Best Food Writing 2013
No doubt about it, twenty-first-century Americans are obsessed with food. The only things they apparently enjoy more than eating it are watching it being cooked on television and reading about it on blogs and in magazines and newspapers. This latest annual anthology of short writings reveals a nation sorely conflicted about food’s nutritional benefits versus the sheer sensual pleasures of the table. Americans (and increasingly a worldwide audience) support a vast impersonal, international food-service industry while simultaneously lionizing chefs who work only with local meats, cheeses, and produce. Distressed with the gastronomic mediocrity of the McRib, Katherine Shilcutt acknowledges its evident allure to a vast swath of citizens. Those determined to live off land closer to home should consider squirrel as meat of choice, writes Mike Sula. Many essays cite Copenhagen’s Noma, reputed to be the world’s greatest restaurant, so Matt Goulding meticulously guides readers through its dinner’s 20-plus courses. --Mark Knoblauch