The Gastronomica Reader (Darra Goldstein)

Described in the 2008Saveur100 as At the top of our bedside reading pile since its inception in 2001, the award-winningGastronomica: The Journal of Food and Cultureis a quarterly feast of truly exceptional writing on food. Designed both to entertain and to provoke,The Gastronomica Readernow offers a sumptuous sampling from the journals pagesincluding essays, poetry, interviews, memoirs, and an outstanding selection of the artwork that has madeGastronomicaso distinctive.

In words and images, it takes us around the globe, through time, and into a dazzling array of cultures, investigating topics from early hominid cooking to Third Reich caterers to the Shiite clergy under Ayatollah Khomeini who deemed Iranian caviar fit for consumption under Islamic law. Informed throughout by a keen sense of the pleasures of eating, tasting, and sharing food, The Gastronomica Readerwill inspire readers to think seriously, widely, and deeply about what goes onto their plates.

(116)