Best Food Writing 2013

by Holly Hughes (Editor)

Overview

Best Food Writing is the place where readers and food writers meet to celebrate the most delicious prose of the year—serving up everything to whet your appetite from entertaining blogs to provocative journalism. This year's edition includes food writing stars (Michael Pollan, Pete Wells, and Jonathan Gold) as well as intriguing new voices (Matt Goulding and Erin Byers Murray) and celebrated chef-writers (Gabrielle Hamilton and Eddie Huang) for yet another collection of "strong writing on fascinating topics that will appeal to foodies and essay lovers alike" (Kirkus Reviews).

Contributors include: Katie Arnold-Ratcliff, Elissa Altman, Karen Barichievy, Peter Barrett, Dan Barry, Edward Behr, Alan Brouilette, Tim Carman, Bethany Jean Clement, Aleksandra Crapanzano, Sarah DiGregorio, Barry Estabrook, Kim Foster, Ian Froeb, Jonathan Gold, Diane Goodman, Matt Goulding, Paul Graham, Dara Moskowitz Grumdahl, Gabrielle Hamilton, Tim Hayward, Bernard Herman, Eddie Huang, Rowan Jacobsen, John Kessler, Todd Kliman, Corby Kummer, Francis Lam, J. Kenji Lopez-Alt, Tracie McMillan, Joy Manning, Brett Martin, Erin Byers Murray, Kim O'Donnel, Kevin Pang, Carol Penn-Romine, Michael Pollan, Michael Procopio, Steven Rinella, Hank Shaw, Katharine Shilcutt, Erica Strauss, Mike Sula, John Swansburg, Molly Watson, Pete Wells, Katherine Wheelock, Chris Wiewiora, Lily Wong

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780738217178
Publisher:	Hachette Books
Publication date:	10/29/2013
Sold by:	Hachette Digital, Inc.
Format:	eBook
Pages:	400
File size:	714 KB

About the Author

Holly Hughes, former executive editor of Fodor's travel publications, is the author of Frommer's 500 Places for Food and Wine Lovers. She lives with her family in New York City.

Table of Contents

Introduction xi

The Way We Eat Now

Good Food Everywhere, From GQ Brett Martin 2

The End of Anonymity, From Seattle Arts & Performance Bethany Jean Clement 12

Tyranny: If s What's For Dinner, From The Atlantic Corby Kummer 19

Is Seasonal Eating Overrated?, From Food & Wine Katherine Wheelock 32

The Terrible Tragedy of the Healthy Eater, From Northwest Edible Life Erica Strauss 36

Slow Cooking, Slow Eating, From The Art of Eating Edward Behr 41

Cooking Isn't Fun, From Slate Trade McMillan 48

The Meaning of Local, From The Washingtonian Todd Kliman 52

A Critical Palate

Confronting a Masterpiece, From Roads and Kingdotns Matt Godding 74

The View from West 12th, From The New York Times Pete Wells 88

Takaya or Leave Ya, From Rivefront Times Ian Froeb 91

I Ate My First McRib, and I Regret It, From Houston Press Katherine Shilcutt 95

Back When a Chocolate Puck Tasted, Guiltily, Like America, From: The New York Times Dan Barry 99

Farm to Table

Forgotten Fruits, From Mother Jones Rowan Jacobsen 104

Earth Mothers, From Edible Boston Erin Byers Murray 112

The Cheese Artist, From Minneapolis St. Paul Magazine Dara Moskowitz Grumdahl 119

A Snail's Tale, From Edible San Francisco Molly Watson 129

Yes, We Can, From Eco Centric Kim O'Donnel 135

The Meat of the Matter

Hogonomics, From Gastronomica Barry Estabrook 142

The Upstart Cattleman, From the Atlanta Journal-Constitution John Kessler 150

The Ibérico Journey, From The Financial Times Tim Hayward 160

Beer and Smoking in Danville, Illinois, From Blood-and-Thunder.com Alan Brouilette 167

Chicken of the Trees, From Chicago Reader Mike Sula 180

Tasting Notes: Heart, From Meat Eater Steven Rinella 196

Awful Mercy, From Honest-Food.net Hank Shaw 199

Home Cooking

Guess Who's Corning to Dinner, From Bon Appétit Gabrielle Hamilton 204

How to Make Real New England Clam Chowder, From SeriousEats.com J. Kenji Lopez-Alt 212

Step Two: Sauté Onions and Other Aromatic Vegetables, From Cooked: A Natural History of Transformation Michael Pollan 223

Cooking With Friends, From Tin House Katie Arnold-Ratliff 230

The Swedish Chef, From TableMatters.com Joy Manning 236

The Gingerbread Cookie Reclamation Project, From: The Washington Post Tim Carman 240

Hortotiropita and the Five Stages of Restaurant Grief, From FoodForTheThoughtless.com Michael Procopio 246

Lobster Lessons, From The Cassoulet Saved My Marriage Aleksandra Crapanzano 252

A Bountiful Shore, From Saveur Bernard L. Herman 259

To Be a Chef

Empire of the Burning Tongue, From New York Magazine John Swansburg 266

The King of the Food Trucks Hits Hawaii, From Food & Wine Jonathan Gold 276

Fish and Game, From Edible Manhattan Peter Barrett 281

His Saving Grace, From The Chicago Tribune Kevin Pang 289

Spin the Globe, From AFAR Francis Lam 309

To Serve and Obey, From Fire & Knives Karen Barichievy 314

This Is Tossing, From Make Chris Wiewiora 323

Personal Tastes

Meet the Parents, From Fresh Off the Boat Eddie Huang 330

When the Kids Make You Breakfast for Mother's Day, From Kim-Foster.com Kim Foster 335

Coke and Peanuts, From Leite's Culinaria Carol Perm-Romine 342

Eating the Hyphen, From Gastronomica Lily Wong 345

Variations on Grace, From Graze Paul Graham 350

In Susan's Kitchen, From Poor Man's Feast Elissa Airman 357

What I Know, From Eating Well Diane Goodman 368

When There Was Nothing Left To Do, I Fed Her Ice Cream, From GiltTaste.com Sarah DiGregorio 371

Recipe Index 375

Permissions Acknowledgments 377

About the Editor 383

Editorial Reviews

12/01/2013
In the latest edition of this series, Hughes once again has found well-written articles that depict the current interests of foodies. New this year were the popularity of food trucks and kale and continued interest in tasting menus and community-supported agriculture. There are articles that will result in tears, such as "His Saving Grace" (the success story of Curtis Duffy), and those that will result in laughter, for example, "Beer and Smoking…" which chronicles a barbecue cook-off. For animal lovers, "Hogonomics," a graphic portrayal of growing supermarket pork, will be difficult to read. Other strong pieces are Matt Goulding's lavish description of a 26-course meal at Noma's in Copenhagen and Katharine Shilcutt's grotesque account of her first time eating a McRib. Seven of the articles feature recipes (e.g., New England clam chowder, marinara sauce, and poached eggs). Hughes draws from a variety of sources, such as magazines (Food and Wine; the Atlantic), newspapers (the New York Times; the Financial Times), books (Michael Pollan's Cooked: A Natural History of Transformation; Eddie Huang's Fresh off the Boat: A Memoir), and websites (Food for the Thoughtless; Serious Eats). VERDICT This series remains a recommended source for public and academic libraries with patrons who enjoy current food writing.—Christine E. Bulson, emeritus, Milne Lib., SUNY Oneonta

Library Journal

01/06/2014
Editor Hughes's annual anthology has once again successfully captured the mood in today's food world. "The season of foam and gels has passed," she reflects in the introduction, "and the Year of the Pork Belly has given way to the Year of Kale." What follows is a collection of essays by bloggers, journalist, big name chefs and foodies alike all published within the last year. Highlights include Michael Pollan's "Step Two: Saute Onions and Other Aromatic Vegetables," Jonathan Gold's profile of Kogi co-founder Roy Choi entitled "The King of the Food Trucks Hits Hawaii," and Brett Martin's GQ article "Good Food Everywhere." Edward Behr meditative essay "Slow Cooking, Slowing Eating" is especially powerful. He writes, "Slowness really means living at the right speed for whatever you are doing, living more in the present moment, rather than looking always ahead to the next thing… It means you pay attention." This eclectic anthology would not be complete, however, without occasional paeans to questionable food items. Katharine Shilcutt, for example, writes about McDonald's in "I Ate My First McRib, and I Regret It." Dan Barry bemoans the Hostess bankruptcy in "Back When a Chocolate Puck Tasted, Guiltily, like America." Pieces like these add lightness and levity to the volume as a whole. They provide necessary balance, making it informative as well as entertaining. (Nov.)

Publishers Weekly

Kirkus Reviews, 11/1/13

“A literary trek across the culinary landscape pairing bountiful delights with plenty of substantive tidbits.”

Bookviews, November 2013

“If you are a “foodie” then you will surely enjoy Best Food Writing 2013...Its seven sections, ranging from “A Critical Palate” to “Home Cooking”, has plenty to enjoy…Hughes…has produced another winner this year.”

Taste for Life, December 2013

“This collection will leave you both chuckling and pondering, and perhaps a little wiser about the American food scene.”

CurledUp.com, December 2013

“Offers a diverse collection of articles that provide mouthwatering entertainment for foodies. Highly recommended.”

Library Journal, 12/1/2013

“Hughes once again has found well-written articles that depict the current interests of foodies…Recommended.”

PortlandBookReview.com, 12/12/2013

“Serves up a feast of delicious morsels which will have you thinking about food like never before…This book will be like a feast with evocative language that one cannot digest in one sitting.”

Publishers Weekly website, 1/6/14

“Eclectic…Informative as well as entertaining.”

New York Journal of Books, 1/15/2014

“The essays are thought-provoking and moving…This is an absolutely terrific and engaging book...There is enough variety, like a box of chocolates, that one can poke around the book looking for the one with caramel and find it.”

San Francisco Book Review, 2/4/14

“This year's Best Food Writing 2013 collection…contains everything a foodie (and perhaps non-foodie) might want to read…A top-notch collection, Hughes brings together a wonderful mix that is sure to please the foodie in all of us.”

Campus Circle, 2/4/14

“Delicious as ever. Holly Hughes does a terrific job putting together the year's scrumptious pieces, from far and wide.”

Great Falls Tribune, 6/11/14
“A must-read for literary food enthusiasts, Hughes curates a collection of dozens of well-crafted culinary essays on topics often worthy of further digestion.

From the Publisher

2013-10-20
Longtime editor Hughes once again compiles a tasty collection of culinary essays for those who love to eat, cook and read about food. "With such an insatiable audience," she writes in her introduction, "there are more outlets for food writing than ever, in print and on-line and on the airwaves. It's an embarrassment of riches, not unlike those overstuffed CSA bags of produce." Hughes scoured bookstores, magazines, newspapers, newsletters and websites, including GQ, the New York Times, Edible San Francisco, the Chicago Reader, Tin House, Fire and Knives, Graze and GiltTaste.com before selecting the essays included here. Together, they represent the diverse tastes, quirks and passions of America's burgeoning food culture. Organized within categories such as The Way We Eat Now, Farm to Table, The Meat of the Matter, Home Cooking and To Be a Chef, the essays surprise, educate and highlight the trends within the food movement. A short sampling includes: the merits of seasonal eating; celebrating Thanksgiving on the Chesapeake Bay; how saying grace can offer a different take on a meal; the rigors of tossing pizza; how to make real New England clam chowder; food trucks in Hawaii; the Southern pleasure of combining cola and salted peanuts; and the demise of Hostess Bakeries. Michael Pollan opines on the chemistry and heavenly benefits achieved while sautéing aromatic vegetables. Investigative journalist Tracie McMillan explores the stories we tell ourselves about the joys of home cooking. Houston Press writer Katharine Shilcutt bemoans America's industrialized agriculture and food production systems and deconstructs her first taste of a McDonald's McRib sandwich. "I felt so hollow afterward," she writes, "that it was as if my stomach had shifted outside my body, as though my abdominal cavity was rejecting it in shame." Other contributors include Edward Behr, Gabrielle Hamilton, Rowan Jacobsen and Eddie Huang. A literary trek across the culinary landscape pairing bountiful delights with plenty of substantive tidbits.

Kirkus Reviews