I like food. In fact, I like food so much I read about it whenever I get the chance. Fortunately food writing is getting it’s own section in most bookstores. It may be a bit off the ‘hot sauce’ topic, but I recommend the books below to any of the HSB readers:
Fork It Over: The Intrepid Adventures of a Professional Eater
“Barbecue without wood is like French food without butter, inappropriate and insulting” – While this book is not all about BBQ and rarely touches on spicey food – it’s still a great read. Each section is a selection of Alan’s best work.
Gastronaut: Adventures in food for the romantic, the foolhardy, and the brave.
I picked this up in the bookstore and just happened to flip to the section titled: “A Personal Journey Into Extreme Flatulence” Right then and there I was sold. The book is part experiment, part history and part fun. The writer Stefan Gates is British, so expect not to understand all of the slang used. I read the book in one day.
The Best Food Writing 2005: For Every Cook & Food Lover
This book is an amazing compliation of the Best Food Writing of the Year. There are editions going back to 2000, so you may want to take the time to pick up them all. This edition contains a great editorial entitled “Some Like It Extra Hot” which is about Prince’s Hot Chicken Shack. The author, Ramsey captures not only the flavors but the culinary psychopathology of hot-chicken addicts.
The Chowhound’s Guide to the New York Tristate Area
If you live in the Tri-State area, pick up this book! It’s an excellent resource for the hole in the wall locations foodies love. Again, this is one book I read in one day and bookmarked no less then 20 new places to try out. Did you know there’s a place called Rice Dreams in Manhattan that sells nothing but rice pudding? Are you looking for mozerella that can weaken your knees or do you have a craving for West African Peanut Stew? This book will help you find it all in NYC.