“She tells it like it is. I wish more people spoke as honestly as Ruth does.” — Tony Maws, chef-owner of
Craigie on Main, who kindly lent us the collection of heads in his walk-in, along with his own, for a
literary afternoon. |
Every so often, the churning, bilious stomach of the Twitterverse belches something beautiful into our collective lap. In this case, it’s disgusting, witty, and strangely alluring commentary on everyone’s favorite scapegoat du jour: foodies. Appearing to us like a backlit god in a ravaged culinary landscape, rife with the smell of Batali’s Crocs and pretentious baristas, Ruth Bourdain arose from the Interwebz two years ago as an amalgam of former Gourmet editor (and flowery tweeter) Ruth Reichl and chef-cum-travel guide with a fondness for a well-placed cuss Anthony Bourdain. A James Beard Award for humor writing and more than 57,000 followers later, the bastard/bastardess’s true identity remains a secret. This month, he/she released a book, Comfort Me with Offal: Ruth Bourdain’s Guide to Gastronomy. And it’s fucking awesome. Subjects that demand mention include, but are not limited to, a survival manual for the vegan apocalypse, a guide to the art of getting gastrostoned (read: bong hits of mozzarella and tangerine zest), and, of course, @RuthBourdain’s bread and butter — plenty of digs at Guy Fieri.
Related:
Trade secrets: Scott Haas's Back of the House: The Secret Life of a Restaurant, Soup's On, Things to read when it's too hot to cook, More 
- Trade secrets: Scott Haas's Back of the House: The Secret Life of a Restaurant
Food writer and clinical psychologist Scott Haas's fly-on-the-wall account of Central Square hotspot Craigie on Main, Back of the House: The Secret Life of a Restaurant , drops February 5.
- Soup's On
Most cookbooks catch you with a really stellar recipe about a third of the way in — something with heft and a rustic photo to go with it, past all the stocks and appetizers.
- Things to read when it's too hot to cook
April Bloomfield, exec chef and co-owner of the Spotted Pig in NYC and a native of Birmingham, England, originally wanted to be a policewoman, which we think is pretty badass.
- Worthy pastimes for highbrow youngsters
Hey, nerdy smart kids! This October, a publisher called Bloomsbury will put out a special activity book just for you!
- XL
American Gothic was a subterranean shithole bar known for its existentially tortured clientele and extreme indifference to the minimum drinking age.
- Tea, tin men, and Tomasi’s tome
Libertarians have been labeled many things, but compassionate isn't one of them.
- Bright lights, no city
I never cared about Africa. I never wanted to join the Peace Corps, raft the Zambezi, haggle in Fez or climb Kilimanjaro.
- Tiffani Faison takes on Taste of Provincetown
Tiffani Faison and I both grew up in the same town in Sonoma County, California. While we just missed each other, she admits that the years of her youth were spent the same way as mine were: drinking in empty pastures and vineyards.
- The secret to ratatouille without the mush
My houseguest, a sixteen-year-old French brunette, pointed at the French toast we were serving for breakfast. "What is it?" she asked.
- The immortal life of Harvey Pekar
So here's our man, gone these two years and still putting out work.
- Jonathan Kozol returns to the scene of the crime
In 1985, with President Ronald Reagan boasting of "Morning in America," and no end in sight to the inequalities in America's public schools, educator, activist, and writer Jonathan Kozol traveled from his hometown of Newton, Massachusetts, to New York's South Bronx, statistically the poorest neighborhood in the country.
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Topics:
Food Features
, Tony Maws, Books, Craigie on Main, More
, Tony Maws, Books, Craigie on Main, food features, Less
