Best Food Writing 2013 by Holly Hughes

Best Food Writing 2013 Reviews

• 
  Sandie

  Holly Hughes has a long history of editing a compilation of the best food articles of the year. She has put together a food anthology each year since 2000. This years, Best Food Writing 2013, is another worthy effort and will be enjoyed both by those who identify themselves as ‘foodies’ and by those just interested in good writing that explains someone else’s obsession.
  
  
  The book contains articles by well-known food writers. Authors include Michael Pollen, Corby Kummer (senior editor at The Atlantic for three decades), Matt Goulding, Dara Moskowitz Grumdahl and Jonathan Gold, the first ever food writer to win a Pulitizer Prize. Some of the articles are written by chefs, some by food critics, and many by those who write about food for their living.
  
  
  The articles range both in subject and voice. There are articles that cover food fads and fashions such as slow eating, the local resourcing trend, the tyranny of chefs who have gone from those providing a service to those who give diners what they want to cook rather than what the diner wants to eat, and the emergence of food trucks. There are humorous articles about cooking ribs and fighting squirrels. There are emotional pieces that describe the role that food has in discovering love, parental connections, the connection between food and gratitude and food and memories. There are profiles of chefs and descriptions of dinners with more than twenty courses. There is complicated food, simple food, expensive food and comfort food.
  
  
  The reader will enjoy learning about the subject. Each article is a gem in its own genre. There is a short biography of each author before the piece, and the book is organized into subjects such as The Way We Eat Now, A Critical Palate, Farm To Table, The Meat Of The Matter, Home Cooking, To Be A Chef and Personal Tastes. Those interested in cooking and food will find much to interest them, and those who are more mundane cooks will enjoy the view into the world of those for whom food is a compelling interest. This book is recommended both for food enthusiasts and those interested in the subject of cooking and why it matters.
• 
  karenbee

  Best Food Writing 2013 let me read a bunch of the good stuff without having to work for it, which is nice, and there's a good range of topics and styles.
  
  It's a fleeting thing, though. There were a couple of essays I didn't care for, but honestly I can't even remember which ones they were now. The only things that really stuck with me were the recipes, although I'll probably find random facts floating to the surface of my brain in the future. I think more ardent fans of food writing will find a lot to love.
  
  
  (three-and-a-half stars)
• 
  Phaedra

  These collections aren't about the food, they're about the people. The travel, the politics, the celebrations, the family, the friends. The food is the thing that brings everything & everyone together, but the stories in this collection are truly about life experiences.
• 
  Marsha

  There's no denying people bond over food, talk about food (favorite restaurants, how good this meal is, what to order for takeout, etc.) and can have complex or extraordinary connections to it. This collection brings together many different people--journalists, food critics, cooks--to write about the seminal experiences that changed their lives--or simply reminisce about that one special meal. This is a fine banquet of witty, sober, reflective people displaying to the hungry reader their insights about just how valuable a role food preparation, gathering, consumption, et al., play in human life.
  
  If there are a couple of things I could have changed, it's a comprehensive index. Save for a listing of where to find the various recipes in the back and chapter listings in the front, you can't narrow in on specifics like names, states, countries, ingredients, et al.
  
  I also would have preferred a cheery ending rather than the story with its melancholic conclusion as the finale. Like a perfect meal, I would have liked to end on a high, happy note.
• 
  Jess Xu

  I have always enjoyed food writing and I have read previous editions of this anthology of food writing (2000 and 2014). The 2015 edition, recently neglected, awaits me on my bedside table. Perhaps more than a year ago, I had read a few articles in this 2013 edition, but had left the book at my parent's house when I moved and moved and once again moved. This weekend, at my parent's house, in a fit of protracted procrastination and with a desire to glut myself on something, I powered through this book barely pausing for breath. The contents, actually worthy of more considered savouring, washed over me like an ambrosial but distinctly culinary lapse from reality. My mind is now filled with glimpses of mystical animal slaughters (no doubt added to by my own participation just yesterday in the killing of two of our own ducks for food), the difficult and self-serving nuances of locavorism, and a lush yearning for raw sheep milk cheese from the depths of Minnesota where coyotes and owls live alongside the sheep. I can't wait to read the 2015 edition, perhaps more slowly, maybe an essay at a time.
• 
  Joseph

  Unlike the previous "best of" compilations in this series, this year's editions seems to carry a serious chip on its shoulder. Unlike the carefree stories of the past years, this book dwells on supply chain issues and kill what you eat articles. While important topics, I felt tied after reading the whole thing.
• 
  Tracey

  The essay about Hawaii made me really, really nostalgic. Leonard's Bakery malasadas! Rainbow Drive In! Huli hull chicken! I remember Matsumoto Grocery before it was a tourist attraction, too. We used to go there when we went to the beach in Haleiwa.
• 
  Amy Stilgenbauer

  A nicely curated collection of essays, some of which I found fascinating, others humorous, and still others unfortunately unrelatable as someone who will likely never fly across the country just to eat at a specific restaurant.
• 
  Kathleen

  I've read this annual collection of food writing since 2003, usually racing through it in the early months of the year. Maybe my own book about food sapped some of my enthusiasm, because I didn't even start the 2013 collection till last month. Once I did, the essays didn't disappoint.
• 
  Sarah

  Probably the most disappointing entry in the series. I read it every year, but if 2014 is this pretentious I may have to give it up!
• 
  Clare

  Best Food Writing 2013, like its predecessors, is a fine, broad collection for foodies. Of particular note are Paul Graham’s “Variations on Grace” and Kevin Pang’s “His Saving Grace.”
• 
  Antigone

  Entertaining. Informative. Inspiring.
  
  There's an awful lot of talent hanging out at the essay table these days.
• 
  Maisa Leibovitz

  Best anthology I've read in a long time. Will be buying the only other volume of the previous year, 2012. Can't wait!!!
• 
  Carol-Anne

  A good collection of essays related to food, travel, and people.
• 
  waits4thebus

  Fun collection of short form food writing. Some pieces resonated more than others, but I enjoyed wondering what was next upon finishing each one.
• 
  Maryann

  Used successfully in Food Writing.
• 
  Jo

  Read the series of every year. This as good, even reading through the squirrel chapter.