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| The United States of Arugula: The Sun Dried, Cold Pressed, Dark Roasted, Extra Virgin Story of the American Food Revolution | 
 enlarge | Author: David Kamp
Publisher: Broadway
Category: Book
List Price: $14.95
Buy Used: $1.36
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Avg. Customer Rating:  15 reviews
Sales Rank: 21621
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 416
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.6
Dimensions (in): 7.9 x 5.2 x 0.9
ISBN: 0767915801
Dewey Decimal Number: 641.013
EAN: 9780767915809
ASIN: 0767915801
Publication Date: July 17, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: Nice, Clean, SHIPS SAME DAY
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| Customer Reviews:
| Showing reviews 1-5 of 15 | | NEXT » |
 Dishing It Up December 2, 2008
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.
is it time to eat yet? August 11, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
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.
Brilliant April 19, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
David Kamp sets his treatise, THE UNITED STATES OF ARUGULA, at that precise moment in time when America came of age culinarily -- when this nation amalgamated a discrete cuisine of its own, no longer looking to France for inspiration.
Kamp focuses on the many elements which combined to form what we have come to call American cooking. This ranges from the types of ingredients we now take for granted, such as sun-dried tomatoes and balsamic vinegar, through the concepts of regional and seasonal produce, and on to the foreign influences of Asia and Europe.
He explicates the theories of organic foodstuffs and sustainable farming and he pays tribute to those who gave life to these movements.
He also acknowledges the cookware stores which literally brought us the tools of fine cooking, such as Williams-Sonoma. He explains in detail about the gourmet shop Dean-&-DeLuca, which first showcased many imported ingredients we take for granted today, and prepared some of the first dishes those ingredients created: For example, pasta salad in balsamic vinaigrette with sun-dried tomatoes and basil -- and, of course, arugula.
Along the way, Kamp could not fail to pay attention to the brigade of writers who fed this new interest by bringing pertinent information into every kitchen, especially mentioning Julia Child, James Beard and Craig Claiborne.
Also included are the chefs and restaurateurs who originally popularized -- and often created -- these new trends, people who now are household names, such as Wolfgang Puck, Michael McCarthy, Thomas Keller, Alice Waters, Jeremiah Towers and Danny Meyers.
THE UNITED STATE OF ARUGULA is a must-read for anyone with interest in modern American gastronomy. And it's a fun walk down memory lane for anyone who participated in those first days of America's adventure in codifying the elements of fine dining.
Recommended for foodies January 20, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
This is an entertaining gossipy account of the 'foodie revolution' in the US. No, it isn't an authoritative or comprehensive history. Maybe someone else could write that book, but it wouldn't be so much fun. I would doubt that non-foodies would care about this book, but if you're a foodie, make sure you know what it's trying to do.
This is an entertaining book about cooking December 18, 2007
3 out of 4 found this review helpful
I don't cook a thing, but I enjoyed reading this entertaining book about cooking. The United States of Arugula is an interesting title for a book, so I decided to give this book a chance and read it. I was pleasantly surprised about how well researched this book is. There were some names I was not famillar with. I enjoyed reading about Marion Cunningham. She updated the Fannie Farmer Cookbook in 1979 with recipes like cippino which is a tomato based fish stew. Little Joes is a dish with ground beef, eggs and spinach. I learned that Craig Claiborne was influential food journalist who reviewed restaurants and published recipes for the New York Times in the 1960s I did not know that Spago started out as a pizza restaurant. I learned that Wolfgang Puck was innovative in making pizza topped with shrimp and other seafood like scallops. I learned that he also opened an Chinese restaurant a few years ago. Kamp gives a lot of biographical information about legendary people like Julia Child and James Beard. I enjoyed reading about how they made a name for themselves in the cooking industry. I also enjoyed reading about Laura Chenel and Alice Waters. These women made a name for themselves by following their passion for cheese and French food respectively. I enjoyed reading about how television have transformed cooks like Emeril Lagasse and Bobby Flay into celebrities. This book is a fun read.
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