My Usual Table: A Life in Restaurants

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Now out in paperback, a vivid portrait of a life lived in food from renowned food writer and critic Colman Andrews, a founding editor of Saveur and multiple James Beard Award winner

For food writer and magazine editor Colman Andrews, restaurants have long served as a playground, a theater, a university, a refuge. In My Usual Table, Andrews interweaves his own story with tales of the seminal restaurants and the great restaurateurs of our time who are emblematic of the revolutions that have transformed the way we eat, cook, and feel about food.

Tracing the evolution of our food culture from glamourous Old Hollywood's Chasen's to the "ethnic" food movement of the psychedelic '60s to the influence of family-run cafs and trattorias in Europe, Andrews arrives at the rise of game-changing restaurants like Eleven Madison Park and elBulli.

Andrews has watched the growth of nouvelle and fusion cuisine; the explosion of the organic and locavore movements; and the rise of nose-to-tail eating and so-called molecular gastronomy. The restaurants he has loved have not only influenced culinary trends at home and abroad, but represent the changing culture of food in America and Western Europe. And all along, Andrews has been there right there in the dining room, menu in one hand and notebook in the other.

Reviews

"A fond salute to many of his favorite culinary haunts marks this charming autobiographical omnibus by accomplished cookbook author, longtime reviewer, and cofounder of Saveur, [Colman] Andrews." -- Publishers Weekly (starred review) "In the hands of a less adept writer, Andrews' narratives of movie stars cavorting in their favorite restaurant haunts or dining at his parents' house might seem mere name-dropping, but his respect and affection for these celebrities make for enjoyable storytelling." -- Booklist "Andrews gets [it] exactly right... It's this ability to appreciate food in a larger context that makes Andrews' book so appealing - and such a welcome antidote to so much of the food discussion today." -- Los Angeles Times "Mr. Andrews writes delightfully about his earliest experiences dining out in Los Angeles at Chasen's." -- Wall Street Journal "The book is a fun read and covers hot spots such as El Bulli, Trader Vic's and Chasen's that are now shuttered but not forgotten." -- San Francisco Weekly "Andrews is a compelling writer, and so his descriptions of restaurants past will lead readers who chronicle their own days in Instagrammed meals on an adventure in armchair time travel." -- San Francisco Chronicle "Andrews' eloquent food writing might as well be its own romance language. the relationship Andrews has with restaurants and the comfort and thrill he experiences each time he sits down at the table - akin to an actor taking the stage - will make you want to join him." -LA Weekly -- LA Weekly

Author Bio

Colman Andrews was a co-founder of Saveur, and its editor-in-chief from 2002 to 2006. After leaving the magazine, he became the restaurant columnist for Gourmet. A native of Los Angeles with degrees in history and philosophy from UCLA, he was a restaurant reviewer and restaurant news columnist for the Los Angeles Times. The recipient of eight James Beard awards, Andrews is the co-author and co-editor of three SAVEUR COOKBOOKS and six of his own books on food: EVERYTHING ON THE TABLE, FLAVORS OF THE RIVIERA, CATALAN CUISINE, THE COUNTRY COOKING OF IRELAND and THE COUNTRY COOKING OF ITALY.