Choice Cuts: A Savory Selection of Food Writing from Around the World and Throughout History

Rating:
Summary: Excellent Piece of Work
Review: I found this book to be highly entertaining and at times even somewhat amusing. Who couldn't laugh at Giacomo Castelvetro's accusation that the English put enough vinegar in their salads to give Morgante a footbath?

Several reviewers have complained about the lack of diversity and the Euro-centric selection of writings. I disagree. I feel that this book represents an accurate cross-section of world-wide food writing. Sure, it contains a lot of writing about French food, but then who has written more about food than the French? One of the prerequisites of writing about food is to have some, lest you will not know what you are writing about. And the massive abundance and variety of food that the French have access to and have mastered the preparation of, lends to them a certain exclusivity regarding the matter. This book was by no means meant to contain every tidbit ever written about food in the history of the world. One will be much more pleased with it if it is viewed as an introduction to many notable and worthwhile food writers, from which one may seek out the other scribblings of these authors.

Rating:
Summary: Vast Buffet, Much Unseasoned, Only A Few Tasty Cuts
Review: I second the notions of the other reviewers who feel this collection sits heavy on the stomach of the mind (so to speak). Too much bland starch of info, too few servings spiced with literary feel, emotion, significance.

In no fewer than 234 entries (in 30 chapters), I found intensity of the writer producing intensity in me, only in these five items:

1. Wechsberg's report on the social-gastronomic intricacies of a boiled beef restaurant in earlier Vienna. Such fussing! Such snobbery. But, such expertise!

2. Grigson on English food. Sad but incisive critique of her nation's failings--at that time.

3. E. M. Forster on ditto--cameo sketch of a perfectly awful breakfast on a train is a gem.

4. Pelligrini on "the abundance of America"--heartfelt hymn to ham and eggs and more, with feeling.

5. Curnonsky on the political spectrum of gourmets, from far right (starched traditional), right, center, left, and far left (exotic ingredients and more). A classic truth perhaps.

Mere information is basic nourishment perhaps; literary quality is "finer cuisine" probably...?

Rating:
Summary: Entertaining Reading for Foodies
Review: With Mark Kurlansky's reputation as one of the best food writers today, it was only a matter of time before a collection of some of his selections of good food writing came together. "Choice Cuts" is entertaining reading, especially for those who are interested in the history of eating and food. There are few recipes in this book, but this collection is more of a book that you sit down with a cup of coffee or tea after you've finished the dishes.