Book Idea?

[santacruzan]

Hi Fellow Hounds,

I've been a follower of Chowhound for a few years and have used its message boards copiously to plan my dining experiences on different vacation trips. I'm heading off into retirement and have been fantasizing about a project that would combine my love of eating, traveling and writing.

The bare bones outline is this. The U.S. has uniquely regional food specialties that are both yummy and inexpensive, yet most travel guides either ignore them or give them a cursory mention in their "where to dine" section. Chowhounds spend endless amounts of energy agonizing over the comparitive merits of such specialties, yet there's no printed resource I'm aware of that focuses on this aspect of dining experience.

So how about penning a fun romp through the nooks and crannies of our fair land's chow, searching out some particularly noteworthy New York and Chicago pizza joints, New England clam bakes and chowders, barbecues (K.C., Carolina, Texas, etc), conch fritters and chowders, key lime and pecan pies, regional sandwiches (po' boys, meatball heroes, hoagies)etc, etc. The idea would be to have fun reading about the food items and locations, but also to be able to use the book as a guide for a chow odyssey (which the author would clearly make before writing).

Major reason for the posting is to see if anybody knows if this has been done already, but any other comments would certainly be welcome. Also, if you want to "steal" my idea and get going on it yourself, more power (and good eating!) to you.

[Aimee]

Sounds a bit like 'Road Food' and/or 'Food Finds', search on amazon. That being said - I have 5 Italian cookbooks, 2 Thai, 9 vegetarian etc. so if it's good they will buy it...

[curiousbaker]

I own both of those books, and I would buy another. Heck, I would buy a dozen others. Food Finds focusses on the things you can buy in markets and such, Rood Food on diners, bbq joints, and so on. Food Finds is essential. I love Road Food, but I've had a few issues with it. One is that it's not nearly comprehensive enough. I would rather have to buy several regional books, each of which would have a lot more entries, than have one national book with a dozen entries/state. I've eaten everything they recommend in New England and New York, but doubt I'll be using the Wyoming section anytime soon. So maybe start with your region, rather than trying to do the whole country?

Also, I have found that some of the entries in Road Food are more about the sense of place than about the food. Maybe it's the last remaining drive-in restaurant in the state, maybe it's a gorgeous old diner that still opens at 4:30 for the fisherman. These places are great, and I love going to them, but sometimes the food is really just so-so. I don't mind; I'm still interested, but I would like more info ahead of time - maybe separate ratings for atmosphere/experience versus food?

Anyway, I think it sounds like a great project. You should definitely check out those resources.

[Buford]

This is exactly my opinion about Road Food. I've traveled with it, and it just didn't satisfy. It's more about character than about chow, and it often overhypes. I think that regional books with many more entries, really about chow by someone who knows what good food tastes like, would be tremendous.

Some real history and culture would be good too, like such-and-such area of North Carolina was settled by people from such-and-such part of England, which explains why they eat such-and-such, as opposed to the people in this other area, who have an admixture of cooking influence from somewhere else, and the best restaurants to go to taste these differences are such-and-such.

[Athena]

There are some good ideas here. If you want to follow up on the idea of exploring community foodways, here's the link to the Smithsonian's interview guide below.

You can start with where you live, asking around about the traditional foods in your area, who makes the best, who has the most knowledge, etc. then interview people and ask them to demonstrate what they make. You never know where you'll end up once you start.

Link: http://www.folklife.si.edu/explore/Re...

[Dennis S]

I agree with Aimee that if it's well done you shouldn't worry much about what's out there. I'd love to go on that journey.

Anyway, my one suggestion is to stay away from the things that have been overly talked/written about. Like BBQ in KC & Memphis (unless you find some gem that HASN'T been talked about much).

But that being said, I like the regional aspect or the harder to find things. One thing that fits both would be the breaded pork tenderloin sandwiches at Darrell's in Hamlin, Iowa.

For a location, the Dixie Pig in Blytheville, Arkansas. (it is BBQ, but not in the "hot spots" and it is damn good - AND the only place I saw bonified secessionists)

There are some spots that are oases.

Columbia, MO is such a place. Many many spots there that could be put in a book. (though many college towns end up this way - Columbia definitely benefits somewhat from a good hotel and hospitality program)
The short list there is CJ's, Shakespeares, Booches, Murray's, Strada Nova, (Ernies, Broadway Diner, what was Ron's - now something else- all for diners), etc.

Another oasis like place is Zanesville, OH - at least for Diners. For a small town, there are at least 4 very strong diners (from just east of 93 on 22 on into town are 3 of them).

And maybe some highlights that just have to be visited by hounds if they end up somewhere. Just west of DC is Eden Center in Falls Church, VA. An entire mall of, by and for Vietnamese, including travel agencies, jewelers, karaoke, pool, and then of course, food.

[ciaogina]

The regional aspect reminds me of David Rosengarten's "It's All American Food" which is a great regional and ethnic cookbook.

Link: http://www.davidrosengarten.com/conte...

[Pate']

RoadFood.com is a website that coordinates with a book called RoadFood. You should go to the site to become familar with their angle.

It is written by a married couple, the Sterns, and they write a column for either Gourmet or Bon Appetite. Anyway, they go to local/regional joints that are beloved in their community and write a review. You can also find their columns on epicurious.com

I enjoy reading their posting on the website. I don't see why they should have a monopoly on this type of thing. It's a great idea.

[Amin (London Foodie)]

hey Santacruzan,
good luck on your retirement and on your venture. If
you have the taste for good food and the knack of
writing, dont worry about anyone ''stealing'' your
idea because there's a big World out there, and no
one can take from you your art, skils, wisdom and
knowledge.

I have written a book myself which is currently
at about 150 A4 pages, and contains information on
virtually all foods, their meaning, and where possible,
their origins. Its more or less an A-Z of foods,
starting from ABALONE - ZYMOME (Zymome: Old name for
that part of gluten insoluble in alcohol).

I still have to complete it, adding more stuff such
as for example (Hoagies...I have no idea what Hoagies
are), and hopefully one day I shall have it published.

So persevere in your thoughts and good luck.

Best Wishes/ Amin

[Athena]

Amin, a hoagie is a kind of mega-sandwich. The name is regional, in other parts of the U.S. it's called a sub or a grinder and I'm sure there are other names for it.

[Amin (London Foodie)]

Mingerspice, thanks for the lead. Will track down a
copy of the Penguin / Oxford companion to food.

Athena, thanks for solving my dilemma about a Hoagie,
and am about to add this info into my book.

[mingerspice]

Have you checked out the Penguin Companion to Food (AKA The Oxford Companion to Food)? It's a pretty good food encyclopaedia.

They do *not* have an entry on hoagies, however :)

[kc girl]

What about including area references (with schedules) in cities known for their crops; like Castroville is the artichoke capital, Gilroy is the garlic capital, uhmmm ... oranges and grapefruit in Florida, Hawaii, Carribean . . . California wine country. Many of those areas have annual festivals with all kinds of contests and activities with their indigenous food. Some vineyards have Summer outdoor concerts that are just delightful. One that has a nice outdoor concert is in Templeton, CA > Castoro Vineyards. They have local art shows and label contests there, too.

Or, maybe a food tour on a tandem bike through France? Find the best cafes, vineyards, floral gardens, country inns, recipes, and cooking classes.

[Buford]

There's also a book by Jonathan Gold called Counter Intelligence. It's a guide to mostly small ethnic restaurants in the Los Angeles area. Gold is a true chowhound who writes for the LA Weekly and I think also national publications. (His column is at laweekly.com, click on Food.) I think a version of his book for a region of the country, or even another city, would be excellent. The great strength of the book is that it's about the food, and that it's based on eating everything everywhere. The great weakness of the book is in its information design. It doesn't have enough indexes and maps, and for that reason I found it hard to use. Now maybe the right answer is just to use mapquest.com to generate your own maps. But I do wonder what creative design might do to make such a book optimally useful for its intended purpose, which I assume is being a companion on a road trip.

[Carb Lover]

Doesn't everyone have 1 or 2 book ideas in the making?? I know that I do...This is not meant to discount your ideas, but rather to say, GO FOR IT. Every person has a unique perspective to offer, which explains why universal themes that are recycled over and over (similar to repeat topics on CH) can still be brilliant and fresh.

A few words of advice based on my own beliefs of what I would need to do if I were to work on such a project: a) choose a topic that sparks endless curiosity and obsession for you; b) focus the topic as much as possible (IMO a book that covers BBQ, pizza, bagels, etc. is too diffuse); c) write from your heart and not from the desire to please this or that audience; and d) know that if it never gets published, that it can't take away from your journey and that your family will have a wonderful keepsake.

Good luck and enjoy your retirement...

[Buford]

Oh yes, I recall reading maybe a year ago about two women who traveled the US eating every example they could find of some iconic food, like apple pie, and wrote a book about it. Of course the book was as much about the places and people as about the pie. I can't say that I was entirely persuaded by the concept, but if they were good writers then it could have been fine. I'm afraid I don't have the title or the authors' names, but maybe someone will remember the article, which I'm guessing was in the New York Times.

You might also read William Least-Heat Moon's travelogue, Blue Highways. He spent a year driving around small roads in the US, visiting small towns and meeting people etc. I read it when it came out in the early 1980s and liked it a lot (haven't revisited it since so I don't know what I'd think now). It's not about food, but I could easily imagine a food version of it, using the cuisine as a way of telling stories about people and places. For example, you could travel the US and find the ten most interesting cooks and really get to know them and write about them and their cooking. These might include famous chefs, but obviously I'm thinking more of dedicated amateur cooks who live in very interesting cultural intersections or something (northern New Mexico, anywhere in South Carolina, the Lithuanian suburbs of Chicago, some incredibly multicultural street in Queens), so that their cooking unfolds as the story of people and history etc.

[Buford]

I'm sorry for all the posts, but here's another idea for you. I'm wondering if a book that just says "America has lots of interesting distinctive local cuisines" really defines a large enough market niche for itself. What's a really new story that nobody has told yet? How about: Has anybody written a history of the food revolution that happened in the US starting in the 1980s? This had two aspects:

1. Chez Panisse, fresh local ingredients, farmers' markets, natural, organic, Whole Foods.

2. Cultural arbitrage, where chefs became famous translating regional cuisines for a national audience, expanding the country's flavor palette to the point where even random fast food chains claim to be serving Cajun food.

Background reading for this might include Laura Shapiro's stunning "Perfection Salad : Women and Cooking at the Turn of the Century", about the historical reasons why most white Americans eat such awful food (overcooked vegetables were invented by scientists, it turns out), and Warren Belasco's "Appetite for Change: How the Counterculture Took on the Food Industry", about the first attempts to do something about it.

Now, this book might not have the travel aspect you are looking for. Maybe you organize it around ten people who pioneered various aspects of the revolution, going and hanging out with each of them for a while.

Another book, more contemporary, might be about the terroir and heritage people who are trying to build on the whole idea of cuisines rooted in local climates and ingredients and preserving food breeds that industrial agriculture has no interest in. The book could try to define in a full, poetic way what a terroir is and what a terroir-based cuisine means and could mean, for example by traveling to three or four regions of the country and interviewing farmers, chefs, breeders, agricultural extension researchers, restaurant critics, cookbook authors, etc.

[Buford]

Two more ideas.

1. Travel around the US, hang out with the new immigrant groups (Bosnian, Hmong, Senegalese, Russian, Vietnamese, Somali, Cambodian, Salvadorean, various regions of China), interview the best cooks, and write about the people through their food.

2. Team up with Slow Food or Chowhound and write (for example) the Slow Food Guide to the American Southwest. I think there's a Slow Food Guide to Chicago already.

Also you might read a famous New Yorker article from maybe fifteen years ago about a farm in Rancho Santa Fe, CA which produces dozens of specialized varieties of vegetables for restaurants.

[squirrel]

Jane and Michael Stern, Calvin Trillin and others have done this; not sure you should let that discourage you, though.