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The Foodie Report
Ruminations on food, cooking in and eating out in our area.


It's entirely possible to be a vegetarian in Porkopolis. Pop culture reporter Lauren Bishop blogs about products, recipes and restaurants she's tried for others who eat meat-free. E-mail her at lbishop@enquirer.com.


Nicci King is an unabashed foodie and the Lifestyle/Food editor in The Enquirer's features department. She loves to discover new food faves, and she's on a daily quest to answer one burning question: What's for dinner? E-mail her at nking@enquirer.com.


Enquirer Weekend editor Julie Gaw tends to order the same dish every time she eats at a restaurant, but periodically ventures out to discover something new and fabulous. After living in China, Hong Kong, the Philippines and Thailand for more than 8 years, she craves tasty Asian food. E-mail her at jgaw@enquirer.com.


Food/dining writer Polly Campbell loves every quirk and secret of Cincinnati's food personality, and is on a constant lookout for something good to eat. Keep an eye out for her restaurant picks, or see how she's progressing toward becoming famous for her apple pie. E-mail her at pcampbell@enquirer.com.


Communities reporter Rachel Richardson is on a mission to prove vegetarians eat more than lettuce. She shares both her graduate work on American food culture and food-related news.. E-mail her at rrichardson@enquirer.com.

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Wednesday, May 07, 2008

Italian lessons

Speaking of my unsatisfied travelling lust, I'm still pretty ticked off that I've never been to Italy or owned a house in Provence. So I tend to avoid books by people who describe those experiences in loving detail. I also get annoyed at the "It's so wonderful in Europe. they take 5 hours for dinner. We suck" conslusions that people inevitably come to. So I'm one of the last book-loving people I know to read Eat, Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert. (Even though I recently read her book The Last American Man, which I admired greatly.)

But I enjoyed her descriptions of Italy so much--and her spiritual experiences in India. (I'm still in Indonesia with her now) Which is weird, because the other reason for me not to like this book is that her writing is so good it would usually make me return the book to the library before it was due and go lie down quietly until my jealousy and envy faded enough that I could make it back to the keyboard. She has that gift of putting something so well that it's hilarious, but you don't know why, exactly.

But---her lessons from Italy, where food taught her about pure pleasure, are good ones. Different from the pleasures of food that's too much, too fast, too functional. I'm sure you don't have to go to Italy to learn that ,one way or another.

Has anyone else read it?


4 Comments:

at 5:20 PM Blogger Amber said...

Haven't read it but I did just finish Garlic and Sapphires by Ruth Reichl the former food editor/critic for the NY Times. Really cute, Polly made me jealous of you!

I read a book by Maeve Binchy that took place in Greece, and it was so vivid and descriptive I felt like I have been there.

I also red Last Night at the Lobster...another cute light read.

Any other book recommendations about food and cooking?

 
at 10:31 AM Anonymous Anonymous said...

I have read "Eat, Pray, Love" and I was really disappointed by the section on Italy. I realize that she needed to tell the story of why she took the year off, but wish she had made it a prologue. Three-fourths of the way through the section on Italy I thought "When do we get to the eating?" She seemed like she was in too much pain to appreciate her surroundings. Basically she described her divorce and then two good meals in Italy. The India section was much more focused.

 
at 12:31 PM Anonymous Anonymous said...

No I have not read anything by her, but I did recently enjoy Comfort Me with Apples by Ruth Reichl, CinTwin, a friend just finished Garlic and Sapphires, she loved it.

 
at 6:44 PM Blogger Britt said...

Hi,
I've read it, loved the Italian menus. Where do I go for great, local Italian, other than Nicola's? I'm looking for a neighborhood place, north of the river.

I've read 'Garlic and Sapphires' and 'Tender at the Bone'. I've also enjoyed Laurie Colwin's writing.

I'm reading vintage food writers-currently enjoying Elizabeth David's 'An Omelette and a Glass of Wine'. It's great and nostalgic.

I'd love some other suggestions for a food/green book group that is starting.
Britt

 
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