Synopses & Reviews
Join New York Cityandrsquo;s most intrepid eaterandmdash;Robert Sietsema, pioneer of outer-boroughs diningandmdash;in an urban adventure like none other. Through essays on the cityandrsquo;s defining dishes, some familiar, others obscure, Robert paints a portrait of New Yorkandrsquo;s food landscape past and present, and shares a life spent uncovering the delicious foods of the five boroughs.
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Gobble up a century of New York pizza, from the coal-fired pies of a thriving Little Italy to the slice joints of a burgeoning rock andrsquo;nandrsquo; roll East Village. Discover Katzandrsquo;s Delicatessen as Robert did, on a foray into the hardscrabble Lower East Side of the 1970s. Take Robertandrsquo;s hand and heandrsquo;ll bring you through the Mexican taquerias of Bushwickandmdash;with their papalo leaves and piled-high sandwichesandmdash;then visit the underground Senegalese dining scene hidden in plain sight in 1990s Times Square. See the evolution of New York fried chicken from Harlemandrsquo;s spare, ancient style to the battered-and-brined birds of hipster Brooklyn. Hunt with Robert for Hangtown fry and a vanishing Chinese-American cuisine, and follow him as he ferrets out the cityandrsquo;s most elusive foods, including the Ecuadorian guinea pig.and#160;
Review
“In a time when the bookshelves and small screen are filled with globe-trotting food personalities, Apple brings something special to the mix.”—The Denver Post
"With R.W. Apple, Jr., triumph is a given. He approaches food writing the same way he approached political reporting or war reporting or parachuting in."--Calvin Trillin in The New Yorker
“Johnny Apples magnetic writing about food makes it crystal clear why food ought to matter as much to the rest of us as it meant to him: He understood that food is the purest expression of human culture. And he knew that what will save us in the end is the embrace of food diversity in all its cultural and biological splendor.” --Alice Waters, Chez Panisse
“As much as Johnny Apple loved politics, he might have loved food even more. He loved searching for it, learning about it, writing about it, and most of all, eating it. This classic collection of food writing from one of The New York Times' most renowned writers deserves to be on the shelf -- or kitchen table or in the travel bag -- of each and every foodie.” —Nina and Tim Zagat, Zagat Survey
"There will never again be someone as robustly brilliant at both table and typewriter as Johnny Apple. Taken together as a menu degustation, the full magnificence of this erudite explorer emerges. I hope that anyone with a hedonistic appetite for life, learning, flavor, places, people, and passion will keep this book by their bedside for a nightly feeding and smile."--Danny Meyer, author of Setting the Table
“Can anyone resist the work of a writer who could both thrill to a thrush pate in a French gastronomic temple and also get giddy over…the ideal Philly cheesesteak? Well, I suppose some people could, but Id never want to have dinner with them.”--Fortune
Review
andldquo;A big, fat, juicy slice of what makes New York City the greatest city in the worldandmdash;by the dean of food critics, the ONE guy whoandrsquo;s bothered to hunt down the very best wherever it might be. Sietsema KNOWS whatandrsquo;s good. When you visit a city, you should always ask yourself, andlsquo;What do they do thatandrsquo;s better than everywhere else? Whatandrsquo;s special? Iconic? Unmissable?andrsquo; If youandrsquo;re talking New York, the answers are here.andrdquo;
andmdash;Anthony Bourdain
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andldquo;Nobody knowsandmdash;or appreciatesandmdash;New York restaurants better than Robert Sietsema. But this wonderful book is not really about food; itandrsquo;s an entirely new way to see this city. If you live in New York, or ever plan to visit, you need this book.andrdquo;
andmdash;Ruth Reichl
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andldquo;Robert Sietsema knows New York restaurants on an almost molecular level. In New York in a Dozen Dishes, we get to see him sequence the DNA.andrdquo;
andmdash;Jonathan Gold
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andldquo;New York in a Dozen Dishes is the culmination of a lifetime of culinary discovery. Thereandrsquo;s a valuable history represented in every stand-alone chapter, each one worth the cover price. If you donandrsquo;t live in New York, youandrsquo;ll be planning a trip to discover the cityandrsquo;s food through Sietsemaandrsquo;s eyes. Youandrsquo;ll get hooked by the pastrami chapter, but stick around f or the barbecue brisket.andrdquo;
andmdash;Daniel Vaughn, author of The Prophets of Smoked Meat: A Journey Through Texas Barbecue and Barbecue Editor of Texas Monthly
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andldquo;Sure, New York in a Dozen Dishes is a tour de force that shows Sietsemaandrsquo;s unrivaled knowledge of the city from tip to tail and back and forth through time. But thatandrsquo;s not the reason to buy it. Youandrsquo;ll do that because Robert has written the book in a style that puts you in a seat across the table from him in some out-of-the way restaurant while he holds court. The rhythm of his writing is hypnotic; he makes Senegalese geography seem approachable and he blazes through Chinese-American history as breezily as most guys talk about last nightandrsquo;s game. Thereandrsquo;s an intimacy, an honest humor, andandmdash;what I feel is Robertandrsquo;s true superpowerandmdash;a contagious enthusiasm that makes this book a pleasure craft ripping a wide wake through a turgid sea of food history books.andrdquo;
andmdash;Peter Meehan, editor of Lucky Peach
Synopsis
Celebrated journalist R. W. (“Johnny”) Apple was a veteran political reporter, a
New York Times bureau chief and an incisive and prolific writer. But the role he was most passionate about was food anthropologist. Known both for his restless wideopen mind and an appetite to match, Apple was also a culinary scholar: witty, wide-ranging and intensely knowledgeable about his subjects.
Far Flung and Well Fed is the best of legendary
Times reporter Apples food writing from America, England, Europe, Asia and Australia. Each of the more than fifty essays recount extraordinary meals and little-known facts, of some of the worlds most excellent foods —from the origin of an ingredient in a dish, to its history, to the vivid personalities—including Apples wife, Betsey—who cook, serve and eat those dishes.
Far Flung and Well Fed is a classic collection of food writing— lively, warm and rich with a sense of place and taste—and deserves to join the works of A.J. Liebling, Elizabeth David, M.F.K. Fisher and Calvin Trillin on the bookshelf.
Synopsis
In thirteen essays (a bakerand#39;s dozen) covering distinctive dishes from a cross-section of New York Cityand#39;s cultural makeup, veteran food journalist Robert Sietsema explores how foods from around the world arrived, commingled, and became part of the cityandrsquo;s culinary identity. Sietsema writes from personal experience as a restaurant critic eating in thousands of restaurants across five boroughs (and New Jersey) over the span of multiple decades; each chapter ends with a recipe.
Synopsis
A New York food criticandrsquo;s foray through the iconic dishes that define the city, with a recipe for each Fried chicken in Harlem. Pizza in Coney Island. Venturing to out-of-the-way neighborhoods in search of great food has blossomed into a cultural phenomenon, drawing thousands of New York locals and tourists alike. But Robert Sietsema was the original outer-borough food explorer,and#160;and heand#160;inspired a generation of food lovers to sample ethnic dishes and other cheap eats across the cityandrsquo;s five boroughs over his 20 years as restaurant critic at The Village Voice.
New York in a Dozen Dishes distills Sietsemaandrsquo;s 40 years of eating across the city into a set of essays on dishes from a cross-section of the cityandrsquo;s international culinary landscape: a portrait of modern New York through its food. Written with Sietsemaandrsquo;s characteristic charm, chapters cover the evolution of fried chicken from women-run cafes in Harlem to hipster joints in Williamsburg, the history of New Yorkandndash;style pizza, and egg fu yung and the endangered andldquo;American Chineseandrdquo; cuisine. Each chapter ends with a recipe.
About the Author
R.W. APPLE JR. worked for The New York Times for forty years, serving at various times as Associate Editor, Chief Correspondent, Chief Washington Correspondent, and Washington Bureau Chief. He began writing food articles for the Times in the late 1970s, when reporting from London. His writing also appeared in a variety of magazines, including The Atlantic Monthly, Esquire, GQ, Saveur, Travel & Leisure, Departures, Gourmet, Town & Country and National Geographic Traveler. He lived with his wife Betsey in Washington, D.C, where he died in 2006.
CORBY KUMMER is a Senior Editor at The Atlantic Monthly, where he also writes extensively about food, and is the author of The Joy of Coffee and The Pleasures of Slow Food. He lives in Boston, where he is a five-time winner of the James Beard Foundations Journalism Award, including its MFK Fisher Distinguished Writing Award, for his Atlantic columns.