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The United States of Arugula: The Sun Dried, Cold Pressed, Dark Roasted, Extra Virgin Story of the American Food Revolution
The wickedly entertaining, hunger-inducing, behind-the-scenes story of the revolution in American food that has made exotic ingredients, celebrity chefs, rarefied cooking tools, and destination restaurants familiar aspects of our everyday lives.
Amazingly enough, just twenty years ago eating sushi was a daring novelty and many Americans had never even heard of salsa. Today, we don't bat an eye at a construction worker dipping a croissant into robust specialty coffee, city dwellers buying just-picked farmstand produce, or suburbanites stocking up on artisanal cheeses and extra virgin oils at supermarkets. The United States of Arugula is a rollicking, revealing stew of culinary innovation, food politics, and kitchen confidences chronicling how gourmet eating in America went from obscure to pervasive—and became the cultural success story of our era.
Amazingly enough, just twenty years ago eating sushi was a daring novelty and many Americans had never even heard of salsa. Today, we don't bat an eye at a construction worker dipping a croissant into robust specialty coffee, city dwellers buying just-picked farmstand produce, or suburbanites stocking up on artisanal cheeses and extra virgin oils at supermarkets. The United States of Arugula is a rollicking, revealing stew of culinary innovation, food politics, and kitchen confidences chronicling how gourmet eating in America went from obscure to pervasive—and became the cultural success story of our era.
392 pages, Paperback
First published September 12, 2006
147 people are currently reading
3,947 people want to read
About the author
David Kamp
12 books36 followersDavid Kamp is an author, journalist, lyricist, and humorist. Among his books are the national bestseller The United States of Arugula (Broadway Books, 2006), a chronicle of America’s foodways; the critically lauded Sunny Days (Simon & Schuster, May 2020), a history of the Sesame Street-Mister Rogers era of enlightened children’s television; and, as collaborator, Martin Short’s bestselling memoir, I Must Say (HarperCollins, 2014), and Ron Howard and Clint Howard’s joint memoir, The Boys (William Morrow, 2021). A longtime contributor to Vanity Fair, he has profiled such figures as Johnny Cash, Sly Stone, Lucian Freud, Kerry Washington, Bruce Springsteen, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, and the Brill Building songwriters. His first outing as a lyricist for the stage, for the John Leguizamo musical comedy Kiss My Aztec!, had its world premiere at Berkeley Rep in the spring of 2019; the show is now New York-bound. David was born and raised in New Jersey. He began his career at Spy, the legendary satirical monthly. He lives in New York City and rural Connecticut with his family.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 459 reviews
March 4, 2008
My big issue with this book is that the title is misleading. Relatively little page space is dedicated to foods of the "sun dried, cold pressed, dark roasted, extra virgin" varieties. Mostly it is a gossipy history of the past 60 years of US celebrity chefs. The title should have been "The Story of the American Food Revolution: From James Beard, Julia Child and Craig Claiborne to Alice Waters, the Food Network and Top Chef" or something like that. That said, it did give me a better understanding of key players in the development of various restaurant trends in the US. It is a nice companion to more food-focused books, just nothing like I expected from the title.
January 18, 2008
This was a very well written book and very concise in its coverage of the way our country has moved towards gourmet food, fine dining and fresh ingredients. Kamp tells the story through the lives of James Beard, Craig Claiborne, Julia Child and Alice Waters and he does a good job of it. But the focus on the chefs is why I didn't find the book as enjoyable as I would have if it had been written from the perspective of the nation as a whole. I didn't really find the details of their lives very interesting. I often skipped over pages that went in-depth into their personal lives and would go straight to the commentary on the American diet and various food movements.
If you're looking for a book that doesn't really read like a text book, this is the one for you.
If you're looking for a book that doesn't really read like a text book, this is the one for you.
September 13, 2008
I really wanted to read this book, I wanted to finish this book, but it felt like work. It is relentless in its insistence on mentioning the name of anyone ever connected to the culinary scene in America. I'm relatively familiar with most of the people mentioned, but I can't say I was made to care. There were gems of information in the book that made it worth the slogging, I was fascinated by Jacques Pepin's association with Howard Johnson's, and the shipping of mushrooms from Oregon to Germany for canning and then being returned to the US where they couldn't get fresh mushrooms, but it just wasn't worth it. I shouldn't dread sitting down to read, it shouldn't be homework, and it felt like it was. I recommend it only for the most dedicated foodies or people with a strong knowledge of the American culinary scene who want to follow all the name-dropping.
February 25, 2008
I was mildly entertained by this book, which traces the change in the American food landscape over the past 50 years. James Beard, Julia Child, Craig Claiborne, Alice Waters, Mollie Katzen – all of those are people I’ve heard of, whereas a lot of the names he talks about – French chefs, people who started “buzz” restaurants in New York and California – are entirely unfamiliar to me. The book spends a LOT of time on Alice Waters's restaurants, but spent just a little time on Dean & Deluca, which had a massive impact on the way I ate when I lived in NYC, before I had ever heard of Alice Waters. And he skimmed right past the advent of Whole Foods… I hoped the book would take a break from dishing on the personal foibles of various food celebrities, and get back to addressing how the interest in fresh ingredients and good cooking got to the point that the Food Channel could actually sustain itself, but it didn't really. . We’ll see.
One thing I can say is that the book has made me want to be eating good but not-fussy food. Hasn’t made me actually want to spend the time to make that kind of food, though.
One thing I can say is that the book has made me want to be eating good but not-fussy food. Hasn’t made me actually want to spend the time to make that kind of food, though.
January 1, 2008
This book started off incredibly slowly and dryly--talking about Julia Child and James Beard should be entertaining, and rollicking and crazy, but it wasn't. It picked up a LOT when the next generation started to come into the picture--maybe because the folks at Chez Panisse *were* in fact completely crazy in the first days.
Regardless, it really was fascinating--how *fast* we went from Julia Child hoping to sell a few books to McDonalds selling mesclun salads is almost incomprehensible. It's still not clear what caused things to tip in that direction, nor is it clear if it's
A) sustainable
B) happening outside of the coasts.
But the fact remains that you now can buy a bagel in Peoria, IL, and you couldn't 20 years ago.
Regardless, it really was fascinating--how *fast* we went from Julia Child hoping to sell a few books to McDonalds selling mesclun salads is almost incomprehensible. It's still not clear what caused things to tip in that direction, nor is it clear if it's
A) sustainable
B) happening outside of the coasts.
But the fact remains that you now can buy a bagel in Peoria, IL, and you couldn't 20 years ago.
December 23, 2015
A good reference on historical time line and the key players that emerged during the American Food Revolution.
December 20, 2007
The book begins with some interesting assertions about food in American culture, how it is less an integral part of the culture than it is in the Old World and more of a consciously practiced passtime or object of fandom like sports or movies. That piqued my interest, but it soon becomes obvious that the book is more of a chronicle of the different personalities that have shaped American culinary consciousness in the past century, more documentary than analytical. The personal details are fun, of course, plenty of tawdry tristes and tiffs and addictions, but otherwise the book doesn't have a whole lot more substance than a tabloid, or a timeline (see how I avoided gastropunning on "substance"?).
February 3, 2008
David Kamp's The United States of Arugula is the cheery, optimistic companion to the reflective, worried Omnivore's Dilemma. Michael Pollan's book focuses on the American food supply today, while Kamp explores how the US went from a country that made Dr Pepper-based olive jello molds, to one with dozens of pastas and cheeses in a non-specialty store.
Kamp identifies the beginnings of taste in American cuisine with the rise of the Big Three, James Beard, Julia Child and Craig Claiborne. Claiborne created the serious food section and restaurant reviews at the New York Times, and may be less known that the others. These people built the world of food writing, which hadn't existed before in the United States.
The next sections deal with the rise of specifically American high end restaurants. Much of this section is devoted to the story of Chez Pannise, which emerged as a post-hippie idea that local ingredients were best. While the writers and the high end restaurants certainly motivated the elites, the related rise of the celebrity chef spread the foodie culture to a broader slice of society.
This is an upbeat book that views American cuisine and food culture at a high point and climbing. He points to the introduction of more options at fast food restaurants as a sign that tastes are changing at all levels of society. While Kamp may be a bit too optimistic, this is a fun read with amusing gossip and great stories about the world of food.
Kamp identifies the beginnings of taste in American cuisine with the rise of the Big Three, James Beard, Julia Child and Craig Claiborne. Claiborne created the serious food section and restaurant reviews at the New York Times, and may be less known that the others. These people built the world of food writing, which hadn't existed before in the United States.
The next sections deal with the rise of specifically American high end restaurants. Much of this section is devoted to the story of Chez Pannise, which emerged as a post-hippie idea that local ingredients were best. While the writers and the high end restaurants certainly motivated the elites, the related rise of the celebrity chef spread the foodie culture to a broader slice of society.
This is an upbeat book that views American cuisine and food culture at a high point and climbing. He points to the introduction of more options at fast food restaurants as a sign that tastes are changing at all levels of society. While Kamp may be a bit too optimistic, this is a fun read with amusing gossip and great stories about the world of food.
March 26, 2013
Essentially a history of the pop culture of cuisine, specifically gourmet cuisine, over the past hundred years, tracing quickly through the various movements and rising and falling stars within this world: the chefs, the restaurants, the celebrities, the cookbooks, and the food trends themselves. I found the stories of the advent of particular gourmet, now taken for granted, foodstuffs (like balsamic vinegar and sushi) to be more fascinating than the careers of even the most storied chefs, interesting though they were. The perspective here is refreshingly different - he talks about the so-called evils of the modern American diet only in passing, and mostly in reference to how particular activists or chefs were responding to it. Mostly, this book made me want to a.) eat in a lot of expensive restaurants, particularly famous expensive restaurants that have now mostly closed, and b.) watch Top Chef again now that I might have some idea who some of the chef guest judges actually are. Overall, it was an interesting read, but one that was a bit of a chore.
August 5, 2019
Not generally my area of interest food-wise (I'm more into pre-20th C cooking and non-US foods), but this is an interesting book. Covering food and cooking in the US from the early 20th Century to the present (published 2006), this book discusses overall trends, fads, and individuals responsible for changes in how Americans eat and their view of cooking and dining. Much of these topics are viewed through the sense of specific people (chefs, food writers, restaurant critics, farmers, and entrepreneurs) and restaurants with brief biographies. In some ways, the author seems to subscribe to the "great man" theory of (food) history, where most to these food movements/trends have been driven by one or more key figures, but, on the other hand, there are points where Kamp shows that an individual was "too far ahead" of his/her time, pushing a technique/cuisine that the public rejected at the time, but was to prove popular later. This book also describes the (often small) origins of many major food companies: Starbucks, Chipotle, Williams-Sonoma, Whole Foods, Dean and Deluca, etc. While certain aspects of "big agriculture" and mass-produced foods are discussed (frozen and canned foods, factory farming, fast food, etc.), it is done more as asides - essentially what the food movements here are reacting against - than as the main topic. Kamp is readable and occasionally funny. 3 stars.
June 5, 2023
Ehhhhh… had to DNF at 45%. Was fun at the beginning but just turned into celebrity chef name dropping and I lost interest.
August 22, 2024
As Tony Horton of P90X would say, “I hate it … but I love it!” This book has all the ingredients for a five star (and by that I mean it has a punny title and the interesting subject matter of culinary politics) and yet it took me almost THREE MONTHS to finish. Maybe the breadth was stretched a little thin, maybe DK could work on his timing, or maybe I’m just a dumb reader.
July 17, 2011
I finally finished this book. I took to calling this book "the evil food book" and vowed that were it not on my Kindle, it would have been thrown across the room multiple times over the 10 days it took to slog through the irksome volume.
I picked this book out for a reading challenge, thinking I would enjoy it. I knew from the preface that I was going to hate it, and in the end, I was not wrong. I find the idea of the book interesting; the title piqued my interest. The text itself only served to anger me. I am not a chef; I do not consider myself a foodie; I am not a snobbish diner or shopper; I do not demand locally-grown produce; I despise the use of the word "organic" in connection with any foodstuff - if food were not organic, that is, a carbon based chemical/life form, it would be rocks; food, with the sole exception of table salt, is organic by its very nature. But my rage against the overuse and misunderstanding of the meaning of the word organic is neither here nor there for this book. I did not like the author's tone that food is only good if it is derived from France though the creations of famous California or New York chefs. I do not like the idea that the only good food to come from my hometown came at the hands of Paul Prudhomme and/or Emeril Lagasse. I did not like the idea that if food is fancy and expensive, it is automatically better than simply prepared reasonably priced meals. In short, I did not like this book.
I cannot recommend this book to anyone. It only reinforces stereotypes that exist in far too many pseudo-foodies today -- the ones who think anything done by celebrity chefs at much-publicized restaurants is far better than anything done by a no-name cook at a small unknown hole-in-the-wall neighborhood eatery. It reinforces the idea that New York, California, and Las Vegas innovations are automatically wonderful, while anything coming from anywhere else is not worthy of being served to stray dogs. It feeds the likes of Master Chef, Top Chef and Next Food Network Star Chef-testants who don't know enough to know that fresh pineapple will prevent gelatin from setting or that it is near impossible to whip cream in the ubiquitous food processor. It feeds the notion that "gourmet" is a substitute for "good taste" and that celebrity "expensive" is better than honest "good."
I cannot even say I am glad to have read this book. One the whole I would have been a much happier person ignorant of this author's annoying opinions on what constitutes a good, gourmet meal in America today. Is there any way I can, having suffered through this book, now "un-read" it?
I picked this book out for a reading challenge, thinking I would enjoy it. I knew from the preface that I was going to hate it, and in the end, I was not wrong. I find the idea of the book interesting; the title piqued my interest. The text itself only served to anger me. I am not a chef; I do not consider myself a foodie; I am not a snobbish diner or shopper; I do not demand locally-grown produce; I despise the use of the word "organic" in connection with any foodstuff - if food were not organic, that is, a carbon based chemical/life form, it would be rocks; food, with the sole exception of table salt, is organic by its very nature. But my rage against the overuse and misunderstanding of the meaning of the word organic is neither here nor there for this book. I did not like the author's tone that food is only good if it is derived from France though the creations of famous California or New York chefs. I do not like the idea that the only good food to come from my hometown came at the hands of Paul Prudhomme and/or Emeril Lagasse. I did not like the idea that if food is fancy and expensive, it is automatically better than simply prepared reasonably priced meals. In short, I did not like this book.
I cannot recommend this book to anyone. It only reinforces stereotypes that exist in far too many pseudo-foodies today -- the ones who think anything done by celebrity chefs at much-publicized restaurants is far better than anything done by a no-name cook at a small unknown hole-in-the-wall neighborhood eatery. It reinforces the idea that New York, California, and Las Vegas innovations are automatically wonderful, while anything coming from anywhere else is not worthy of being served to stray dogs. It feeds the likes of Master Chef, Top Chef and Next Food Network Star Chef-testants who don't know enough to know that fresh pineapple will prevent gelatin from setting or that it is near impossible to whip cream in the ubiquitous food processor. It feeds the notion that "gourmet" is a substitute for "good taste" and that celebrity "expensive" is better than honest "good."
I cannot even say I am glad to have read this book. One the whole I would have been a much happier person ignorant of this author's annoying opinions on what constitutes a good, gourmet meal in America today. Is there any way I can, having suffered through this book, now "un-read" it?
February 4, 2013
I can’t help feeling that the title of this book misled me. It basically follows the pattern I got used to reading in academic journals (Pun-tastic Title: Wordy Thesis/Overview), so I assumed two things: (1) it would be mostly scholarly, and (2) David Kamp would explain how general Americans became more discerning at their dinner tables.
The book is a chronicle of famous chefs, food journalists, and suppliers in twentieth century America.
And while it’s clear that the people featured in the book are movers and shakers in Americans’ understanding of their relationship with food, I think there are plenty of other factors that have gone into America’s culinary transformation.
1. Middle class Americans traveling abroad—there is nothing like actually visiting a country to kickstart someone’s palate.
2. Health consciousness—vilifying fat, white sugar, white flour, eggs and salt has changed American attitudes towards many foods. As families deal with health conditions like high cholesterol, diabetes and gluten intolerance, their patterns of eating change and become more experimental.
3. TV—competitive cooking programs bring elegantly plated meals into households, and inspire imagination more than the straight-forward instructional shows
In Kamp’s discussion of American food, however, the only factor involved in eating is a celebrity chef, who most likely has sexual quirks and substance abuse problems. Kamp’s attitude towards the influential people of the food world seems almost condescending, as though whatever they achieved in the way of changing America’s tastes was mitigated by their personal lives. In a book that starts by promising a story of food, the time spent on the widespread drug use at restaurants would only be valuable if it were to lead to a conclusion that Americans have been tricked by the desensitized taste buds of the perpetually high. This conclusion is never made, but there is a lingering sense of confusion about the point that Kamp is trying to make.
It’s easy for me to blame the publishers for setting me up for a different book with the title, but I suspect they, like me, didn’t really understand the direction Kamp was taking when reading the manuscript. The book feels long and directionless, rather like an undergraduate paper that reached its page requirement by including every note card taken on the first half of the outline. All this is a pity because a book about gourmet food should be worth savoring.
The book is a chronicle of famous chefs, food journalists, and suppliers in twentieth century America.
And while it’s clear that the people featured in the book are movers and shakers in Americans’ understanding of their relationship with food, I think there are plenty of other factors that have gone into America’s culinary transformation.
1. Middle class Americans traveling abroad—there is nothing like actually visiting a country to kickstart someone’s palate.
2. Health consciousness—vilifying fat, white sugar, white flour, eggs and salt has changed American attitudes towards many foods. As families deal with health conditions like high cholesterol, diabetes and gluten intolerance, their patterns of eating change and become more experimental.
3. TV—competitive cooking programs bring elegantly plated meals into households, and inspire imagination more than the straight-forward instructional shows
In Kamp’s discussion of American food, however, the only factor involved in eating is a celebrity chef, who most likely has sexual quirks and substance abuse problems. Kamp’s attitude towards the influential people of the food world seems almost condescending, as though whatever they achieved in the way of changing America’s tastes was mitigated by their personal lives. In a book that starts by promising a story of food, the time spent on the widespread drug use at restaurants would only be valuable if it were to lead to a conclusion that Americans have been tricked by the desensitized taste buds of the perpetually high. This conclusion is never made, but there is a lingering sense of confusion about the point that Kamp is trying to make.
It’s easy for me to blame the publishers for setting me up for a different book with the title, but I suspect they, like me, didn’t really understand the direction Kamp was taking when reading the manuscript. The book feels long and directionless, rather like an undergraduate paper that reached its page requirement by including every note card taken on the first half of the outline. All this is a pity because a book about gourmet food should be worth savoring.
May 22, 2019
David Kamp, a longtime writer for Vanity Fair and GQ, became intrigued at the evolution of gourmet cooking and eating in the United States, and set out to write a food history of the country. From its inception with James Beard and Julia Child to today’s foodie extravaganza of the Food Network and food celebrities, American cooking has become increasingly more gourmet and discerning as the years pass.
But Kamp isn’t just presenting a dry food history. The United States of Arugula is packed to the covers with insider gossip, stories, and tell-all confessions by chefs and those who have worked for and under them. The chefs themselves take center stage, and their anecdotes and contributions make the book fascinating. There are some serious laugh-out-loud moments and a lot of food for thought (pun intended) about the direction American cuisine has taken over the past fifty-plus years.
Although we look back now and scoff at the days of TV dinners, Kamp brings to light a great deal about farming and the steps backward we have actually taken in regards to food procurement and choices. One of the most interesting tidbits was the comparison of the way foods are grown in Europe versus those in the U.S. Foods in Europe are produced and grown to the specifications of the chef, and consumers benefit from the quality. In the U.S., the opposite is true. Foods are produced and grown for the convenience of the consumer, and chefs have to deal with the decrease in quality and availability of ingredients because of this.
The United States of Arugula is a very worthwhile, exhaustively researched and detailed read. It’s a must-read for foodies, but anyone who enjoys a good history or memoir will find it interesting and delightful. I found myself reading a great deal of it out loud to my husband, who doesn’t enjoy gourmet food and cooking nearly as much as I do, but he was quite intrigued by the information. The United States of Arugula should definitely be on your “must read” list.
But Kamp isn’t just presenting a dry food history. The United States of Arugula is packed to the covers with insider gossip, stories, and tell-all confessions by chefs and those who have worked for and under them. The chefs themselves take center stage, and their anecdotes and contributions make the book fascinating. There are some serious laugh-out-loud moments and a lot of food for thought (pun intended) about the direction American cuisine has taken over the past fifty-plus years.
Although we look back now and scoff at the days of TV dinners, Kamp brings to light a great deal about farming and the steps backward we have actually taken in regards to food procurement and choices. One of the most interesting tidbits was the comparison of the way foods are grown in Europe versus those in the U.S. Foods in Europe are produced and grown to the specifications of the chef, and consumers benefit from the quality. In the U.S., the opposite is true. Foods are produced and grown for the convenience of the consumer, and chefs have to deal with the decrease in quality and availability of ingredients because of this.
The United States of Arugula is a very worthwhile, exhaustively researched and detailed read. It’s a must-read for foodies, but anyone who enjoys a good history or memoir will find it interesting and delightful. I found myself reading a great deal of it out loud to my husband, who doesn’t enjoy gourmet food and cooking nearly as much as I do, but he was quite intrigued by the information. The United States of Arugula should definitely be on your “must read” list.
October 14, 2016
“Food is anything that nourishes the body.” –Fannie Farmer
Certainly at one time in American history, this quote was correct. Food was sustenance and little more. Time had to be taken to eat, but when early colonists, settlers and pioneers supped, it was not usually an enjoyable repast. Most likely, it was “vittles” for nourishment only.
Wow, we have come a long way baby.
Can you imagine a world where chevre, shallots, pasta (not macaroni), balsamic vinegar, sun dried tomatoes and even EVOO were not known to us? What about the process and technique of cooking with wine? What if that was unheard of as well?
We would still be in the dark foodie ages eating for nourishment alone.
Let’s welcome the Enlightenment and all those who brought us out of the Dark Ages.
The Unites States of Arugula chronicles the foodie heavy hitters that helped bring about the Golden Age of Cuisine in the U.S. (And more importantly, those that brought us goat cheese!) Although Kamp begins the discussion with the “humorless home-ec lady,” Fannie Farmer, he hits every prominent foodie from our recent history:
James Beard
Craig Claiborne
Julia Child
Alice Waters
Jeremiah Towers
Wolfgang Puck
And many more!
Kamp also focuses on many different movements and trends throughout our history—from our Francophile days, through the aforementioned Enlightenment, to the current trend in farm-to-table.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book, but seriously, I can’t get pass the idea that I could have gone through life without goat cheese and dried tomatoes (and balsamic and EVOO)!
Certainly at one time in American history, this quote was correct. Food was sustenance and little more. Time had to be taken to eat, but when early colonists, settlers and pioneers supped, it was not usually an enjoyable repast. Most likely, it was “vittles” for nourishment only.
Wow, we have come a long way baby.
Can you imagine a world where chevre, shallots, pasta (not macaroni), balsamic vinegar, sun dried tomatoes and even EVOO were not known to us? What about the process and technique of cooking with wine? What if that was unheard of as well?
We would still be in the dark foodie ages eating for nourishment alone.
Let’s welcome the Enlightenment and all those who brought us out of the Dark Ages.
The Unites States of Arugula chronicles the foodie heavy hitters that helped bring about the Golden Age of Cuisine in the U.S. (And more importantly, those that brought us goat cheese!) Although Kamp begins the discussion with the “humorless home-ec lady,” Fannie Farmer, he hits every prominent foodie from our recent history:
James Beard
Craig Claiborne
Julia Child
Alice Waters
Jeremiah Towers
Wolfgang Puck
And many more!
Kamp also focuses on many different movements and trends throughout our history—from our Francophile days, through the aforementioned Enlightenment, to the current trend in farm-to-table.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book, but seriously, I can’t get pass the idea that I could have gone through life without goat cheese and dried tomatoes (and balsamic and EVOO)!
July 14, 2010
I'm surprised this book doesn't have more reviews here on GR: it’s a seriously fascinating, very (pardon the pun) dishy examination of America's culinary habits and how they have radically changed - mostly for the better - over the last 70 years or so. This is all due in no small part to the efforts of culinary masters (and the major stars of the book) James Beard, Craig Claiborne, Julia Child, and the doyenne of the famed Berkeley restaurant, Chez Panisse, Alice Waters. These four, among many others, all championed the cause of changing how Americans thought about preparing, eating, and serving food, and several spent considerable energy driving home the common sense of building more sustainable food resources and advocating for free range, grass-fed farming, etc. For these gourmet cooks, writers, and restaurateurs, this was their life’s passion, their raison d'etre, and they contributed to many positive changes in a relatively short time. As the book closes there is some discussion of mending some of the problems of the nation’s atrocious school lunch program, but (on a lighter note) no coverage of my favorite television show, Top Chef, which hadn’t begun airing yet. I learned a lot from this highly entertaining, assuredly written, witty gem of a book and recommend it without reservations (sorry, I couldn't resist). 4 out of 5 stars, and let’s go eat!
April 26, 2011
I finished this book. Yes I did. I say that so proudly because I attended book group NOT having finished it, and then pretty roundly trashed it and declared I would not finish it, there being, as always, so many other books to move on to. But then I came home and started channeling my inner Democrat (not hard to do, since I'm an outer Democrat too), and I started feeling guilty about possibly not fully considering the other side of the argument. Plus, Joanna really liked it, so there had to be something to it. So I finished it -- that same weekend! -- and while I still think it was overly detailed in an unusual, unsatisfying and occasionally confusing way, I do appreciate how thoroughly researched it was. I still maintain my opposition to the inclusion of some of the more salacious details. A recounting of the sexcapades at Chez Panisse was probably important in establishing a sense of its "vibe," but reading about the odd father/son sexual encounters of another profiled personality came off as cheap and sad. Did it truly have an effect on America's food evolution? So I didn't love this book, but I did appreciate it, and at the very least it made me pull one of Alice Waters' cookbooks off my shelf and make three FABULOUS recipes in the past two weeks. So there.
June 3, 2008
American history, food, celebrity chefs -- all are things I love, and all are things found in The United States of Arugula.
David Kamp traces the development of 20th and 21st century American culinary palates, trends, problems, and potential solutions in this easy-to-read history of how We The People have evolved in our approaches to food over the last century. From daily market trips to tv dinners in the freezer; from bland, heavy meals to the infusion of regional and international flavors; from factory farming to the rise of the organic/sustainable/Whole Foods world, Kamp does a good job of linking food movements from coast to coast while simultaneously demonstrating how trends and chefs impacted the American dinner table across recent generations.
Whether you're a fan of James Beard and Julia Child, Alice Waters and Jeremiah Tower, or Emeril Lagasse and Wolfgang Puck, something in this book will appeal to the foodie in you. And the bibliography is a great resource for those looking to build their cookbook collections!
David Kamp traces the development of 20th and 21st century American culinary palates, trends, problems, and potential solutions in this easy-to-read history of how We The People have evolved in our approaches to food over the last century. From daily market trips to tv dinners in the freezer; from bland, heavy meals to the infusion of regional and international flavors; from factory farming to the rise of the organic/sustainable/Whole Foods world, Kamp does a good job of linking food movements from coast to coast while simultaneously demonstrating how trends and chefs impacted the American dinner table across recent generations.
Whether you're a fan of James Beard and Julia Child, Alice Waters and Jeremiah Tower, or Emeril Lagasse and Wolfgang Puck, something in this book will appeal to the foodie in you. And the bibliography is a great resource for those looking to build their cookbook collections!
March 20, 2011
Reads like a gossipy insider history of celebrity chefs and their cookbooks, presenting them chronologically as American tastes and enthusiasms for food trends developed. I took great delight in recognizing many of the cookbooks that I shelved in my days as a bookseller. I enjoyed learning more about them and how they were inspired. I also enjoyed the snippets of restaurant life and chef training and inspirations. Having read more focused works about many of these people before, the breezy style of this made me feel like I was waving merrily to old friends and then zipping by five or ten I had never met before. This worked well for me, but I can see how the constant name dropping might feel overwhelming to some. There is also a strong reliance on footnotes used to flesh out the narrative. I am not a big fan of footnotes, but I found these to be interesting/entertaining and I don't really think there was a better way to handle them. Overall, this was a fun read for me and I learned quite a bit. Also, it made me want to eat. A lot.
August 12, 2016
Plus a half-a-star. The first half of the book, the Le Pavillion-James Beard-Julia Child-Alice Waters half, is excellent. Well-researched, interestingly in-depth, with just the right dash of gossip thrown into the mix to keep things juicing right along.
Unfortunately, things kinda fall apart around the mid-70s, when when the perils of writing close-range history become apparent and the wheels come a bit loose from Kamp's thesis. Name-dropping, both of famous chefs and their celebrated restaurants, runs fast and thick while the incisive cultural history of the first half falls by the wayside.
Ultimately, though, the momentum from the good half will carry you through the meh-ness, particularly if you're as food-obsessed as I am. Also I really appreciated the fact that Kamp, in describing the Food Network juggernaut, doesn't deign to mention Rachel Ray, save from quoting a cast-off comment from Mario Batali. How's that for yummers, Ms. EVOO?
Unfortunately, things kinda fall apart around the mid-70s, when when the perils of writing close-range history become apparent and the wheels come a bit loose from Kamp's thesis. Name-dropping, both of famous chefs and their celebrated restaurants, runs fast and thick while the incisive cultural history of the first half falls by the wayside.
Ultimately, though, the momentum from the good half will carry you through the meh-ness, particularly if you're as food-obsessed as I am. Also I really appreciated the fact that Kamp, in describing the Food Network juggernaut, doesn't deign to mention Rachel Ray, save from quoting a cast-off comment from Mario Batali. How's that for yummers, Ms. EVOO?
May 21, 2009
This book sure is terrific! I have been talking about it non-stop since I started reading it...
Kamp offers a smart, lively account of how some of my most favorite things (balsamic vinegar, goat cheese, mussels...) became a part of the everyday food vernacular of American cuisine at a time when TV dinners, mass produced processed foods, and Jello and mini-marshmallow desserts were threatening to take over the dinner table. He traces each stage of the "food revolution" in the US (mostly post WWII) and the personalities that made it all happen. A balanced social history, political piece and gossip column (sex, drugs and rock and roll at Chez Panisse). I was completely and gleefully engrossed.
Kamp offers a smart, lively account of how some of my most favorite things (balsamic vinegar, goat cheese, mussels...) became a part of the everyday food vernacular of American cuisine at a time when TV dinners, mass produced processed foods, and Jello and mini-marshmallow desserts were threatening to take over the dinner table. He traces each stage of the "food revolution" in the US (mostly post WWII) and the personalities that made it all happen. A balanced social history, political piece and gossip column (sex, drugs and rock and roll at Chez Panisse). I was completely and gleefully engrossed.
March 19, 2009
I feel that this book is not what it claims to be. It's really a history of gourmet chefs and NY Times food reviewers, with almost no social context. It's as if someone just said, "Hey, why don't I make cheese out of goat's milk?!" I wanted it to be more about trends in ordinary people's eating habits, to explain how my own finickiness (like only buying bakery bread and not long sleeves of square loaves) fits into a social (and economic?) pattern. I wondered if I'd misinterpreted the blurb, but if I did it was only a matter of degree.
February 24, 2008
Comprehensively and entertainingly covers American (and some international) food history, with greatest detail focused on the last four decades. Please don't be put off by the title. David Kamp not only expertly tells a really good story, he packs in so many well-indexed details that I anticipate this book serving as a handy reference.
July 30, 2014
I found this to be an engaging and entertaining look at the history of food culture, and the people who have made it, in the US. I came away knowing a little bit (and sometimes a lot) more about the people, places, and movements (or trends, if you'd prefer) that have brought us to where we are today.
November 17, 2018
A great book about the history of foodies in the 20th Century.
August 26, 2022
I enjoy David Kamp's sense of humour, and I liked his detailing of some of the personalities in the American food scene from the early 50s through to the 90s and early 00s, but I really, really wanted more about why *ordinary people* changed their eating habits. It's great reading about how Chez Panisse happened and who was involved and what they were like and why various decisions were made, but at what point did what Waters was doing spread to other restaurants (even in diluted form) and at what point did popular culture start picking it up? Yes, that's what I wanted, the intersection of these food changes with actual mass culture -- not just 'Silver Palate happened and rich people loved it!' but when did it start getting written up in magazines, and how did it trickle down to people, and who was buying these cookbooks, and when did Safeway start carrying arugula? I lived through some of this -- I remember in the early 90s when the Safeway in my medium-sized hometown started carrying Gala apples in addition to Red Delicious, Green Delicious & Granny Smith, and how incredibly excited I was by NEW APPLES -- but I didn't know what I was living through, and that's what I was hoping to understand from this book. So -- very enjoyable for what it was, but I would still like to read the book I thought this was going to be!
February 1, 2021
I'm still chewing on this book, but I can't bring myself to give it a 4th star. 14+ years since its publication it can be forgiven for being dated, but even without hindsight it's pretty sickening to quote Mario Batali describing Giada De Laurentiis as "the beautiful girl with the nice rack" with nary a comment on the sexism of that statement. Kamp also tends to talk about someone new, immediately jump to a parallel track of a previously-introduced person's rise in the food world, then flip back to the new addition. The first few chapters were easier to read, obviously in part because there were so many fewer figures to discuss. I still feel the expansion of the cast could've been handled better. Refreshing readers' memories by repeating a person's full name when they popped up in the narrative after an absence would've helped. There were too many surnames to keep straight. This book is a valuable history of American food/restaurant culture through the early aughts, but I don't see myself returning to it any time soon.
December 25, 2020
3.5 stars
The first 3/4 of the book were very good and interesting! I loved learning more about Julia Childs and the chefs authors who preceded her and were her peers. Tracing how California became the “it” place and big name chefs now have their origins there was super interesting. The book loses a lot of steam in the final few chapters though, the chapter on non-American food is still focused on white chefs who became authorities on Mexican food rather than Mexican chefs who the food world could/should have taken more seriously. The chapter on food tv is comically out of date, this was written when food network was still trying to prove itself as good. Also has a loooooot of comments and perspective from Mario Batali which has not aged well. The final chapter really highlights how things may change but still stay the same re elitism and purity tests on good healthful food being available outside of restaurants.
Overall I learned a lot!
The first 3/4 of the book were very good and interesting! I loved learning more about Julia Childs and the chefs authors who preceded her and were her peers. Tracing how California became the “it” place and big name chefs now have their origins there was super interesting. The book loses a lot of steam in the final few chapters though, the chapter on non-American food is still focused on white chefs who became authorities on Mexican food rather than Mexican chefs who the food world could/should have taken more seriously. The chapter on food tv is comically out of date, this was written when food network was still trying to prove itself as good. Also has a loooooot of comments and perspective from Mario Batali which has not aged well. The final chapter really highlights how things may change but still stay the same re elitism and purity tests on good healthful food being available outside of restaurants.
Overall I learned a lot!
July 24, 2017
I had to DNF this book. If you're like me and enjoy reading food based books to actually learn stuff or want to further your scholarship, this book is not it. This was a thoroughly researched gossip rag of big names in the food industry. As a scholar and writer myself, the biggest aspect of writing I must always keep in mind is "how much of this work are actually my own ideas and analysis?" Yes. Research is important but I simply couldn't tell where the author situated himself in the conversation. It just felt like "here's what this supposedly famous food critic, author, chef, etc had to say." My eyeballs were glazing over at all the names and quotes he was dropping. I learned nothing of value other than mixed commentary about American's diet.
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