Hungry Men: Books for the gourmand
They made their mark elsewhere in the literary world, but for Jason Epstein and R.W. Apple, two men of voracious appetites, the place to begin a memoir is with a meal.
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| 'Eating' by Jason Epstein; 'Far Flung and Well Fed' by R.W. Apple; and 'Appetite City' by William Grimes |
(Fortune Magazine) -- In the starry universe of books about food, the dominant galaxy is occupied by the works of celebrity chefs -- men and women who perpetrate cookbooks gloriously illustrated with photographs that rev up your salivary glands and lavishly produced on paper so thick and creamy you could eat it.
But every so often another breed of foodie steps up, the type who can make your stomach growl in perfect harmony with their prose. Jason Epstein and R.W. Apple are two such world-class eaters who made their reputations with words long before they picked up knives and forks in public.
"Eating" by Jason Epstein
One of the most distinguished book publishers of the past half-century, Epstein is a deeply educated man who has an appropriate fondness for the homely lobster shacks of his native New England. But what really distinguishes him is a palate as refined as his writing.
This is not to suggest that the meals that star in "Eating" (Knopf), Epstein's beguiling memoir-with-recipes, are formal affairs that empty a wallet as speedily as they satisfy the senses. Epstein's greatest pleasures are stove-side, and his greatest enthusiasms are reserved for ingredients.
There are no foams or mists or other of-the-moment fetishes in Epstein's cooking, only a delicious passion for the truly delicious. It may sound a little arch when he insists that strattu -- Italian tomato concentrate -- "will send your ragù directly to the empyrean," but you tend to believe him.
Given Epstein's career, it's no surprise that the eating in "Eating" is accompanied by some tasty literary nourishment. Remembered meals evoke remembered friends, and some of Epstein's friends -- Jackie Onassis, Gore Vidal, Alice Waters -- are pretty hot dates.
When a book can give you a revealing profile of Roy Cohn that melts into a recipe for the Black-and-Blue Hamburger at '21,' you can't go too far wrong.
"Far Flung and Well Fed" by R.W. Apple
R.W. Apple's last book, "Far Flung and Well Fed" (St. Martin's), is even better.
Apple, who died three years ago, knew his priorities. During his many decades as the biggest Bigfoot at the New York Times, he was ever ready to cut short an interview with a president or prime minister if a provocative meal beckoned.
Of course, an omnivore like Apple was easily provoked, to the great benefit of his readers. Can anyone resist the collected work of a writer who could both thrill to a thrush pâté in a French gastronomic temple and also get giddy over the "near-perfect amalgam of juicy, greasy bits of beef and bland, gummy cheese" that makes up the ideal Philly cheesesteak?
Well, I suppose some people could, but I'd never want to have dinner with them.
"Appetite City" by William Grimes
Epstein and Apple may be excellent companions for a contemporary gastronomic tour, but William Grimes can show you how we used to eat. In "Appetite City: A Culinary History of New York" (North Point), you can imagine yourself scarfing oysters at the original Delmonico's, savoring the New World's first pizza at Lombardi's, or watching seven women divide the check at Schrafft's. This is culinary history as cultural history, both lively and informative. 
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