A Fork in the Road: Tales of Food, Pleasure & Discovery on the Road
(Libby/OverDrive eBook, Kindle)

Oseland (editor in chief, Saveur magazine) requested that those participating in this collection share the moment that they tasted something that changed them forever. Contributors range from Rita Mae Brown to Francine Prose to Michael Pollan. Probably the most humorous contribution is from food writers Jane and Michael Stern, who fondly remember the Naked City Truck Stop in Roselawn, IN. "We don't spend much time dining in strip clubs, so it was a little strange eating a meal surrounded by naked cooks, waitresses, and customers. But that's the way it was at the Adam and Eve Diner in 1974." Sadly, the diner is no more; it closed in 1986 after several run-ins with the law. Writer David Kamp writes that some of the best food he's ever eaten was during childhood vacations at Maple Cottages in Center Harbor, NH, where owner R.M. Fletcher did all the cooking, including a full-course turkey dinner and a New England boiled dinner. After dining all over the world, Kamp concludes, "My abiding culinary love is for...Mr. Fletcher food." Other entries in this deliciously varied tome include an Ethiopian coffee ceremony, reflections on the Twinkie, and memories of the food miracles that a poor mother could create using few modern conveniences. Verdict Foodies looking for something a bit different will be pleasantly satisfied.-Susan G. Baird, formerly with Oak Lawn P.L., IL (c) Copyright 2013. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Oseland (editor in chief, Saveur magazine) requested that those participating in this collection share the moment that they tasted something that changed them forever. Contributors range from Rita Mae Brown to Francine Prose to Michael Pollan. Probably the most humorous contribution is from food writers Jane and Michael Stern, who fondly remember the Naked City Truck Stop in Roselawn, IN. "We don't spend much time dining in strip clubs, so it was a little strange eating a meal surrounded by naked cooks, waitresses, and customers. But that's the way it was at the Adam and Eve Diner in 1974." Sadly, the diner is no more; it closed in 1986 after several run-ins with the law. Writer David Kamp writes that some of the best food he's ever eaten was during childhood vacations at Maple Cottages in Center Harbor, NH, where owner R.M. Fletcher did all the cooking, including a full-course turkey dinner and a New England boiled dinner. After dining all over the world, Kamp concludes, "My abiding culinary love is for...Mr. Fletcher food." Other entries in this deliciously varied tome include an Ethiopian coffee ceremony, reflections on the Twinkie, and memories of the food miracles that a poor mother could create using few modern conveniences. Verdict Foodies looking for something a bit different will be pleasantly satisfied.—Susan G. Baird, formerly with Oak Lawn P.L., IL (c) Copyright 2013. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

As Oseland, who is the editor-in-chief of Saveur, points out in his introduction to this richly appetizing and sometimes humorous collection of travel stories by food critics, chefs, and writers, "At their most intense, these tastes of the new reveal something about the place you're in and about yourself." Among the stories from the book's 34 contributors are a tale of eating fish heads and rice on a boat from Jakarta bound for Singapore by PW reviews director Louisa Ermelino; Texas Monthly barbecue editor Daniel Vaughan's account of his search for the perfect 'cue in Georgia; and the London Observer restaurant critic Jay Rayner's description of an encounter with oysters in Colchester, where "eating them is like being slapped around the face with spray off the bow of a wave-crashing yawl." Other notable entries include novelist Andre Aciman's story about his "last supper in Tuscany," food writer Josh Ozersky's "melancholic's guide to eating in Paris," and Wall Street Journal food editor Beth Kracklauer's paean to chicken livers. Marcus Samuelsson, a contributor and owner of Red Rooster in Harlem, sums up the tone of the collection best: "It's my curiosity about different cultures that keeps me tasting and seeking, and I don't even want to lose my constant search for the next bite that I have to have." (Dec.)