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Savoring Gotham

A Food Lover's Companion to New York City

Editor-in-chief: Andrew F. Smith and Foreword by Garrett Oliver

Most comprehensive reference work on the the history of NYC food and drink, with approximately 570 entries
Edited by Andrew F. Smith, a widely respected food historian and the author of several award-winning culinary books
Illustrated with approximately 100 images
Foreword by Garrett Oliver, Brewmaster of the Brooklyn Brewery
Comprehensive bibliography of the best writing on NYC food and drink

Savoring Gotham

A Food Lover's Companion to New York City

Editor-in-chief: Andrew F. Smith and Foreword by Garrett Oliver

Description

When it comes to food, there has never been another city quite like New York. The Big Apple--a telling nickname--is the city of 50,000 eateries, of fish wriggling in Chinatown baskets, huge pastrami sandwiches on rye, fizzy egg creams, and frosted black and whites. It is home to possibly the densest concentration of ethnic and regional food establishments in the world, from German and Jewish delis to Greek diners, Brazilian steakhouses, Puerto Rican and Dominican bodegas, halal food carts, Irish pubs, Little Italy, and two Koreatowns (Flushing and Manhattan). This is the city where, if you choose to have Thai for dinner, you might also choose exactly which region of Thailand you wish to dine in.

Savoring Gotham weaves the full tapestry of the city's rich gastronomy in nearly 570 accessible, informative A-to-Z entries. Written by nearly 180 of the most notable food experts-most of them New Yorkers--Savoring Gotham addresses the food, people, places, and institutions that have made New York cuisine so wildly diverse and immensely appealing. Reach only a little ways back into the city's ever-changing culinary kaleidoscope and discover automats, the precursor to fast food restaurants, where diners in a hurry dropped nickels into slots to unlock their premade meal of choice. Or travel to the nineteenth century, when oysters cost a few cents and were pulled by the bucketful from the Hudson River. Back then the city was one of the major centers of sugar refining, and of brewing, too--48 breweries once existed in Brooklyn alone, accounting for roughly 10% of all the beer brewed in the United States. Travel further back still and learn of the Native Americans who arrived in the area 5,000 years before New York was New York, and who planted the maize, squash, and beans that European and other settlers to the New World embraced centuries later.

Savoring Gotham covers New York's culinary history, but also some of the most recognizable restaurants, eateries, and culinary personalities today. And it delves into more esoteric culinary realities, such as urban farming, beekeeping, the Three Martini Lunch and the Power Lunch, and novels, movies, and paintings that memorably depict Gotham's foodscapes. From hot dog stands to haute cuisine, each borough is represented. A foreword by Brooklyn Brewery Brewmaster Garrett Oliver and an extensive bibliography round out this sweeping new collection.

Savoring Gotham

A Food Lover's Companion to New York City

Editor-in-chief: Andrew F. Smith and Foreword by Garrett Oliver

Savoring Gotham

A Food Lover's Companion to New York City

Editor-in-chief: Andrew F. Smith and Foreword by Garrett Oliver

Author Information

Andrew F. Smith (Editor in Chief) teaches nine courses on culinary topics at the New School in New York. He serves as the series editor for the "Edible Series" at Reaktion Books in the United Kingdom, and is the author or editor of twenty-four books, including his most recent, American Tuna: The Rise and Fall of an Improbable Food (University of California Press, 2012), The Oxford Encyclopedia on Food and Drink in America (OUP, 2013), and New York City: A Food Biography (Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2013).

Contributors:

180 people wrote entries for Savoring Gotham, including food historians, cookbook authors, chefs, owners of iconic NYC food establishments, academics, etc. Particularly notable contributors include Marion Nestle (leading voice on food choice, obesity, and food safety concerns), Rozanne Gold (award-winning chef), Barry Popik (American etymologist and expert on the origins of the terms "Big Apple", "Windy City", "hot dog"), Maricel Presilla (the first Latin American woman to have been invited as a guest chef at the White House), Mark Russ Federman (Russ and Daughters), and Carol Brock (food journalist, founder of Les Dames d'Escoffier). Most contributors are NYC residents.

Savoring Gotham

A Food Lover's Companion to New York City

Editor-in-chief: Andrew F. Smith and Foreword by Garrett Oliver

Reviews and Awards

"New York, one of the world's most extraordinary cities, is captured masterfully here through its food and food history." --Sirio Maccioni, restaurateur

"There's no better way to understand New York City-its diversity, its unique character, and its depth of tradition-than through food. Savoring Gotham spans history, culture, geography, and everything in between. The results are awe (and appetite) inspiring." --Danny Meyer, CEO, Union Square Hospitality Group

"A comprehensive and fascinating guide to New York's rich culinary history and its evolution into a gastronomic mecca." --Alfred Portale, Executive Chef, Gotham Bar and Grill

"Taste the energy, excitement, and diversity of America's greatest city through the foodways of those who came here and made it so." --Betty Fussell, cultural critic and food writer

"I've never met an encyclopedia that I wanted to eat before. Bravo!" --Molly O'Neill, author of The New York Cookbook and founder of the LongHouse Food Revival

"I'm going to sound like a Mad Men-style commercial: this is a project whose time has come." --Dr. Bruce Kraig, Professor Emeritus in History and Humanities at Roosevelt University, Chicago, and President of the Culinary Historians of Chicago

"This is an excellent and very well thought-out proposal for a book many, many writers have been desperate to consult for years. I've needed it dozens of times myself; I always hope it's lurking in the Encyclopedia of New York, but of course it never is." --Laura Shapiro, award-winning culinary historian

"There's something to savor in every listing, be it an intriguing tidbit or scholarly detail." -- The New York Times

"This comprehensive handbook to all things culinary in the Big Apple is sure to provide many hours of amusement and amazement to anyone who likes to eat and has ever said, 'I Love New York.'" --Huffington Post

"Zestfully delivering on its subtitle ('A Food Lover's Companion to New York City'), 'Savoring Gotham' is a 760-page encyclopedic recipe for relishing the city's cosmopolitan menu." --Sam Roberts, New York Times

"Boasting 567 entries, Savoring Gotham: A Food Lover's Companion to New York City serves up a feast of foodie knowledge for the Gotham native and novice alike . . . Combining food history with current culinary trends, the text richly explores New York City's diverse food cultures, as well as its contributions to global gastronomy. A hefty volume that even dons a New York bagel on its spine, it makes for a smartly dressed member of any foodie library sure to be referenced again and again." --Zester Daily

"This wonderful companion to all things related to food in New York is the brainchild of [Andrew] Smith" --Library Journal

2016 Gourmand World Cookbook Award for Best US Cuisine: "The author is one of the best culinary historians, a cookbook expert, and a great writer. This book is a pleasure to read; it is packed with information." --Edouard Cointreau, President of the Jury

Savoring Gotham

A Food Lover's Companion to New York City

Editor-in-chief: Andrew F. Smith and Foreword by Garrett Oliver

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