The Slow Food Guide to New York City: Restaurants, Markets, Bars [Paperback]

Patrick Martins (Author), Ben Watson (Author)

Book Description

Series: Slow Food Guide to New York City: Restaurants, Markets, Bars | Publication Date: September 2003

A deliciously different guide for native New Yorkers and visitors alike, with a broad yet discriminating view of the Big Apple¹s incredibly rich "food landscape." Compiled and written by passionate food-lovers who know the city inside and out, this unique guide covers not only the fancy four-star restaurants but the neighborhood hangouts and hidden treasures that make New York City such an international culinary destination.

The Slow Food Guide to New York City celebrates the foods and cuisines of the city¹s finest restaurants, green markets, specialty food shops, bars, and late-night spots. What all these places share is a commitment to the values of the international Slow Food movement: Artisanship, Conviviality, Eco-Gastronomy, Freshness, Sustainability, Tradition, and Typicality.

Slow Food is dedicated to:
- stewardship of the land and ecologically sound food production
- revival of the kitchen and the table as centers of pleasure, culture, and community
- invigoration and proliferation of regional, seasonal culinary traditions
- living a slower and more harmonious rhythm of life

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This excellent guidebook celebrates the strong presence the slow food movement has in New York City, where "the number of artisinal food producers... is at once staggering and impressive." Offering suggestions on restaurants, delis, bars, food stores and markets, Martins and Watson include a price index for each entry as well as the slow food movement's trademark snail logo next to names of institutions that work extra hard to promote slow food. Breaking down their list by cuisines, the authors highlight Craft and Verbena as examples of American cuisine, and Soba Nippon and Honmura An for Japanese. All of Mario Batali's restaurants are listed under Italian, as well as Al Di La Trattoria in Park Slope, Brooklyn. Martins and Watson, careful not to overlook local bars and pubs, also include such night spots as the Brooklyn Brewery and d.b.a. While not all restaurants or bars prepare their own food or drink, the ones listed here are New York institutions with a long history of serving New Yorkers.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

A comprehensive and authoritative field guide to the culinary landscape of New York City. -- Michael Pollan, author of The Botany of Desire

The folks at Slow Food know where to find the best food in New York. Buy this book! -- Eric Schlosser, author of Fast Food Nation

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 375 pages
• Publisher: Chelsea Green Publishing Company; Second Printing edition (September 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 193149827X
• ISBN-13: 978-1931498272
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,002,274 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent summary of the best NYC eats, March 14, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: The Slow Food Guide to New York City: Restaurants, Markets, Bars (Paperback)

As a frequent traveller to Italy, I have found the Slow Food Guide to be invaluable for restaurant recommendations throughout that entire country. The Slow Food organization has consistently provided knowledgeable reviews of places that offer traditional regional cuisine for excellent value. Now that Slow Food is expanding its scope to other cities and countries, I am happy to report that its New York guide also provides reliable reviews of some of the city's best eating establishments.

Note that, unlike Zagat, the Slow Food guide is not meant to be comprehensive. Instead, the contributors have chosen to write about a handful of some of the best restaurants for each cuisine category, ranging from cheap takeout places to famous four star establishments. Inevitably, some noteworthy restaurants have been left off of the list -- but those that have been included are highly worthy representatives of their respective cuisines.

Also, unlike Zagat, the reviews contain far more knowledgeable insights about ethnic restaurants in the city. Instead of providing entries about places that are popular but have watered-down cuisine for Western tastes, the contributors provide descriptions of outstanding and occasionally lesser-known restaurants that serve more authentic fare. In particular, the guide highlights some of the best ethnic restaurants in the outer boroughs, which are too frequently ignored by the Zagat reviewers and clientele. For example, the guide recommends Sripraphai Thai restaurant in Woodside, Queens -- and their inclusion of this relatively overlooked gem indicates that this is a guide well worth following.

In summary, the Slow Food guide is not necessarily meant to be a comprehensive survey book like Zagat's, but its focus on some of the best New York restaurants -- regardless of cost or borough -- makes this guide potentially even more valuable to New York visitors. I look forward to seeing more excellent city guides appearing State-side from the Slow Food organization.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Another Valuable Tool for NYC Foodies, November 19, 2005

By 

Dom Miliano (Denville, NJ USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Slow Food Guide to New York City: Restaurants, Markets, Bars (Paperback)

I have them all - Zagats, Time Out NY, NY Magazine - way more than I have room for. And yet, I added this book to my "collection" and I have found a few gems that have made the purchase of the book worth the money. Because food is so expensive and the price of a meal doesn't always equate to its quality, you need all the advice you can get - especially in NYC. Also, I feel it's important to support the people who are trying to make a difference by producing a great product.

Take Lupa - a Mario Batali partnership. The staff, decor, freshness, price, variety, creativity, presentation and professionalism separate it from the pack. The write-up in this book matches my experience. It's a special place and is described by someone who knows food.

I use it in conjunction with other books to fine tune my visits. Especially useful for new restaurants or visits to new areas of the City. I call it cheap insurance.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Best guide to eating in NYC, November 19, 2003

By 

P. Whitney "jwpepper" (New York, NY USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Slow Food Guide to New York City: Restaurants, Markets, Bars (Paperback)

So much more comprehensive and caring than Zagat's. Thoughtful reviews and insights into the City's more worthwhile restaurants and food stores. Great for visitors and NYers alike. I just bought a dozen of these as holiday presents.