New York in a Dozen Dishes

May 4, 2015
Sietsema, former restaurant critic for the Village Voice and author of the food fanzine Down the Hatch, takes a
personal journey through New York City fare, exploring how ethnic neighborhoods have formed in the city and changed over the last decades. His book reads like a series of magazine articles, covering iconic foods such as Italian-inspired pizza, Manhattan clam chowder (the tomato-based version evolved from the creamy New England soup has all the markings, he notes, of a Mediterranean dish that probably emerged by the 1960s), and pho (pronounced fuh), the
signature beef-and-noodle soup of Vietnamese cooking. Sietsema tackles each dish’s provenance: egg foo yong, a peculiar Chinese American hybrid, was “packaged as a
one-course meal aimed at American diners accustomed to the same proportions of protein, grease, and starch in what they considered their normal diet.” Pastrami, that pink brisket-cut brined and spiced meat, turns out to be more Central Asian than strictly Jewish, while now-ubiquitous fried chicken might have originated in West Africa via Iberian mariners in the 16th century. Toward the end, Sietsema reaches too far afield and recommends an obscure chile-gravy sandwich called pambazo as the Mexican specialty (though he rarely even manages to find it) and the South America fried little guinea pig called cuy. Funny, thorough, and a good sport, he might have spared the reader before adding the last chapter on scrambled brains—the choice of the secretive diners in the Organ Meat Society.

April 1, 2015

There are canonical New York City dishes (its pizza and pastrami sandwiches, for example) and those that have more recently nudged city dining in newer directions, such as pho. Sietsema, longtime critic for the Village Voice, currently senior critic at the website Eater New York, examines the history, importance, and iterations of a baker's dozen foodstuffs. For each the author proposes that while the item may not necessarily have originated in Gotham, it has left an indelible mark on what New Yorkers eat. Not every reader will share his taste for organ meats or cuy (Ecuadorian-style guinea pig). Still, his writing skillfully navigates history and geography, encompassing lesser-known neighborhoods and foreign excursions, such as a trip to West Africa. He offers restaurant recommendations and a recipe in each chapter. This rollicking read can be approached start to finish or by dipping into whatever dish sounds most compelling. VERDICT A great melding of culinary history and dining guidance from a terrific writer. Recommended where books on food and on New York City are popular.--Peter Hepburn, Coll. of the Canyons Lib., Santa Clarita, CA

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