The United States of Arugula: The Sun Dried, Cold Pressed, Dark Roasted, Extra Virgin Story of the American Food Revolution Review
The United States of Arugula is ostensibly about how America changed from a burgers and fries, Swanson TV dinner, baloney sandwich and Fritos kind of country to a sushi and edamame, Whole Foods, imported bottled water nation. What it really is though, is a collection of some of the best gossip I've read in a long time. This is quality stuff.
The stars of the story are food pioneers Craig Claiborne, James Beard, and Julia Child. Along with accounts of their careers, we learn of their various trysts and relationships. Even Julia Child, of whom there are no revelations of extra marital affairs here, comes across as rather bawdier than we are used to seeing her. Alice Waters gets the full treatment as well. What a busy bee she's been - that kitchen at Chez Panisse sure gets hot.
Author David Kamp has really done his homework. We learn how Whole Foods, Zabar's, Dean & DeLuca, and Williams Sonoma got started. We get the lowdown on how the French cooking craze that Julia Child started morphed into Nouvelle Cuisine in New York and into California Cuisine in Berkeley. Chefs Jeremiah Tower, Thomas Keller, and Wolfgang Puck make cameo appearances. Find out how Peet's Coffee in the Bay Area begat Starbuck's.
I can't think of anyone Kamp has left out of his book. Even Jane and Michael Stern, who specialize in finding the "best" greasy spoons, and The Frugal Gourmet (remember him?) are mentioned, if only in chatty and rather informative footnotes. But back to the gossip. Here you'll find out what food critic made Emeril Lagasse cry, what Alice Waters said to Rick Bayless when he appeared in Burger King commercials, and about the feud between Mexican food experts Diana Kennedy and Rick Bayless.
Of course, if you'd rather take the high road, you can join in on the debate over whether America is better off, food-wise now than we were forty years ago. Were things more natural and healthier before high fructose corn syrup and DDT and Fast Food Nation? Or are they actually better now with organic choices and farmers' markets and the Food Channel? Argue amongst yourselves. I'm going to scour the footnotes for more gossipy morsels.
The United States of Arugula: The Sun Dried, Cold Pressed, Dark Roasted, Extra Virgin Story of the American Food Revolution Overview
The wickedly entertaining, hunger-inducing, behind-the-scenes story of the revolution in American food that has made exotic ingredients, celebrity chefs, rarefied cooking tools, and destination restaurants familiar aspects of our everyday lives.
Amazingly enough, just twenty years ago eating sushi was a daring novelty and many Americans had never even heard of salsa. Today, we don't bat an eye at a construction worker dipping a croissant into robust specialty coffee, city dwellers buying just-picked farmstand produce, or suburbanites stocking up on artisanal cheeses and extra virgin oils at supermarkets. The United States of Arugula is a rollicking, revealing stew of culinary innovation, food politics, and kitchen confidences chronicling how gourmet eating in America went from obscure to pervasive—and became the cultural success story of our era.
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Customer Reviews
The Inevitable Taint of Success - Intrepid -
Extremely well written, but ultimately depressing.......
My wife & I have been involved as inquiring, eager, cooks throughout our 40 yr marriage. During that period food has come of age in America."The United States of Arugula" chronicles this history rather well...a bit of gossip, some snarkiness, and a pretty good account of how the various food movements moved to the forefront and either endured or burned out. Mr Kamp remains true to his objectivity, taking a no holds barred approach to discussing the pantheon of food personalities. The narrative moves quickly and entertains..... up to the point where we encounter the Food Network.........the culinary equivalent of bluesman Robert Johnson's famous encounter one midnight at that rural Mississippi Delta crossroads. The Food movement's bargain was the dollar's triumph over substance....All of my so-called epicurean heroes take their turns rationalizing the spectacle that is Food TV. Too bad....Mario et al...at the end of the day there isn't much food left in the food movement...unless a steady diet of ego, crass commercialism, and vacuum-sealed righteous ideology can sustain devotees and viewers. However, for all the clownish antics on Food TV....Bravo has stepped forward and REALLY turned the food movement firmly in the direction of trash with Top Chef.....a caloric clone of the various Housewives" franchises. Shame on you. Dull knives prevail.
A complete waste of time, money, and paper - Scott Erickson - Mesa, AZ USA
The author has not (yet?) met a female chef he could like. ...And all male chefs are queer. Aside from that, he got his facts straight. He started writing a year after Julia Child died and perhaps should have started sooner. Or not at all. Or found a different subject to insult.
is it time to eat yet? - T. McAtee - Brooklyn, NY
Not only do I suddenly feel way more clued in when dining with my foodie friends, but I have a whole new appreciation for how and why I can suddenly buy good food in this country nearly everywhere. More importantly, however, is the imperative to eat now, and eat well that this book instills in me every time I read more than a few pages. I don't think I've ever eaten as many great meals as I have while reading this book.
*** Product Information and Prices Stored: Aug 16, 2010 05:56:29
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