Description:
What's more fun: eating food or reading about it? Justifying the latter proposition in style, Best Food Writing 2000 offers an enticing selection of the year's best book, magazine, newspaper, newsletter, and Internet food prose. It culls the work of a wide range of authors, including Maya Angelou, Madhur Jaffrey, Calvin Trillin, and John Thorne--writers associated with food and not. Foodies and nonfoodies alike will welcome Best as a rich source of literary snacking. Within its five parts, which include "Stocking the Larder," "Dining Around," and "Personal Tastes," the book offers delights such as Eric Asimov on America's most expensive restaurant; Grace Young exploring wok cookery; Anthony Bourdain recounting a chef's day in the life; and Anne Willan on the Burgundian table. Readers will also enjoy Vince Staten on barbecue, Jim Quinn's "Recipes for Dummies," Laura Fraser on giving up vegetarianism, and Trillin on the perfect bagel. What emerges finally from the book is a sense of how we feed ourselves, in every way. A look at this compelling question, plus a host of other food-related matters, makes this collection a small joy. --Arthur Boehm
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