A Written Food Experience So Good You Can Almost Taste It!

There are a lot of talented writers out there, but none more appreciated (by me) than those who can capture the essence of food. I thought this would be a great place to post snippets of writing that have sung to your foodie soul. Here are a few from one of my favorite writers named Karen (with her permission)

That moment of tangy violence when the smell of sharp-vinegared murderous black-peppercorned scent rises from the slivered sopressata.

Anise-scented Italian cookies of semolina flour stacked in neat wax-papered brightened piles waiting their fates. The aromas of curry, garlic, tomato sauces sailing out from windows and doors. Chicken shwarma being cut with a pirate's knife as tenderly as a falling cloud. Persian lemonade dropping its hints of orange-flower water and mint and the hiss of midnight black coffee in cups as big as your thumb. Leisure, on a Saturday, looks and smells like this.

It's the aroma of wood-fire, outside, at twilight, in a place where the moon is high and where small animals rustle from outside the circle of golden-red glaze defined by the fire. They are drawn to this curious sight and smell even though they know at some point in time they too might be a part of it somehow, tiny and unprotected as they are apart from teeth and claws and speed of flight. The ham hock is a good one - it reeks of flame and smoke and unknown mysteries from faraway as the surface of the water-now-broth trembles lightly above it. What *will* this split pea soup taste of, I wonder.

I LOVE it!

I think you've discovered the Maya Angelou of food writing!

What, exactly, are "brightened piles"? (Other than piles that have a nice assonance with the long-i vowel sound of the word immediately preceding them.)

Reminds me of some creative writing workshops I had as an undergrad!

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That's the one with Fabio on the cover, ruffled shirt agape, mane flowing, grilling Italian sausages and peppers, right?

ronnie_suburban wrote:Reminds me of some creative writing workshops I had as an undergrad!

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Equal parts Maya Angelou, Ruth Reichl, and H. P. Lovecraft?

I was hoping for a little more nurturing attitude for our fledgling food writers. I'd really like to see what else might show up here.

razbry wrote:I was hoping for a little more nurturing attitude for our fledgling food writers. I'd really like to see what else might show up here.

It's safe to say that if Ms. Resta had come her herself and posted a complete piece, my response would have been very different.

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tough crowd, inc.

Incredible

Unfortunately, food imagery alone does not a great (good) writer make. Not that you shouldn't enjoy it but it may explain why others haven't responded as positively as you. Also--don't we already have a thread devoted to food related quotes--seem to recall seeing something like that...

Still waiting to find out what "brightened piles" are.

Hi,

I happen to know Karen via the virtual world at facebook. I read her often and correspond with her from time to time.

There is much more to her than these quotes. She lived in a rural area until very recently having moved to Brooklyn. She is on an interesting process of discovery of the people, sites, sounds and foods in her new environment. I enjoy these observations, because I doubt I will ever live there.

Living in a large metropolitan area, we have an abundance of food and dining options not available beyond. Karen's move to New York provides experiences not available to her previously. It is fun following someone who has a fresh eye,

I completely understand razbry's attraction to Karen's efforts, it probably mirrors her own experiences.

Karen will likely not dip her toe here, though I know where to find her. I look forward to meeting her the next time I head out east.

Regards,

razbry wrote:Incredible

Yep. I'm a bad person. I'll never be honest again.

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riddlemay wrote:Still waiting to find out what "brightened piles" are.

i don't think it's terribly mysterious: she's got stacks (piles) of anise cookies separated by sheets of wax paper which is shiny (i.e.: brightened). i think correct grammar would have it say: ( wax paper brightened) piles of cookies, rather than (wax papered,) brightened piles of cookies. does that help? if not, then i say just forget the whole thing....

Ah yes..."wax-paper-brightened piles" is really what she wanted to write, but instead she wrote "wax-papered brightened piles," which makes no sense.

I'm not being facetious or sarcastic (in case it's not clear, which on the internet it often isn't); I do get the sense she's after from the former wording (which unfortunately she didn't have the craft to use) versus the latter wording (which unfortunately she did use). Kudos to you for sensing her intention and seeing what she was trying to say but didn't have the craft to manage.

Rather than wax paper, may I suggest the following explanation:

Those cookies are brightened by the sprinkles, but the anise-scented Italian cookies in question wouldn't seem to have sprinkles. I could almost buy that the Italian cookies were sitting in "bright piles" if they they seemed to emanate a kind of glow from the inside (which my imagination is capable of conceiving), but "brightened piles" doesn't work unless the brightness is coming from another source.

Nice try, though!

Well, the cookies are taken out of the oven, icing and/or sprinkles are added to brighten them and then, having been brightened, they are stacked in neat piles (perhaps with the aid of waxed paper (not shown)). The ones referred to in the quoted passage are presumably flatter & more easily stackable than the ones in the photo (which were found during a google image search for "Italian anise cookies").

Roger Ramjet wrote:Well, the cookies are taken out of the oven, icing and/or sprinkles are added to brighten them and then, having been brightened, they are stacked in neat piles (perhaps with the aid of waxed paper (not shown)). The ones referred to in the quoted passage are presumably flatter & more easily stackable than the ones in the photo (which were found during a google image search for "Italian anise cookies").

I buy that rationale. (And though I don't associate Italian anise cookies with the kind that have sprinkles on top, I can't deny the photographic evidence that proves me wrong.)

Let's just say that one man's meat is another man's poison--or one man's "poetic" is another man's "painfully overwrought."

Folks - this is no longer fun and neighborly. Additional new material is welcome; over-parsing the one particular phrase from the original set is not getting us anywhere. To paraphrase Truffault, the best way to criticize writing is to create your own examples.

Santander
for the moderators

Great food writing, from Roy Blount, Jr.:

Song to Pie

Pie.
Oh my.
Nothing tastes sweet,
Wet, salty and dry
All at once so well as pie.

Apple and pumpkin and mince and black bottom,
I'll come to your place every day if you've got 'em.
Pie.

~~~

Now that's poetry.

My favorite food writer:

Characteristically Unimpressed Mike Sula

If heart is a gateway organ for novice offal eaters, testicles are the Mount Everest.

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Santander wrote:Folks - this is no longer fun and neighborly. Additional new material is welcome; over-parsing the one particular phrase from the original set is not getting us anywhere. To paraphrase Truffault, the best way to criticize writing is to create your own examples.

Santander
for the moderators

One man's persiflage is another man's poison ...

Roger Ramjet wrote:

Santander wrote:Folks - this is no longer fun and neighborly. Additional new material is welcome; over-parsing the one particular phrase from the original set is not getting us anywhere. To paraphrase Truffault, the best way to criticize writing is to create your own examples.

Santander
for the moderators

One man's persiflage is another man's poison ...

Wait who is Karen and where can other people read her writing?

mgmcewen wrote:Wait who is Karen and where can other people read her writing?

I sent a PM in reply.

Cathy2 wrote:

mgmcewen wrote:Wait who is Karen and where can other people read her writing?

I sent a PM in reply.

LOL, apparently we're keeping it a secret!

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HI,

[sarcasm]With general warm spirited response and good humor offered, why wouldn't anyone not want to share?[/sarcasm]

Regards,

Cathy2 wrote:HI,

[sarcasm]With general warm spirited response and good humor offered, why wouldn't anyone not want to share?[/sarcasm]

Regards,

Writing, like all artistic pursuits, is open to critique and criticism. Not all of it will be favorable and I see no need to coddle everyone who decides to pursue writing and refrain from anything less than glowing comments.
Besides, if you're gonna throw down "tangy violence" and "sharp-vinegared murderous black-peppercorned scent" you gotta understand your prose may not be everyone's cup of tea and deal with the reactions.

zoid wrote:

Cathy2 wrote:HI,

[sarcasm]With general warm spirited response and good humor offered, why wouldn't anyone not want to share?[/sarcasm]

Regards,

Writing, like all artistic pursuits, is open to critique and criticism. Not all of it will be favorable and I see no need to coddle everyone who decides to pursue writing and refrain from anything less than glowing comments.
Besides, if you're gonna throw down "tangy violence" and "sharp-vinegared murderous black-peppercorned scent" you gotta understand your prose may not be everyone's cup of tea and deal with the reactions.

Exactly. I'll admit that I'm guilty of not being very constructive here but the fact is, it's hard to be constructive when presented with 3 paragraphs posted almost completely out of context. In the end, this isn't a writers' workshop so I'll just leave it at this: Karen's writing just did not do it for me personally. Others obviously love it. I learned long ago that such differences of opinion are nothing to be concerned about. Such is life.

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