Best Food Writing 2013

September 1, 2003
Reflecting on her selections for this amusing and informative anthology, the fourth she's edited, Hughes explains that she's attracted to good prose, to things that are humorous and to pieces that resonate:"Just as I want a meal that satisfies my hunger, I look for food writing that stays with me." In magazines, newspapers, books and websites, she found 50 such articles on topics from bacon and caviar to Cheez Whiz and Sloppy Joes. She also came across essays on take-out, butter and burgers by New Yorker and Vogue veterans Calvin Trillin and Jeffrey Steingarten and Saveur editor Colman Andrews. Witty and wistful, their pieces have become staples in these compilations over the years. Among the other standouts in this year's edition are New York Times reporter Joyce Chang's examination of the fondness, at once peculiar and practical, that chefs and chefs-to-be have for their knives--"the haves talk about what kind of knives they own," she writes,"the have-nots stand stupidly silent, making a mess of carrot bits at their stations"--and Los Angeles Magazine senior editor Dave Gardetta's meditation on the Awesome Blossom--"a giant onion sliced into neat tiny quadrants, battered, and then deep-fried." A signature dish at Chili's restaurant, the Awesome Blossom is used by Gardetta as a culinary metaphor in his trenchant analysis of the way corporate chains currently dominate the rural American restaurant scene. Wry, investigative pieces such as these give Hughes's collection depth, even as she satisfies readers' cravings for a well-wrought tale.

January 6, 2014
Editor Hughes's annual anthology has once again successfully captured the mood in today's food world. "The season of foam and gels has passed," she reflects in the introduction, "and the Year of the Pork Belly has given way to the Year of Kale." What follows is a collection of essays by bloggers, journalist, big name chefs and foodies alike all published within the last year. Highlights include Michael Pollan's "Step Two: Saute Onions and Other Aromatic Vegetables," Jonathan Gold's profile of Kogi co-founder Roy Choi entitled "The King of the Food Trucks Hits Hawaii," and Brett Martin's GQ article "Good Food Everywhere." Edward Behr meditative essay "Slow Cooking, Slowing Eating" is especially powerful. He writes, "Slowness really means living at the right speed for whatever you are doing, living more in the present moment, rather than looking always ahead to the next thing⦠It means you pay attention." This eclectic anthology would not be complete, however, without occasional paeans to questionable food items. Katharine Shilcutt, for example, writes about McDonald's in "I Ate My First McRib, and I Regret It." Dan Barry bemoans the Hostess bankruptcy in "Back When a Chocolate Puck Tasted, Guiltily, like America." Pieces like these add lightness and levity to the volume as a whole. They provide necessary balance, making it informative as well as entertaining.

November 1, 2013
Longtime editor Hughes once again compiles a tasty collection of culinary essays for those who love to eat, cook and read about food. "With such an insatiable audience," she writes in her introduction, "there are more outlets for food writing than ever, in print and on-line and on the airwaves. It's an embarrassment of riches, not unlike those overstuffed CSA bags of produce." Hughes scoured bookstores, magazines, newspapers, newsletters and websites, including GQ, the New York Times, Edible San Francisco, the Chicago Reader, Tin House, Fire and Knives, Graze and GiltTaste.com before selecting the essays included here. Together, they represent the diverse tastes, quirks and passions of America's burgeoning food culture. Organized within categories such as The Way We Eat Now, Farm to Table, The Meat of the Matter, Home Cooking and To Be a Chef, the essays surprise, educate and highlight the trends within the food movement. A short sampling includes: the merits of seasonal eating; celebrating Thanksgiving on the Chesapeake Bay; how saying grace can offer a different take on a meal; the rigors of tossing pizza; how to make real New England clam chowder; food trucks in Hawaii; the Southern pleasure of combining cola and salted peanuts; and the demise of Hostess Bakeries. Michael Pollan opines on the chemistry and heavenly benefits achieved while sauteing aromatic vegetables. Investigative journalist Tracie McMillan explores the stories we tell ourselves about the joys of home cooking. Houston Press writer Katharine Shilcutt bemoans America's industrialized agriculture and food production systems and deconstructs her first taste of a McDonald's McRib sandwich. "I felt so hollow afterward," she writes, "that it was as if my stomach had shifted outside my body, as though my abdominal cavity was rejecting it in shame." Other contributors include Edward Behr, Gabrielle Hamilton, Rowan Jacobsen and Eddie Huang. A literary trek across the culinary landscape pairing bountiful delights with plenty of substantive tidbits.

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December 1, 2013

In the latest edition of this series, Hughes once again has found well-written articles that depict the current interests of foodies. New this year were the popularity of food trucks and kale and continued interest in tasting menus and community-supported agriculture. There are articles that will result in tears, such as "His Saving Grace" (the success story of Curtis Duffy), and those that will result in laughter, for example, "Beer and Smoking..." which chronicles a barbecue cook-off. For animal lovers, "Hogonomics," a graphic portrayal of growing supermarket pork, will be difficult to read. Other strong pieces are Matt Goulding's lavish description of a 26-course meal at Noma's in Copenhagen and Katharine Shilcutt's grotesque account of her first time eating a McRib. Seven of the articles feature recipes (e.g., New England clam chowder, marinara sauce, and poached eggs). Hughes draws from a variety of sources, such as magazines (Food and Wine; the Atlantic), newspapers (the New York Times; the Financial Times), books (Michael Pollan's Cooked: A Natural History of Transformation; Eddie Huang's Fresh off the Boat: A Memoir), and websites (Food for the Thoughtless; Serious Eats). VERDICT This series remains a recommended source for public and academic libraries with patrons who enjoy current food writing.--Christine E. Bulson, emeritus, Milne Lib., SUNY Oneonta

Copyright 2013 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

November 1, 2013
No doubt about it, twenty-first-century Americans are obsessed with food. The only things they apparently enjoy more than eating it are watching it being cooked on television and reading about it on blogs and in magazines and newspapers. This latest annual anthology of short writings reveals a nation sorely conflicted about food's nutritional benefits versus the sheer sensual pleasures of the table. Americans (and increasingly a worldwide audience) support a vast impersonal, international food-service industry while simultaneously lionizing chefs who work only with local meats, cheeses, and produce. Distressed with the gastronomic mediocrity of the McRib, Katherine Shilcutt acknowledges its evident allure to a vast swath of citizens. Those determined to live off land closer to home should consider squirrel as meat of choice, writes Mike Sula. Many essays cite Copenhagen's Noma, reputed to be the world's greatest restaurant, so Matt Goulding meticulously guides readers through its dinner's 20-plus courses.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2013, American Library Association.)