Best Food Writing 2001 [Paperback]

Holly Hughes (Editor)

Book Description

Series: Best Food Writing | Publication Date: November 9, 2001

Best Food Writing 2001 brings together, for the second year, the most exceptional writing culled from the past year’s books, magazines, newspapers, newsletters, and web sites. Within its five sections—Stocking the Larder, Home Cooking, Someone’s in the Kitchen, Dining Around and Personal Tastes—read our best writers on everything from the year’s most celebrated chefs to extraordinary restaurant experiences, from the latest trends in ingredients and equipment to unforgettable memoirs inspired by cooking and eating. Neither cook nor food lover should be without this remarkable annual collection. Included are contributions by R.W. Apple, Jr., Amanda Hesser, Ruth Reichl, Jeffrey Steingarten, Jane and Michael Stern, Calvin Trillin, Gael Greene, Mimi Sheraton, Jonathon Reynolds, Eric Schlosser, and many others.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

For food lovers, the next best thing to eating is reading about it. Best Food Writing 2001, compiled by Holly Hughes, offers these and other readers the year's most memorable food writing from books, magazines, newspapers, newsletters, and Web sites. Like its predecessor, Best Food Writing 2000, the book is a banquet--51 pieces on food in all its nutritional, gustatory, psychological, sociological, and, in short, personal glory. Dip into the book anywhere and enjoy, for example, Jeffrey Steingarten on bluefin tuna, Molly O'Neill discussing the glories of soup, William Grimes on comfort food, and Coleman Andrews on eating in Rome. Readers also journey to Paris (of course) in the form of Michael Lewis's wonderfully cranky paean to cassoulet (with recipe), and with John T. Edge in his search for the best Parisian Southern fried chicken (it exists); they also follow humorist Calvin Trillin as he seeks desperately for superior ceviche in Peru, Ecuador, and Queens, New York. Also included are excerpts from Ruth Reichl's bestselling Comfort Me with Apples and Patric Kuh's The Last Days of Haute Cuisine. There's more, of course, on topics as diverse as the agonies of dinner-party hosting, a chef's-eye view of dining out, and preparing perfect rice. Ideal for bedtime reading, the book also makes a great gift for fellow foodaholics who can't get enough of their favorite passion. --Arthur Boehm

From Publishers Weekly

Following last year's initial anthology, which she also edited, Hughes (Frommer's New York City with Kids) serves up this year's offerings like a satisfying, well-rounded meal. The selections are divided into six sections: Stocking the Larder, Food Fights, Home Cooking, Someone's in the Kitchen, Dining Around and Personal Tastes. The contributors include food industry insiders as well as professional writers who are lay foodies in their spare time, Jeffrey Eugenides and Malcolm Gladwell among them. From notable food critics like Colman Andrews and Ruth Reichl to such writers as Derek Cooper and Mort Rosenblum, the anthology provides engaging insight into food, cooking, eating and various relevant cultural and emotional phenomena. With extracts culled from books, magazines, newspapers and the Internet, the compilation ranges from the serious "Toro, Toro, Toro" by Jeffrey Steingarten to the amusing "Abstinence Makes the Taste Buds Grow Fonder" by David Leite. Short, light pieces provide welcome interludes to the longer, denser fare. All are enjoyable and worthwhile. Foodies will recognize many of the selections from magazines such as Gourmet and Food & Wine and books such as The Last Days of Haute Cuisine by Patric Kuh and Reichl's Comfort Me with Apples. (Dec.)Forecast: Foodies browsing extracts such as Rosenblum's delightful "Another Roadside Attraction," taken from A Goose in Toulouse, will likely walk away with a copy and may probe the shelves for books excerpted in this volume.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: Marlowe & Company (November 9, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1569245770
• ISBN-13: 978-1569245774
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #890,386 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A pleasurable read, February 12, 2003

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nekko1 "nekko1" (San Francisco Bay Area) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Best Food Writing 2001 (Paperback)

A good selection of writing covering a wide variety of topics. Each story was a delectable mystery as to what was coming, because although the common theme is food, the topics varied considerably. All contributors are highly polished, professional writers, so the quality of the writing is excellent. It wa a great winter bedtime read, to be parceled out, one story a night.