Sweetbitter Review + Five More Food Book Recommendations

[@mementomoriadam]

Great reviews and recommendations, Whitney. Love Julia's memoir and Smitten Kitchen! I wanted to recommend 'The Egg and I' by Betty MacDonald which I just read this month and absolutely loved. It is a memoir about MacDonald working on a chicken ranch in the wild Pacific Northwest with her husband Bob in the 1940's. It is by no means a food memoir but the whole book is peppered with constant mentions of baking, cooking, canning, and of course, eggs. It definitely hits that comfort button that foodie books tend to bring. Not a ton of people I would recommend it to but I think you would enjoy. Great vid, always good to see you :)

[@alltheshelves9142]

Your food pictures on twitter make my day so much better, so I'm glad you had a recommendation for me. It sounds perfect for what I'm looking for, so I'll get it at the library on my next trip!

[@McLeanAmy]

Sounds like the protagonist had quite a dream! Sounds good!

[@alltheshelves9142]

I know! She just wanted to be, like, a carefree New York woman with her own money! So good!

[@amberholen4879]

You do such fantastic reviews! I'm definitely going to pick up Sweetbitter.

[@alltheshelves9142]

Thank you so much!

[@DanMartinlikesyou]

I had attempted to listen to Sweetbitter as an audiobook several months ago and quickly realized audiobooks and I were not compatible, and as such, never got back to the book. Now I want to read it more than ever. I'll have to grab a physical copy soon. Thanks for the review!

[@alltheshelves9142]

I can't listen to novels on audio very often unless it's a really good performance. And I could see why Sweetbitter wouldn't really work in that format. It's not the best book I've ever read, but it fit into a lot of the things I like in a read.

[@secundrabeasley855]

Wonderful video.You were right on all the facts on the second book you recommended. She recently wrote an article for Vogue on coming out as a lesbian and getting married. Regarding the Laura Ingells husband book: My mother's grandparents were hog farmers and the largeness of the breakfasts that he ate were similar to what my grandparents ate in the am. I am reading The Red Rooster Cookbook by Marcus Samuelson. It is part chronicle and part cookbook on how he brings a former Harlem restaurant to life. Love this book.

[@alltheshelves9142]

She's such an interesting woman! I would love to read more about her. I love that info about your farmer great grandparents! I can't believe people ate like that!!! I mean, the hard work part would suck, but I wouldn't mind the breakfasts! And thanks for the recommendation! I liked him on Top Chef, so I bet I'd like his book.

[@sandra7319.]

I'm not a big foodie reader, but Yes Chef by Marcus Samuelson is fantastic. His journey as an Ethiopian adoptee growing up in Sweden and his journey to having his own restaurant and being the chef for Obama's first state dinner is great.

[@alltheshelves9142]

Ok, cool. So this is the second rec for Marcus Samuelson's book, so I have to check that out. His story is so interesting - from what I remember from Top Chef.

[@BlatantlyBookish]

This is a fantastic review, and a great introduction to the food memoir genre! Now I'm trying to think if I've ever read a food memoir. I think the closest I've come is Like Water For Chocolate. It's a compelling novel involving food, but I don't know if I'd really call it a food memoir. I've decided that Sweetbitter seems like a good summer book for me (especially since this summer I'll hopefully - crossing fingers - be moving to NY myself). Julia Child's memoir also sounds intriguing. I don't know much about her, except for what I've gleaned from the movie Julie and Julia. And I LOVE Smitten Kitchen. My roommate a few years ago had the exact same cookbook, and I adored it. I am generally not inspired to cook recipes that aren't accompanied by images, and as you said Smitten Kitchen has glorious photography. I keep forgetting to check out the blog lately though. I know what I'll be doing after work today lol.

[@alltheshelves9142]

I do the same thing with Smitten Kitchen. I'll go a month or two where I don't want to cook anything more complicated than scrambled eggs, but then I'll start reading all the posts I missed and I'll get inspired. She really is the best!

[@thisisyrrobotfriend]

Such a compelling review! I'm going to buy Sweetbittervright now. Yes Blood Bones and Butter is so good!! Her parents parties sounded so magical. I love the recipes on smitten kitchen so much. Never tried a bad one. Loved this video, food books are where it's at :)

[@Cookbooknook]

Thank you so much for this wonderful recommendations-my wish list just got some new items!

[@alltheshelves9142]

Oh, awesome! I always approve of more books!!