On the Table - the curious home of Gary Allen, Food Writer & Dillettante

It's July, a month in which we, had we any sense at all, would be in some cool, remote, and utterly pleasant stretch of stream -- annoying small-mouth bass with ridiculously gaudy lures. It's also the tenth anniversary of these updates. To celebrate that momentous occasion, we plan to do nothing out of the ordinary except, perhaps, to kick back with an icy-cold pink gin.

Oh wait… that's what we would be doing anyway.

Regular subscribers to our updates newsletter receive these updates from our blog, Just Served, directly… but the rest of the blogs's blatherings don’t show up as uninvited guests in their mailboxes (uninvited guests so rarely show up bearing decent wine or luscious desserts). Should you experience an inexplicable desire for blather, last month's included: "A Wreck of Hesperus" -- an example of what happens when word-fanciers let their imaginations overrule their better judgment, "Black Cows," an investigation into the origins of root beer floats, "BBQ: How to Do Culinary Research," a questionable discourse on certain academics' approach to the subject and "Revisiting Restaurants Perdu," one way to savor some of the foods from favorite restaurants that are long gone.

Leitesculinaria is still in the process of reposting, sometimes with shiny new updates and edits, some of my older articles. One of our newly-expanded pieces, U.S. Helps in Locating U.K. WWII Celebration Cake, is available now, as well as a different version of the Black Cow article mentioned above. The entire list of our currently-posted LeitesCulinaria articles (nineteen, so far) is available here.

True gluttons for punishment should visit A Quiet Little Table in the Corner, a page that provides an ever-changing master index of any other web places that carry our stuff. The Quiet Little Table is hosted by Marty Martindale's Food Site of the Day, and you should check out some of the goodies she's got posted while you're there.

Since we're doing this, when we could be fishing, here are a few takes on a familiar maxim, from -- or soon to be added to -- On the Table's culinary quote pages:

Give a man a fish and he has food for a day; teach him how to fish and you can get rid of him of the entire weekend. Zenna Schaffer (and several other women)

Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day. Teach a man to fish and he will eat for a lifetime. Teach a man to create an artificial shortage of fish and he will eat steak. Jay Leno

Give a man a fish, and he'll eat for a day. Give a fish a man, and he'll eat for weeks! Arisa Hosaka, Takayuki Ikkaku, and Toshihiro Kawabata

Give a man a fish, and you'll feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, and he'll buy a funny hat. Talk to a hungry man about fish, and you're a consultant. Scott Adams

Give a man a fish; you have fed him for today. Teach a man to fish; and you will not have to listen to his incessant whining about how hungry he is. Anonymous

Give a man a fish; you have fed him for today. Teach a man to fish; and you can sell him fishing equipment. Anonymous

Give a man a fish; you have fed him for today. Teach a man to use the Net and he won't bother you for weeks. Anonymous

Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime. Unless he doesn't like sushi—then you also have to teach him to cook. Auren Hoffman

Give a man a fish; you have fed him for today. Teach a man to fish, and he will sit in the boat and drink beer all day. Old Fox

PS: If you encounter broken links, changed URLs -- or know of wonderful sites we've missed -- please drop us a line. It helps to keep this resource as useful as possible for all of us. To those of you who have suggested sites -- thanks, and keep them coming!

PPS: If you wish to change the e-mail address at which you receive these newsletters, or otherwise modify the way you receive our postings, go here.

PPPS: If you've received this newsletter by mistake, and/or don't wish to receive future issues, you have our sincere apology and can have your e-mail address deleted from the list immediately. We're happy (and frankly amazed) that so few people have decided to leave the list -- but, should you choose to be one of them, let us know and we'll see that your in-box is never afflicted by these updates again. You can unsubscribe here.


America's Five Greatest Foodie Presidents
(Robert Sietsema's article in The Village Voice)

Bam! How Culinary Culture Became a Pop Phenomenon
(Time magazine's brief history, "a timeline of food as popular culture," from 1982 to 2010, in 18 photos)

Cambridge World History of Food, The
(description of this 2-volume reference book, with 18 sample entries, accessed through contents menu)

Cooking Channel
(online newsletter of the new food channel -- a station that has brought about the return of much-missed shows: Julia Child, the Galloping Gourmet, and the Two Fat Ladies)

Daily Japanese Cooking
(a short glossary of Japanese words for cooking tools and traditional foods)

Dairy Glossary
(compiled by the Environmental Protection Agency's National Agriculture Center)

Enduring Cookbook, The
("weighing in on its relevance in today's electronic age;" Bill Daley's article in The Chicago Tribune)

First Functional, Modern Kitchen?
(Tejal Rao's article in The Atlantic, about Margarete Schutte-Lihotzky's revolutionary 1912 design, the Frankfurt Kitchen)

Food
(articles from online magazine Tablet: A New Read on Jewish Life)

Francis Lam
(an archive of his articles at Salon; Lam's food-writing voice is not-to-be-missed)

Glossary of Sausages and Prepared Meats
(compiled by the National Hot Dog and Sausage Council)

Gourmet on the Go: Good Food Goes Trucking
(Joel Stein's article, in Time magazine, on one aspect of street cuisine)

Gyorgy Scrinis
("publications on food, nutrition, agriculture, nanotechnology and genetic engineering")

Hard Sell on Salt, The
(Michael Moss' article, in The New York Times, on industry's struggles with salt reduction in prepared foods)

How to Write About Not-Delicious Food
(Jonathan Kauffman's article, in SF Weekly, on that large, tricky -- and much-neglected -- subject area between the sublime and the nauseating; follow the link to "United Tastes," John T. Edge's New York Times series on regional specialties)

Lost Recipes Found
("vintage recipes revived;" recipes from restaurants, many of which are long gone, plus a link to find such old favorites)

Modern Groceries
(photographer Stephanie Dean creates images that look like seventeenth- and eighteenth-century Dutch still-life paintings, but incorporate items their painters never imagined)

Multimedia Publication: Towards Food Sovereignty: Reclaiming Autonomous Food Systems
(online book on "... the ecological basis of food and agriculture, the social and environmental costs of modern food systems, and the policy reversals needed to democratize food systems;" seven chapters available to date)

Natural History of the Kitchen: Stoves
(Stephanie Butler's article at Eat Me Daily)

Old English Herbals, The
(facsimile text of Eleanour Sinclair Rohde's 1922 book)

Slaughterhouse Problem: Is a Resolution in Sight?
(Marion Nestle's article in Food Politics, with links to related articles)

Spice Hunting: Asafoetida (Hing)
(Max Falkowitz' article, at Serious Eats, on the malodorous, but savory, resin)

Sunday Life: Mindful Eating
(Sarah Wilson's blog post on how food bloggers' obsession with their meals might actually be a good thing)

Tables Princieres a Chantilly Du XVIIe Au XIXe Siecle
(catalog of an exhibition about the birthplace of French Service and, arguably, French haute cuisine; en Francais, naturellement -- sorry, no diacriticals available in blogger)

Watching What We Eat: TV Food Shows
(Life magazine's collection of photos, annotated by Kathleen Collins, of TV cooks, from Julia Child to Eric Ripert)

What's in the Food You Eat
(nutrient profiles for 13,000 commonly-eaten foods, compiled by the USDA)

Zester Daily
(online magazine of "the culture of food and wine")



Blogs about blogging are not mere navel-gazing -- at least not always -- they often include tips or ways of thinking (about whatever it is that we do) that can actually help us. Consequently, we always list them before all the other blogs.

Every Blog is a Business. Here are the Top 10 Reasons to Start Minding Yours



Food Woolf

Sarah Wilson



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Your privacy is important to us. We will not give, sell or share your e-mail address with anyone, for any purpose -- ever. Nonetheless, we will expose you to the following irredeemably brazen plugs:

Our books, The Resource Guide for Food Writers, The Herbalist in the Kitchen, The Business of Food: Encyclopedia of the Food And Drink Industries, and Human Cuisine (plus several others to which we've contributed in one way or another) can be ordered through the Libro-Emporium.

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...for the moment, anyway.