★ 05/03/2021
In this rich debut memoir, food writer Lobrano (Hungry for Paris) traces his lifelong love affair with food. He begins his story with a tender ode he penned in the second grade to “the most perfect sandwich,” the BLT. “What I didn’t know then was that food would become my muse,” he writes. After a memorable trip to Paris with his parents at age 15, he became swept up in the fantasy of leaving his Connecticut home to live there. That dream came true in 1986, when a friend helped him land a job writing about food for Women’s Wear Daily in Paris. Tucking into meals in cafés, bistros, and private homes, and perusing markets throughout France, Lobrano immersed himself in the nation’s cuisine, “sort of a big casserole of all the country’s regional kitchens.” Meanwhile, he witnessed the birth of the modern bistro, with its “vivid and nimbly creative cooking.” When his writing caught the eye of Gourmet’s then-editor Ruth Riechel, she hired him in 1999 to be the magazine’s Paris correspondent. Appended with a selection of his favorite restaurant reviews, Lobrano’s story is inspiring, and his prose lush and inviting. Readers will savor every last page. Agent: Jane Dystel, Dystel, Goderich & Bourret. (June)
A redoubtable restaurant critic and 30-year resident of Paris sets the table with an enticing menu of memories...Lobrano writes with mouthwatering elan, dash, and feeling.”—Kirkus “Lobrano’s story is inspiring, and his prose lush and inviting. Readers will savor every last page.”—Publishers Weekly “Rest assured, there’s never a dull moment in My Place at the Table. It’s a veritable feast of humility, humor and emotion.”—BookPage “Like so many food-lovers, Alec Lobrano dreamed of a life in Paris. Unlike the rest of us, he made the dream come true. In this warm, delicious, and extremely candid book, he lets us in on all his secrets. Everyone who loves French food will want to read this memoir.” —Ruth Reichl “A flat-out wonderful read, full of the stories and secrets that make eating in Paris what we want to be doing right now. Lobrano has a genius for finding characters at every level of the food chain—the peasant chef, or the grande dame home cook, or the bistro revolutionary with his simple, perfect dishes—and for owning up to tasting foods for the first time and describing them with surprising poetic flair. Reading My Place at the Table on a New York subway, I did something I have never done: I missed my stop.” —Bill Buford, best-selling author of Heat and Dirt “In this coming-of-age tale, Alec Lobrano chronicles his discovery of taste during a challenging youth, which led him to emerge as one of the most astute and brilliant writers on French cuisine. Few understand France, and its cuisine, as deeply as Alec, and readers will devour My Place at the Table, which is seasoned by his sharp humor, a soupçon of heartbreak, and the satisfaction of triumph, all framed by his reminiscences of delicious dining at Paris’s most lauded tables. This book is truly a recipe for pleasure! —David Lebovitz, author of My Paris Kitchen and French Drinks “Alexander Lobrano's beautiful memoir about finding himself through writing about food is charming, wise, and often very funny. An American who has lived in Paris for more than thirty years, he offers fresh insights into French culinary culture.” —Alice Waters “A long-lasting love story with the French food scene told with wit, verve, and great expertise." —Chef Alain Ducasse “Lobrano excels in weaving a full and timeless human story with bits of mouthwatering epicureanism. He elevates food to an essential anchor of memory in a rich and dynamic human story and shows us that deliciousness, in food and in writing, is achieved through authenticity, clarity, and vulnerability. This book is another example of why Alec Lobrano’s voice is so important: His writing is a meticulous, generous, and joyful affirmation of life.” —Daniel Rose, chef, New York City (Le Coucou) and Paris (Chez la Vieille) “All I really wanted to do was go to different places to eat, and then write it all down,” says a young Alexander Lobrano in My Place at the Table. Thank goodness he followed his appetites, which eventually led him to Paris, renown as a food critic and now, the author of a memoir that’s by turns poi —
★ 07/01/2021
Most people would be daunted by the prospect of taking a job as a men's fashion editor at the Paris office of Women's Wear Daily, while knowing only a smattering of French and even less about fashion. Not Lobrano, who made it work and eventually pivoted to his area of interest: fine dining. This memoir covers his 35 years in France; after WWD, he became a freelance writer, then a restaurant critic, food writer, and editor at numerous publications (including the French edition of Gourmet magazine in its final decade of publication). Between highlights from Lobrano's career (an interview with Giorgio Armani; dinner with Julia Child), his memoir recounts growing up in Connecticut as a solitary, white, gay child who was fascinated with food. The memoir's highlights are Lobrano's graceful writing, deliciously detailed memories of meals and restaurants, and recollections about friends, colleagues, and chefs. VERDICT If the main thing you remember about a trip is what you ate, this is the book for you. This combination of food writing and armchair travel will spark interest from start to finish.—Susan Hurst, Miami Univ. Libs., Oxford, OH
2021-03-20
A redoubtable restaurant critic and 30-year resident of Paris sets the table with an enticing menu of memories.
Currently a contributing editor at Saveur, Lobrano has written for nearly every prestigious magazine in the field, and he has won several James Beard awards for his work. Though he suggests that freelancing or being point man for a handful of culinary bibles could be a prodigious struggle, in some respects, he was well connected as well as talented and adroit at making friends. Success did not come easy, however. Beginning (unhappily) as a fashion and high-society journalist in Paris, Lobrano worked hard at his transition into food, and he continues to do so, enthusiastically expanding and refining his expertise. Both consistently engaging and highly observant, the author’s autobiographical tale follows him from his Connecticut boyhood to his early career in New York City and instant evolution into an ardent Parisian (with a fleeting recollection of a year in London). As he chronicles his own development, Lobrano assays the gradual innovations and tectonic upheavals in French cuisine over a three-decade span, not least the bistro revolution and its relaxed, unpretentious, internationalizing effect on Western cooking. Loosely woven throughout the text is a matter-of-fact thread about his romantic life, but this book is all about the wonderful sensuality of food and eating, from simple to grand. He offers spicy recollections of luncheons with the lions of gastronomy, of extraordinary dinners, of chance encounters and the whims of literary fortune, good and bad. Like the great food-centric movies, Lobrano plates highly visual descriptions of high-wire gustatory adventures and everyday pleasures. At the end of the book is a special bonus: “My Little Black Book,” featuring his 30 favorite restaurants in Paris, “a selection that ranges from wallet-walloping special-occasion splurges to bistros I go to often, plus some simple places for an affordable casual meal.”
Lobrano writes with mouthwatering elan, dash, and feeling.
Robert Fass narrates this satisfying audiobook with flair. His subtle delivery of French and English accents is pitch perfect. He captures both the introspective tone of the author’s interior life and the cadence of his finely written reflections on Parisian cuisine. Lobrano’s coming-of-age memoir of the life of an American food critic in the world’s gastronomic capital begins with his discovery of his passion for food. The work also has stories of Paul Bocuse and less famous chefs, and the author also recounts aspects of his life as a gay man. He finds personal and professional success living in Paris and writing for GOURMET, SAVEUR, and FRANCE TODAY, among other publications. His idiosyncratic recommendations on current places to dine in Paris are inspired and fun. A.D.M. © AudioFile 2021, Portland, Maine
Robert Fass narrates this satisfying audiobook with flair. His subtle delivery of French and English accents is pitch perfect. He captures both the introspective tone of the author’s interior life and the cadence of his finely written reflections on Parisian cuisine. Lobrano’s coming-of-age memoir of the life of an American food critic in the world’s gastronomic capital begins with his discovery of his passion for food. The work also has stories of Paul Bocuse and less famous chefs, and the author also recounts aspects of his life as a gay man. He finds personal and professional success living in Paris and writing for GOURMET, SAVEUR, and FRANCE TODAY, among other publications. His idiosyncratic recommendations on current places to dine in Paris are inspired and fun. A.D.M. © AudioFile 2021, Portland, Maine