Witty essays on food and drink from one of the most entertaining and highly respected food writers in the country today James Beard Award-winning author and culinary insider James Villas, named Bon Appetit's 2003 Best Food Writer of the Year, turns his pen to everything from absinthe (the green fairy), barbecue, and authentic grits to San Francisco sourdough and the wonders of peanut butter and price club shopping. Sometimes biting (literally), often hilarious, and always passionate, Villas serves up quick takes on and penetrating insights into the origins and essential experiences of many of our favorite foods and beverages. James Villas (New York, NY, and East Hampton, NY) was the food and wine editor of Town & Country magazine for 27 years. His work has also appeared in Esquire, Food & Wine, Gourmet, Bon Appetit, the New York Times, and other publications. A recipient of the James Beard Award, Villas is the author of over a dozen cookbooks and books on food, including Between Bites: Memoirs of a Hungry Hedonist (cloth: 0471214205; paper: 047144827-3).
Table of Contents
FOREWORD, JEREMIAH TOWER. INTRODUCTION: DECLARATIONS OF A HUNGRY SLEUTH. PART ONE: REBEL SCOUT. SOUTHERN PIG. KING OF DIXIE STEWS. THE SLIME FACTOR. TRUE GRITS. PC AND PROUD OF IT. DEBUNKING FRUITCAKE. A FEW CRUCIAL WORDS ABOUT ICE' TEA. PART TWO: STAR-SPANGLED ADVENTURES. CHEAPSKATE SHOPPING. PRIMAL STEAK. THE MYSTERY OF LACTOBACILLUS SANFRANCISCO. PUMPKIN POWER. CHOWDER CHOW DOWN. WILD IN THE WOODS. CHICKEN SALAD CHIC. PART THREE: COMFORT ME WITH MEAT LOAF. MEAT LOAF MANIA. GASTRONOMIC GOO. ODE ON A CAN OF TUNA. ICEBERG AHEAD. JOIN THE CLUB. REDRESSING THE SPUD. PART FOUR: FOREIGN FORAGING. THE GRATE ONE. IN SILENCE, IN COOLNESS, AND IN SHADOW. SEXY SOUP. RIVIERA SALAD. SAVORY PIE. ITALY'S SWEET "PICK-ME-UP". SEVICHE AND OTHER COMPOSITIONS FROM THE SEA. PART FIVE: POTABLE PURSUITS. STALKING THE GREEN FAIRY. DEAR LITTLE WATER. BUBBLY I: PINK EXTRAVAGANCE. BUBBLY II: GRAND SHAM-PAGNES. LIQUID GOLD. SUPER SUDS. BYOB REVISITED. PART SIX: DISPATCH FROM THE RESTAURANT ARENA. DINING IN THE PLAYPEN. THE FRUGAL GOURMAND. RESPECT MOTHER NATURE. WINE SAVVY. THE RESERVATIONS WAR. A SHAMELESS UPDATE ON GREASING PALMS. HOGWASH. THE QUESTION OF CIVILITY. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS. INDEX.
Author Biography
JAMES VILLAS was the food and wine editor of Town & Country magazine for twenty-seven years. His work has appeared in Esquire, Food & Wine, Gourmet, Bon Appetit, the New York Times, and the Atlantic Monthly, among other publications. He's the recipient of Bon Appetit's Food Writer of the Year Award 2003 and a James Beard Award. Villas is the author of more than a dozen cookbooks and books on food, including Between Bites (Wiley), My Mother's Southern Kitchen, and Crazy for Casseroles.
