Bread and Butter

November 1, 2013
In Wildgen's (But Not For Long, 2009, etc.) latest, three foodie brothers find themselves in a stew. Britt worked in advertising until brother Leo persuaded him to join in operating Winesap, an upscale restaurant in Linden near Philadelphia. Amid oyster fritters and pork rillettes, Britt runs the front of the house, and Leo manages money and vendors. Single mother Thea has become an outstanding executive chef, although pastry genius Hector has turned fickle, like others of his ilk. Then Harry, the not-prodigal but still unsettled son, comes home. Harry's younger, has advanced degrees and blue-collar chops, and now, he's opening a restaurant in a not-yet-gentrified neighborhood. What results isn't sibling rivalry but rather a friendly competition that shifts and expands sibling loyalties. Call it family drama set against the backdrop of an insider's take on big-ticket dining. Britt's stylish, poised and vaguely discontented. Leo's head-down, plow-ahead and stoically unhappy. Harry's left his dissertation in limbo, worked fishing trawlers and canneries, cooked at an isolated resort, and he harbors a secret threatening his restaurant's success and the siblings' bonds. Wildgen's kitchen characters are Food Network archetypical, right down to the cutthroat competition and post-shift dive-bar drinking. Thea reflects a new chance for Leo, one that tempts him to violate the cardinal rule of a happy professional kitchen: An owner doesn't dip into the chef's soup. Britt, conversely, may find happiness with Harry's friend, enigmatic restaurant consultant Camille. Wildgen plates one dazzling dish after another on nearly every page and turns many a tasty phrase, as when a rival restaurateur is seen as "menacing them with a glass of grappa." Not a literary banquet but far better than fast-food fiction.

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October 15, 2013
Brothers Leo and Britt are co-owners of Winesap, a popular restaurant in their small, economically depressed hometown on the outskirts of Philadelphia. They have always considered their younger sibling, Harry, a bit of a dilettante. While they've been chained to a hot stove, Harry has flitted in and out of academia and flirted with one career after another. So imagine their surprise when Harry announces that he's opening a restaurant of his own, virtually right down the street. Is Linden big enough for two family enterprises? Can Harry stand the heat or will he have to get out of the kitchen? As the brothers test this recipe for potential disaster, they break a few industry rules (never date the help or the clients), push the culinary envelope (lambs' necks, anyone?), and eventually learn the true meaning of family, friendship, and the secret to a killer souffl'. Food journalist Wildgen has the professional chops to whip up a debut delicacy that's as complex as a rich cassoulet and as comforting as good ol' mac-and-cheese.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2013, American Library Association.)

September 1, 2013

Executive editor of the literary quarterly Tin House and author of the well-received debut novel You're Not You, soon to be a film starring Hilary Swank, Wildgen taps into our current obsession with all things foodie, including today's cover-worthy chefs. Brothers Britt and Leo have been running a successful restaurant in Winesap, PA, when upstart younger brother Harry opens a restaurant of his own and all hell breaks loose.

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December 1, 2013

You know you're destined to be in the food industry when at the age of six you buy lamb's tongue at the local butcher with your allowance. Such is the case for Harry, but he's not alone; his brothers Britt and Leo also end up in the restaurant business. The two have pooled resources to open Winesap, a restaurant in Pennsylvania that is finally making a profit and attracting diners on a regular basis. Harry has spent time getting degrees and traveling but is back in town announcing that he, too, will open a restaurant. His brothers are skeptical because they know the effort, work, and money it takes. Harry, while passionate, has never been one to focus. Harry proceeds, and life becomes a jumble as Britt and Leo lose their pastry chef to Harry, Britt becomes enamored of a customer who dines every night with different guests, and Leo falls for his executive chef. VERDICT A story of insider dining lore and the workings of restaurant kitchens by the author of But Not for Long and You Are Not You, this tale of family highs and lows is sure to please the most ardent foodie. For fans of Julia Glass's novels or Judith R. Hendricks baking novels. [See Prepub Alert, 9/1/13.]--Robin Nesbitt, Columbus Metropolitan Lib., OH

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April 1, 2015

In a reverse The Devil Wears Prada, Imogen Tate, the editor in chief of the high fashion magazine Glossy, returns from a six-month leave to find that her former assistant, Eve Morton, is now in charge of digital content. In fact, Glossy is no longer going to be top of the fashion mag heap: it's going to be a hybrid fashion blog/shopping site. The change quickly pits the new millennial hires against the more experienced magazine staffers. Imogen has tons of friends in high-fashion places and throws great parties, but she's the kind of woman who hates her iPhone and avoids Twitter like the plague. She's not prepared for the changes to Glossy, but she's really not ready for backstabbing, social-climbing Eve. Debut coauthors Sykes (a fashion director) and Piazza (a journalist) create a truly wicked villain in Eve, a woman who sinks so low as to troll Imogen's teenage daughter on the daughter's YouTube channel. VERDICT Women in the middle of their careers will love living vicariously through the warm, sympathetic Imogen as she refreshes her skills, networks her heart out, and lets Eve know that it's not all about her. [See Prepub Alert, 11/10/14.]--Jennifer Mills, Shorewood-Troy Lib., IL

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