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

‘tis May, almost, and we’re about to go on a big road-trip—one of our favorite things. There will be a lot of eating, audio books, eating, gawking at scenery, eating, taking thousands of photos, and possibly some more eating. Because we won’t have much internet access,  June’s issue will likely be late and probably a little scrawny. You may, however, count yourself lucky if you are not among the few unfortunates who will be subjected to the traditional post-vacation soporific slide show.
My latest addition to Reaktion Books’ Edible series, Sausage: A Global History, (all about our favorite mystery meat) is complete, edited, indexed, and in their spring catalog. It will be released in September—along with Brian Yarvin’s Lamb: A Global History (between us, we’ll cover much of the succulent entrée category). Our next book, on preserved foods, has passed through its second edit and is current lounging on a desk somewhere in Greater London (it’s publication is a year or so away—so you'll have plenty of time to digest all that sausage and lamb).

Regular subscribers to our updates newsletter receive these updates from our blog, Just Served,  directly—but there is much more at the blog that isn’t delivered automatically. You can, if you wish, follow us on Facebook, and Twitter.  Still more of our online scribbles can be found at A Quiet Little Table in the Corner.

This month’s quotes from On the Table’s culinary quote collection are—like road-trips themselves—a mixed bag, a traveler’s pot-luck:

“When you come to a fork in the road, it’s time to eat.” Bob DelGrosso 

“I don’t think the road to heaven is paved with bean curd.” David Shaw 

 “He that travels in theory has no inconveniences; he has shade and sunshine at his disposal, and wherever he alights finds tables of plenty and looks of gaiety. These ideas are indulged till the day of departure arrives, the chaise is called, and the progress of happiness begins. A few miles teach him the fallacies of imagination. The road is dusty, the air is sultry, the horses are sluggish. He longs for the time of dinner that he may eat and rest. The inn is crowded, his orders are neglected, and nothing remains but that he devour in haste what the cook has spoiled, and drive on in quest of better entertainment. He finds at night a more commodious house, but the best is always worse than he expected.” Samuel Johnson 

“Las Vegas is Everyman’s cut-rate Babylon. Not far away there is, or was, a roadside lunch counter and over it a sign proclaiming in three words that a Roman emperor’s orgy is now a democratic institution... ‘Topless Pizza Lunch.’” Alistair Cooke

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 or—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’ll find links at the bottom of this page to fix everything to your liking.
eatfeed
(“Food porn for the intellectual cook;” podcasts for people like us… who care, perhaps too much, about food)
Food Babe Blogger Is Full of Shit, The
(a real scientist, Yvette d’Entremont, looks at the kind of pseudoscience that often appears in food blogs)
Food: The Newest Celebrity
(Megan Garber, in The Atlantic, on the kind of porn whose “…subjects are often actual pieces of meat…”)
How Snobbery Helped Take the Spice Out of European Cooking
(reflecting on flavor and history, from NPR)
Inside Louis’ Lunch, the 120-Year-Old Birthplace of the Hamburger
(Erin DeJesus on the historic New Haven eatery)
Interlibrary Snacking
(some food history from The New York Academy of Medicine)
Introduction of Chili Peppers to India, The
(Laura Kelley, the Silk Road Gourmet, traces their earliest appearance in written recipes)
Marlena Spieler
(a food writer & broadcaster’s site)
My Obsession: The Laurel Family
(Deborah Madison on the Lauraceae, with special attention to bay leaves and avocados)
Smoke: Why We Love It, for Cooking and Eating
(Jim Shahin waxes rhapsodic—and a little scientific—in The Washington Post)
Stupid Wine Journalism
(food and wine journalists beware—Dwight Furrow is paying attention)
Thai Food Glossary
(just a small part of Clay Irving’s huge recipe site)
Trash Food
(Chris Offutt on class, suspicion, guilt—in part revealed by what’s on our plates)
Why the Beef? Empire and Cuisine
(an essay by Rachel Laudan)
Writing Food History
(an outlined overview of the various directions the field can take, by Peter Scholliers)
How to Shine Blogging for a Single Reader!
Brian Yarvin
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