobody has before.
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"Richman’s genuine, contagious enthusiasm for food keeps America the Edible enjoyable. His descriptions of favorite dishes are tantalizing, detailed, and accessible. He’s more prone to visiting a standout hot-dog joint than an haute-cuisine spot, making the book useful for travelers, with even more utility provided by sidebars on how to tell an authentic eatery from a tourist trap." —The Onion’s AV Club
ADAM RICHMAN is the host of the Travel Channel series Man. v. Food. He earned his master’s degree from Yale University, has appeared in several TV shows, and has worked in many restaurants around the country. He lives in Brooklyn.
I am a fan of Richman's tv show (Man vs. Food), where he demonstrates a kind of down-to-earth charm that makes him instantly accessible, a foodie's "everyman." Accordingly, I was pretty eager to get my hands on this book, but I have to admit that I didn't find the read that rewarding. The problem I had is highlighted by this passage from its description: "Part travelogue, part fun fact book, part serious culinary journalism, Richman's America the Edible illuminates the food map in a way nobody has before."
This book is "part" of a whole lot of things, but it doesn't really add up to a comprehensive whole. There's not enough attention to food and history, and entirely too much attention to the lovely lady by his side (or not) at any given moment. When he focuses too heavily on these elements, the book develops a startlingly purple hue that contrasts oddly with more prosaic prose: "I braced for the arrival of this switchblade-sexy rockabilly baby who couldn't have weighed more than 105 pounds yet flattened me like a 17-ton tidal wave. Experience had taught me that she was twice as unpredictable as a tsunami, and capable of far more damage. Her sudden, summer-storm flashes of passion or petulance captivated me completely, her reactions a flurry of tattoos and coal-black eyeliner, hairpins and histrionics. She made me a lion, and for sport would slaughter me like a lamb. And I bled out into a bourbon glass at bars along Bay Street, loving every frustrating minute of it. If I was seeking grace, I had come to the wrong place, it would seem."
Contrast this faux "noir detective" narrative with this: "Some stalls and the families who run them have been in the market for decades, even 50 years or more.... These are people with longtime, multigenerational roots in Ohio, and in this market it's not uncommon to encounter people (generally older) speaking Polish, Italian, or Hungarian or wearing traditional Hungarian or Mennonite clothing. There is some competition among vendors, as many of their goods overlap."
Now, your tastes may differ, but I didn't particularly find that these distinctive flavors mingled well. I personally would have enjoyed this book far more if he had paid more attention to the food and history, and less to the frequently unnamed women who shared it with him.
I don't, however, want to sound more critical than I intend. Richman is witty and while sometimes his prose feels forced, he still frequently displays that everyman charm. I learned a bit from reading this, if not as much as I had hoped or expected to. And there were a few lovely recipes from his ten stops across the country. All-in-all, it was a pleasant if not a stellar read. I think a tighter focus could have made this great.Read more ›
I had no idea that Adam Richman was someone famous till I was half-way through this book and finally looked him up online. So I just read it as a book. it wasn't exactly what I was expecting, but it was a pretty fun romp. First thing you have to know is that Adam seasons his food writing with 4-letter words and a fair amount of sex. Neither is offensive to me, but if you are of delicate sensibilities, this will probably not be your cup of tea. Quite a lot of the food is orgasmic to him, and some of it serves as foreplay to a more literal orgasmic pleasure, and some of it (lobster rolls in particular) he wants to have sex with.
Another thing to know about this book is that it only includes cities where Richman happened to stay for a while and eat some good food. It makes no claim to be complete or representative, though it does cover quite a few places. It is also not a history of American food, or a history of America by way of its food. He does include some odd historical and geological paragraphs to each chapter, some of which are of questionable relevance and/or accuracy. I was happy to read about Maine being a "drowned coast," which is a fact I have long enjoyed knowing, but when he says that Maine "joined the United States in 1820, well, sort of but not really. Most of what is now Maine was part of Massachusetts till then. So it's true that Maine became a state in 1820, but it's kind of like saying that West Virginia joined the United States in 1863.
But see? What does that have to do with food writing? Not much. The best part of this book is the extremely vivid, enthusiastic descriptions of the taste of good dishes. This man likes his food, and he is capable of making your mouth water just by his descriptions....
There is also enough specific information to make this book useful as a guidebook if you happen to be driving from Sebago Lake to Portland and have a hankering for a lobster roll! The locations covered (though they are covered only in the sense that he tells yo where and what he ate, not necessarily a Fodor's Guide to all the best spots) are:
Los Angeles (twice) Honolulu Brooklyn St. Loius Cleveland Austin San Francisco Portland, ME Savannah
The net result is something along the lines of Guy Fieri's Diners, Drive-ins and Dives on Food Network, but sexier.Read more ›
Being a cook myself and also a huge fan of the types of restaurants featured on 'Man vs Food', I could not wait to read "America the Edible". I have been watching 'Man vs Food' since it debuted and have probably seen every episode enough time to repeat them in my sleep. So imagine my shock in finding out that the Adam Richman who wrote this book is not the same person who hosts the show. In saying that I mean that it seems like he is two different people. I founf his writing to be very juvenille and came away from the book liking him less than I had before. I read the book wanting to learn more about the places he went to as research for his show and maybe learn a little about his past in the food industry. While we we learned some about those restaurants, many ones not seen on the show, what we learned about his past was that he was/is kind of pervy/scummy when it comes to the ladies. You will see a different side of Adam Richman after reading this book, a side that you wish you had not met. His personal life aside the book was decent but it just did not live up to what I was expecting. But I will continue to enjoy more episodes of 'Man vs Food' and dream of one day replacing Adam Richman as host, just a suggestion Travel Channel executives.
One of my absolute favorite authors is Anthony Bourdain. The guy is a genius with the written word. He's sometimes crass, often funny, and molds words with the ease of a poet. And he talks about food. It's a win-win.
So, when I saw Adam Richman (from Man v. Food fame) had a book out, I was eager to read it. On the show he seems charismatic, funny, and there's no doubting his excitement about food. The book must be great, right?
Not quite ready to pay the $25.99 sticker price for the hardcover, I passed on the book--just like we regretfully sometimes pass on that last slice of pie fully knowing you'll be back. As luck would have it, I was at the dollar store and lo, "America the Edible" was available for a buck. Boo-yeah! I saved $25!
Finally having read the book, I can say I learned many things from "America the Edible." Here they are in no particular order:
1. I am not as cool as Adam Richman: Neither are you. Neither is anyone for that matter. In fact, I don't think even he is as cool as he thinks he is. Do you remember that kid in school (everybody had at least one) who would tell you stories about how cool he was? Like the time he drove his father's Corvette and he was only six? Or when the Globetrotters went to his house for his birthday party? And you thought, "Wait a minute, I went to his birthday party and he had a poster of the Globetrotters--they didn't actually go there." Well, Adam comes off as that guy.
The book starts out with him in Los Angeles waiting for a call from his agent. He makes sure to blast you in the face with a couple of hard yet awkwardly used cuss words, just so you can get the picture that he's "'da bad boy from Brooklyn," not the sweet, unassuming gentleman in M v. F. (Wouldn't want to get them confused....) He takes you through his morning workout: fifty push-ups, seven sun salutations, cobra stretch, fifty leg raises, a hundred crunches, twenty-five twisting crunches to either side... Hold on, did he just write "a hundred" crunches? I've seen his show and the vast quantity of deep fried foods he consumes, a hundred crunches seemed like a stretch. All that was missing from his yoga/workout were the Globetrotters.
2. Momma always said not to kiss and tell: An alternate title to this book could be, "America the Erotic: A Horny History, from Bed to Sleazy Bed." Adam spends about as much time describing his women partners as he does the food he eats. In fact, sometimes the line blurs between the two and women are described like food while food is described like sex. There were a couple of times I actually cringed while reading, specifically when he says he wants to "have sex with a lobster roll." The last thing I want when reading about food is to have a visual of a chubby dude doing it with a sandwich. Come on. The chapters are full of "chance encounters" and "hook ups" with breathtakingly beautiful young women who are soft on the eyes and drink like hardened sailors. Did Adam mention the Globetrotters were at his birthday party? Thank goodness he doesn't go into gory details about his adventures with the women, other than when they're eating together. He has some sort of fixation on feeding and being fed by these "scorching hot" women. By the time I was halfway through the book I was so tired of his manly conquests and "puppy love" moping after things didn't work out that I almost put the book down... but couldn't. (DARN MY OCD!)
3. The Adam Richman drinking game: I don't drink. Let me rephrase that. I don't drink alcohol. (I almost started while reading this book--not to follow all of his "stellar" drinking advice, but to wash the dry heaves and disgust from my mouth.) I did have a great idea for a drinking game, though. Every time Adam refers to food using a sexual-metaphor OR every time he describes a food with the verb "orgasmic," you take a drink. Believe me, by the time people hit the last page EVERYONE would be giving the book 5 1/2 stars and leave a gratuity on the bar. I'm sorry, but "orgasmic" is not my first choice of adjectives, especially when it comes to food.
4. Talking about adjectives: One of my favorite descriptions of the whole book was when Adam described the lobster he was eating as "lobstery." If that's all it takes to be a great food critic, then sign me up. "The beefy beef patty was a great counterpoint to the lettucy lettuce and tomatoes that were almost tomatoey. All in all, the hamburger was downright hamburgery." Adam's other favorite words are "nutty," "buttery," and "almost." Everything tasted nutty or buttery or almost nutty or almost buttery followed by the authors described groans of ecstasy. Gag.
To be fair, there were some things I liked. Adam embraces diversity, both with food and culture. I love that about him. He praises foreign food as much as he does American staples. There is no question this guy loves food and he loves the people, cities and cultures he shares his time with. The guy gets excited about things and I find his excitement admirable. It's nice to read a book that expounds upon the positives of something instead of focusing on the negative. (Yes, I see the irony of writing that at the end of my mostly negative review.)
All in all, if I were you, I'd skip this book. Read Anthony Bourdain if you want edgy food books. Save your $25.99! If you want the Adam Richman you see on TV, shun the book and keep watching Man v. Food reruns. Enjoy the spunky, sweet, teddy-bear Adam who dominates the screen and seems a little awkward and blushes when pretty girls are around. Best to keep him that way in your mind and heart. I'll still watch his program, but I know I will always see the womanizing, over-sexed, overly cool Adam Richman behind the innocent foody facade. And that makes me feel a little sad.
