I don’t usually dedicate entire posts to books I’ve read. In this case, though, the book is about the very things this site is (food stories for magazines, blogs, books, etc.), so I figured that warrants an exception.
Best Food Writing 2009 is exactly what the title suggests. It compiles a selection of last year’s best food-centric stories for magazines. You’ll find clips from Gourmet, Food & Wine, Bon Appetit, The New Yorker and Saveur, as well as sites like Chow.com and eGullet.org. I finished my review copy last weekend, in the air somewhere between Chicago and Charlotte, North Carolina, and I have to tell you: I was sad it had to end.
What’s so great about collections like this one, which was edited by Holly Hughes and features work by big-name authors like Calvin Trillin, Ruth Reichl and Frank Bruni alongside essays from new-to-me-but-no-less-gifted writers, is it gives you tastes of so many different writing styles. Enjoy journalistic, personal, probing and funny pieces that all have one chief thing in common: a skilled command of language and information that makes you think, whether about the ethics of meat or the community of sitting around the table.
Some Clips from the Stories for Magazines Featured in the Book
- “Spam: It’s Not Just for Inboxes anymore,” Rachel Hutton, CityPages
“The other day, I did something I hadn’t done in years. I pulled a square blue can out of the back of the cupboard, lifted the ring, and punctured its vacuum seal. The can released a primal scent—salty, sweaty, animal—a smell you’d know anywhere, even if you hadn’t encountered it since the last time your father cooked you breakfast nearly two decades ago…”
- “Summer’s End,” Tasmasin Day-Lewis, Saveur
“We turn to red meats and dark-berried cakes at summer’s end, wanting something for substantial as heat ebbs and our appetites grow. Today, I boil and puree floury King Edward potatoes and then whip them along with hot cream and melted unsalted butter to velvety smoothness.”
- “Morality Bites,” Monica Eng, Chicago Tribune Magazine
“My own foodie concerns about the provenance of my meat drove my curiousity further. But the biggest factor was my conviction that it’s wrong to ask someone to do something for you that you morally could not do for yourself.”
- “What Is Real Cooking?,” Monica Bhide, Modern Spice
“I watched her, casually at first and then intently. Meticulous and fast, she was cooking her food in traditional plain stainless-steel utensils that she had brought with her from India. No nonstick pans, no Cuisinart, no high-end chef’s knives in this tiny kitchen … Her gestures were precise. She has done this before many times, I thought.”
- “Picky-Picky,” Matthew Amster-Burton, Hungry Monkey
“The adult palate isn’t simply made up of childhood preferences that have hardened into prejudices. I didn’t grow up eating sushi … Another way to think of it is this: if you think you’re not going to like a new food, that’s a self-fulfilling prophecy.”
- “The Last Meal,” Todd Kliman, Washingtonian.com
“Every other week, we went to the Irish Pub for lunch for the magnificent cheeseburgers, thick and oozing juice. You don’t realize the imprint these things make on you, don’t realize you are merely picking up a long thread that has been left for you, until you gain some distance on your past.”
The stories, articles and essays in Best Food Writing 2009 are all fairly short, just a few pages or so in length, so they’re great for sneaking in to read here and there. In fact, I stretched the read into about two months of minutes here and there, as proof.
Bonuses: recipes, including one in the piece from Molly Wizenberg’s A Homemade Life.
To buy or learn more about Best Food Writing 2009 check it out at Amazon here.
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Janice says
Wasn’t Todd Kliman’s “Last Meal” poignant? I loved reading about his relationship with his father through the food they shared. I am skipping through the essays, but I am enjoying the book.
Deliciously Organic says
I’m traveling this weekend and will get this book! Thanks!
Jacqui says
i’m currently reading Best Food Writing 2005. i love how there’s a new edition every year — it’s never ending, in a very, very good way.
my spatula says
i saw this at the bookstore and flipped through it quickly. i may now have to go back and get it since it sounds like it’s well worth the read. thanks, m’dear!
Ashley M. [at] (never home)maker says
Thanks for your review of this book! I looked at it briefly the other day when I was at Barnes & Noble, wasn’t sure. But now I think I might pick up a copy. <3
Hannah says
I didn’t even know this existed! Sounds like a great read.
montague says
oh interesting! i never heard of this book, but thanks for sharing!
Katie says
Hmm. sounds like a good read. I bet reading so many good writing sytles would cultivate better writing in me!
Shannalee says
Janice, Yes! and I wish I could say crying through that essay was the most embarrassing thing I did on my flights last weekend. It was very touching.
Deliciously Organic, It’s a great travel read! hope you enjoy it!
Jacqui, 2005 is the only other one I’ve read, and I remember really taking my time through that one, too. it’s so inspiring.
my spatula, oh good! glad to help!
Ashley, Definitely do!
Hannah, Right? I had to read a bunch of the Best compilations in school, and I always learned a lot from them.
Montague, Absolutely!
Katie, Exactly what I hope for myself (and happy birthday!)
Kim says
Wow, I definitely want to read this book! Side note: Have you read any of Ruth Reichl’s books? I absolutely loved them.
Shannalee says
Kim, Yes! I read Garlic & Sapphires a few years ago and very much enjoyed it. Then I think I read Tender at the Bone after that, and I get the stories confused from the two books, but I especially liked wherever she talks about her restaurant critic days.
Angela@spinachtiger says
Thanks for all those clips. I want to get this book and you aptly reviewed it. I love to read about food and write about food, so this book is on muy list.
Carrie Minns says
Thanks, Shannalee for the review of the book. I will definitely have to skip on down to Powell’s here in Portland and pick up a copy!
Shannalee says
Angela, I’d love to hear what you think or which essays stick out to you when you do!
Carrie, Excellent! hope you enjoy it!
TJ says
What a neat looking book! Great review!
Sues says
This book is certainly on my Amazon wish list 🙂 I can’t wait to read it!
Shannalee says
TJ, Thanks, TJ!
Sues, Great! Hope you enjoy!
Megan Gordon says
Cool! My sister got this for me for my birthday and it’s been on my nightstand for about two weeks now…I’ve got a cross-country flight on Wednesday and am looking forward to diving in. Thanks for your insights!
Shannalee says
Megan, Happy traveling and hope you enjoy this!