Customer Reviews

The Food Life: Inside the World of Food with the Grocer Extraordinaire at Fairway

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I grew up sandwiched between Fairway and Zabars. I discovered cheese thanks to Steve Jenkins' defunct column on starchefs.com. I've read The Cheese Primer cover to cover multiple times. But this book didn't make good use of his talents. When he writes about cheese he is excellent - when he writes about most other subjects he is effusive. The chapter on olive oil doesn't talk about the tastes of olive oil, merely about what is not real olive oil and the various scams in the business. His language is hyperbolic when he discusses the various Fairway brand olive oils: "We consider this oil, if not the most delicious we have ever tasted, at least among the top three." That isn't accurate. Fairway brand olive oils are very good oils, and an extremely good value, but none of them are "the most delicious." The Fairway in Red Hook "might be the most dramatic piece of real estate in New York." etc. etc. The book suffers from these repeated exaggerations. But here is Steve talking about cheese: "If on the other hand, I behold an exterior in some natural shade; if it has a toadlike skin or a pebbly surface or deer antlers' velvet, a surface that begs to be stroked or is cloaked in gray gingham or is stippled or tattoed over every square inch with its name and provenance..." - now that kind of writing makes me have to cover my lap with the book and think unsexy thoughts so I can stand up again.
So it's a mixed bag. More chat and hype than substance, which is a shame since he is clearly quite capable of writing substantively about substances.

Both funny and fascinating, Steven Jenkins' account of the day-to-day running of this amazing grocery store is a real page turner for foodies. Having read "Cheese Primer" I knew the quality of his writing style already, but I wasn't prepared for this book to read almost like fiction. The cast of characters are every bit as interesting as the products they promote.
Mitchel London's wonderful recipes are a delightful bonus to an already satisfying read.

This book is a funny fast and irreverent guide. You can learn enough about all sorts of comestibles, though the author wouldn't use a pretentious word like comestibles when a simple clear one like FOOD would do, to impress your friends or just feel a little more secure throwing your next dinner party. Like all the best books about food it teaches you a lot about the local culture. Sounds like there's more culture in the cheese dept than in the aisles of Fairway. It's a book worth buying because you feel smarter when you're done, unlike some of the claptrap that's been written about gracious living and good eating. Unlike shopping at Fairway, which now approaches a blood sport, it doesn't matter if you lose your place the book is just as good when you go back. If you're planning a trip to NYC it's an indispensable volume.

I landed in New York on a hot July night in 1986, a mix of excitement and dread as I wandered the streets of my new hometown. Fairway was the first establishment I entered in New York City, before a bar, a church, a diner. But it's not the romance of my first NY store that keeps me such a huge Fairway fan. Instead, it's the superb quality, fine selection, and knowledgable staff that keep me shopping here after all these years. Those are clearly the same things that keep Jenkins at Fairway.

A wonderful exploration of specialty retailing, combined with a love affair with all things food, makes this book a must for any foodie. The recipes are fine--a few I'll try, most I won't--but it's the absolute devotion to the freshest, best ingredients that makes the reader consume this book one delicious page after the other.

One need not be a New Yorker to appreciate the quick wit or enthusiasm Jenkins uses in this book. In fact, one need never set foot in Fairway. But even if you live in Omaha or Oklahoma City and have even a mild interest in good food, you'll really enjoy this book.