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Eat the City: A Tale of the Fishers, Foragers, Butchers, Farmers, Poultry Minders, Sugar Refiners, Cane Cutters, Beekeepers, Winemakers, and Brewers Who Built New York
New York is not a city for growing and manufacturing food. It’s a money and real estate city, with less naked earth and industry than high-rise glass and concrete. Yet in this intimate, visceral, and beautifully written book, Robin Shulman introduces the people of New York City - both past and present - who do grow vegetables, butcher meat, fish local waters, cut and refine sugar, keep bees for honey, brew beer, and make wine. In the most heavily built urban environment in the country, she shows an organic city full of intrepid and eccentric people who want to make things grow. What’s more, Shulman artfully places today’s urban food production in the context of hundreds of years of history, and traces how we got to where we are.
In these pages meet Willie Morgan, a Harlem man who first grew his own vegetables in a vacant lot as a front for his gambling racket. And David Selig, a beekeeper in the Red Hook section of Brooklyn who found his bees making a mysteriously red honey. Get to know Yolene Joseph, who fishes crabs out of the waters off Coney Island to make curried stews for her family. Meet the creators of the sickly sweet Manischewitz wine, whose brand grew out of Prohibition; and Jacob Ruppert, who owned a beer empire on the Upper East Side, as well as the New York Yankees.
Eat the City is about how the ability of cities to feed people has changed over time. Yet it is also, in a sense, the story of the things we long for in cities today: closer human connections, a tangible link to more basic processes, a way to shape more rounded lives, a sense of something pure.
Of course, hundreds of years ago, most food and drink consumed by New Yorkers was grown and produced within what are now the five boroughs. Yet people rarely realize that long after New York became a dense urban agglomeration, innovators, traditionalists, migrants and immigrants continued to insist on producing their own food. This book shows the perils and benefits—and the ironies and humor—when city people involve themselves in making what they eat.
Food, of course, is about hunger. We eat what we miss and what we want to become, the foods of our childhoods and the symbols of the lives we hope to lead. With wit and insight, Eat the City shows how in places like New York, people have always found ways to use their collective hunger to build their own kind of city.
ROBIN SHULMAN is a writer and reporter whose work has appeared in the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times , Slate , the Guardian , and many other publications. She lives in New York City.
In these pages meet Willie Morgan, a Harlem man who first grew his own vegetables in a vacant lot as a front for his gambling racket. And David Selig, a beekeeper in the Red Hook section of Brooklyn who found his bees making a mysteriously red honey. Get to know Yolene Joseph, who fishes crabs out of the waters off Coney Island to make curried stews for her family. Meet the creators of the sickly sweet Manischewitz wine, whose brand grew out of Prohibition; and Jacob Ruppert, who owned a beer empire on the Upper East Side, as well as the New York Yankees.
Eat the City is about how the ability of cities to feed people has changed over time. Yet it is also, in a sense, the story of the things we long for in cities today: closer human connections, a tangible link to more basic processes, a way to shape more rounded lives, a sense of something pure.
Of course, hundreds of years ago, most food and drink consumed by New Yorkers was grown and produced within what are now the five boroughs. Yet people rarely realize that long after New York became a dense urban agglomeration, innovators, traditionalists, migrants and immigrants continued to insist on producing their own food. This book shows the perils and benefits—and the ironies and humor—when city people involve themselves in making what they eat.
Food, of course, is about hunger. We eat what we miss and what we want to become, the foods of our childhoods and the symbols of the lives we hope to lead. With wit and insight, Eat the City shows how in places like New York, people have always found ways to use their collective hunger to build their own kind of city.
ROBIN SHULMAN is a writer and reporter whose work has appeared in the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times , Slate , the Guardian , and many other publications. She lives in New York City.
352 pages, Hardcover
First published July 10, 2012
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 98 reviews
July 17, 2012
A fun and informative….and hunger inducing read.
This is a mouth watering, thirst inducing story of culinary New York both past and present. Shulman alternately sketches the history of New York City and its relationship to a particular food or beverage juxtaposed against a current entrepreneur who’s attempting to start their own brewery, work their own bee hives, market premium meat, etc. Her descriptions made me want to go out and grab some of whatever she was describing. The fascinating part is that often it was and is recent immigrants who start or build on these industries in an attempt to honor the traditions they’ve left behind. Germans missed the delicious beer from home, Trinidadians missed fresh seafood dishes, Jews wanted kosher wines to honor the shabbat, and the Italians HAD to have wine every day, etc. Now tell me your mouth isn’t already watering?? New York City is a fairly small place with a huge population. Each block can change from one ethnicity to another and each group has their own unique palates. I loved the passion of these immigrants and learning about what excited and motivated them. Shulman focuses on groups and making individuals. Her humor is as refreshing as the food. And is there any better, more descriptive title than, “Eat the City”? New York culinary history is not unabated fun however. The history of water pollution throughout the city’s history makes the seafood industry depressing. Most of the seafood now served in New York is from out of state. Prohibition almost killed the bear and wine industries and brought a criminal element to these formerly pleasurable industries. On the other hand in bee keeping was made legal again in 2010 and Shulman’s jaunt through the city on bee’s wings is exhilarating. A fun and informative….and hunger inducing read. I would love if she did a series of books covering other cities. Shulman provides extensive footnotes should you want to explore further or want more explanation. I see another reviewer mentions the pictures which I saw none of in the e-galley I read so you might want to be sure and get a physical copy of the book.
This review was based on an e-galley provided by the publisher.
This is a mouth watering, thirst inducing story of culinary New York both past and present. Shulman alternately sketches the history of New York City and its relationship to a particular food or beverage juxtaposed against a current entrepreneur who’s attempting to start their own brewery, work their own bee hives, market premium meat, etc. Her descriptions made me want to go out and grab some of whatever she was describing. The fascinating part is that often it was and is recent immigrants who start or build on these industries in an attempt to honor the traditions they’ve left behind. Germans missed the delicious beer from home, Trinidadians missed fresh seafood dishes, Jews wanted kosher wines to honor the shabbat, and the Italians HAD to have wine every day, etc. Now tell me your mouth isn’t already watering?? New York City is a fairly small place with a huge population. Each block can change from one ethnicity to another and each group has their own unique palates. I loved the passion of these immigrants and learning about what excited and motivated them. Shulman focuses on groups and making individuals. Her humor is as refreshing as the food. And is there any better, more descriptive title than, “Eat the City”? New York culinary history is not unabated fun however. The history of water pollution throughout the city’s history makes the seafood industry depressing. Most of the seafood now served in New York is from out of state. Prohibition almost killed the bear and wine industries and brought a criminal element to these formerly pleasurable industries. On the other hand in bee keeping was made legal again in 2010 and Shulman’s jaunt through the city on bee’s wings is exhilarating. A fun and informative….and hunger inducing read. I would love if she did a series of books covering other cities. Shulman provides extensive footnotes should you want to explore further or want more explanation. I see another reviewer mentions the pictures which I saw none of in the e-galley I read so you might want to be sure and get a physical copy of the book.
This review was based on an e-galley provided by the publisher.
April 30, 2025
Even if you are not from New York, even if you aren’t interested in food, even if the curious title doesn’t intrigue you, even if history doesn’t ring your bell, nevertheless, I urge you to try this book. The author is a Writer. She knows how to Research. And more important, she knows how to Tell a Story.
And what a story she has taken on. The author tells the little stories behind the food in NYC. She makes connections I’d never thought of (Prohibition and WWI, for example). She tracks down vegetable gardens and hives of honey and old beer breweries and sugar refineries and shares the ways these changed the city we know and love.
Absolutely captivating stories. So, even if, even if, even if…give this book a read.
And what a story she has taken on. The author tells the little stories behind the food in NYC. She makes connections I’d never thought of (Prohibition and WWI, for example). She tracks down vegetable gardens and hives of honey and old beer breweries and sugar refineries and shares the ways these changed the city we know and love.
Absolutely captivating stories. So, even if, even if, even if…give this book a read.
January 19, 2021
We read this book aloud. An interesting look at food production and culture in NYC.
August 17, 2012
This is the first book I won in a "First Reads" Giveaway and I was simply happy to have won, I didn't actually expect to enjoy it.
Robin Shulman is a writer for the Washington Post and New York Times and her journalistic craft is evident. She's also a New Yorker. In this book (with the unfortunately long title), she's accomplished the impossible in my mind: she's made me appreciate newspaper writers again and she's broken down the resistance I have towards all things "city" and actually planted a sort of nostalgia in my mind for America's city, New York.
The Introduction begins with Shulman describing the heroin addict that used to shoot up on her front stoop in New York City in the early 90's. Not long afterward, she began to notice little things happening around the vacant lots - little plots of herbs and vegetables popping up, a rooster crowing, sweet smells in the air. She began to see more people tidying up than there were selling drugs. It was gradual, but it was a certain, a change taking place. And as she looked into the history of her adopted city, she learned that this struggle between producers and destroyers was an eternal theme on the city's stage. Each chapter is devoted to different hidden "producers" of the city, weaving a seamless narrative that gives a vibrant life to the past and a far-reaching connection to the present; the glue that holds the story together is, and has always been, food.
This is a book chock full of fascinating individual stories and important history that most natives of New York City probably have little understanding of, all of it based upon food: from the brave bee-keepers that traverse the city's rooftops looking for honey to the meatcutters who butcher cows in vacant lots to the homeless men who defiantly fish the polluted waterways; from the 100' grape vines climbing apartment buildings to the sugar cane growing in the windowsills to the hops plants overflowing the back yards; from the original Indian inhabitants to the Dutch and English colonist and on through every nationality of immigrant that has made New York a new home.
From the Epilogue:
"Writing this book revealed to me a rich and complicated city that I didn't know existed. New York had a brilliant agricultural past, which it cast away. For generations, planners have sought to move food production out of the city, but people have persisted in tending, growing, fermenting, butchering, and manufacturing basic foods to share and eat and sell - because they need to and they want to. People think that New York City is not a place for growing things, but it turns out to be absolutely a place for growing things. It is a place where people practice alchemy, taking the stress and hardship of city life and turning it into something nourishing."
Five stars for great writing, thorough research, and for making me see New York again for the great city it was and still is.
Robin Shulman is a writer for the Washington Post and New York Times and her journalistic craft is evident. She's also a New Yorker. In this book (with the unfortunately long title), she's accomplished the impossible in my mind: she's made me appreciate newspaper writers again and she's broken down the resistance I have towards all things "city" and actually planted a sort of nostalgia in my mind for America's city, New York.
The Introduction begins with Shulman describing the heroin addict that used to shoot up on her front stoop in New York City in the early 90's. Not long afterward, she began to notice little things happening around the vacant lots - little plots of herbs and vegetables popping up, a rooster crowing, sweet smells in the air. She began to see more people tidying up than there were selling drugs. It was gradual, but it was a certain, a change taking place. And as she looked into the history of her adopted city, she learned that this struggle between producers and destroyers was an eternal theme on the city's stage. Each chapter is devoted to different hidden "producers" of the city, weaving a seamless narrative that gives a vibrant life to the past and a far-reaching connection to the present; the glue that holds the story together is, and has always been, food.
This is a book chock full of fascinating individual stories and important history that most natives of New York City probably have little understanding of, all of it based upon food: from the brave bee-keepers that traverse the city's rooftops looking for honey to the meatcutters who butcher cows in vacant lots to the homeless men who defiantly fish the polluted waterways; from the 100' grape vines climbing apartment buildings to the sugar cane growing in the windowsills to the hops plants overflowing the back yards; from the original Indian inhabitants to the Dutch and English colonist and on through every nationality of immigrant that has made New York a new home.
From the Epilogue:
"Writing this book revealed to me a rich and complicated city that I didn't know existed. New York had a brilliant agricultural past, which it cast away. For generations, planners have sought to move food production out of the city, but people have persisted in tending, growing, fermenting, butchering, and manufacturing basic foods to share and eat and sell - because they need to and they want to. People think that New York City is not a place for growing things, but it turns out to be absolutely a place for growing things. It is a place where people practice alchemy, taking the stress and hardship of city life and turning it into something nourishing."
Five stars for great writing, thorough research, and for making me see New York again for the great city it was and still is.
January 24, 2013
I loved this book. I grew up in Brooklyn NY and had no idea there were beekeepers, small beer brewers, fishermen (except for the boats out of Sheepshead Bay), independent butchers, and small farms right in the middle of Manhattan and all over NYC. Robin Shulman weaves a tale interspersing history with current day representatives of each craft (and they are crafts), writing in clear, beautifully flowing prose. Highly recommended.
July 15, 2012
When I left my graduate school program in history three years ago, my reading choices swung wildly from a steady diet of non-fiction to almost exclusively fiction (and YA fiction at that). One exception to that general rule is food writing. I follow food blogs, I read cookbooks, and I have been known to search out obscure magazines and read the latest volume of Best Food Writing on a whim. Robin Shulman’s Eat the City: A Tale of the Fishers, Foragers, Butchers, Farmers, Poultry Minders, Sugar Refiners, Cane Cutters, Beekeepers, Winemakers, and Brewers Who Built New York pays homage to food and history and a great, metropolitan city. It was therefore irresistible to me.
In Eat the City, Robin Shulman breaks down what would be an insurmountable task (chronicling the history of food production in New York and connecting it to the present) into personal stories, tidbits of history, and deep local research. She takes the tone of a journalist and dives not only into the lives of current New Yorkers, but into the radio, magazines, newspapers and records of the past. Of course, in a city the size of New York, there is no ‘one’ history of food. But Shulman takes the reader on a far-reaching tour that seems as though it must touch every corner, and the result is a new appreciation for food and its varied history, and for what human beings can do in an urban environment.
Shulman creates a personal connection between the reader and food history, and allows a look into past lives through creative description and research. That descriptiveness, while at times overdone, often put the reader IN the scene – in the butcher shop or on the rooftop. That is no mean feat.
The book should appeal to all readers, because food is universal. That said, it will appeal most to foodies, hipsters, and anyone with a connection to the food chain in New York, even if it is just a delicious meal in one of the neighborhoods that Shulman mentions. The ‘chapters’ on honey, meat, vegetables, fish, sugar, beer, and wine make for accessible reading. The narrative as it is, typically focused on one person in the present combined with many lives in the past, connects present reality and a world stretching hundreds of years into the past.
Though I enjoyed the book and found its many stories delicious, uplifting and astonishing by turns, I found that some sections were stronger than others. Honey and vegetables were two robust chapters, while the one on fish came off a bit as preachy, and parts of wine sounded to this ear like an old man’s tall tale, undiluted. In addition, I was a little bit dismayed to see that this history of New York’s food production is, overall, a man’s story. I can’t help thinking that there must be more women’s stories in the city, and I was dismayed to see the central lives and focus given solely to men.
Whatever I found to criticize is balanced by the fact that not only can I give this book to half of my relatives for the holidays, I also enjoyed the book and the writing made me very, very hungry. Shulman has a way with words, with description, with personal history and (unsurprisingly) with food. A bit of the essence of Eat the City, from page 64:
“Every human being is a museum piece. Along with DNA, we inherit the language, knowledge, and values of the people who raised us, and those who raised them. Among the most profound and unshakable parts of our inheritance is food. Recipes from the Old Country often last generations, longer than language, sometimes longer even than ritual and religion.”
Eat the City is an introduction and invitation for those living in an urban area to ask, “Where did this meal come from, and what is my city’s history?”
Recommended for: foodies, food historians (amateur or otherwise), urbanites, devoted New York City residents or those who merely curious, and anyone with an eye and ear for description and a taste for food. So, basically, everyone.
In Eat the City, Robin Shulman breaks down what would be an insurmountable task (chronicling the history of food production in New York and connecting it to the present) into personal stories, tidbits of history, and deep local research. She takes the tone of a journalist and dives not only into the lives of current New Yorkers, but into the radio, magazines, newspapers and records of the past. Of course, in a city the size of New York, there is no ‘one’ history of food. But Shulman takes the reader on a far-reaching tour that seems as though it must touch every corner, and the result is a new appreciation for food and its varied history, and for what human beings can do in an urban environment.
Shulman creates a personal connection between the reader and food history, and allows a look into past lives through creative description and research. That descriptiveness, while at times overdone, often put the reader IN the scene – in the butcher shop or on the rooftop. That is no mean feat.
The book should appeal to all readers, because food is universal. That said, it will appeal most to foodies, hipsters, and anyone with a connection to the food chain in New York, even if it is just a delicious meal in one of the neighborhoods that Shulman mentions. The ‘chapters’ on honey, meat, vegetables, fish, sugar, beer, and wine make for accessible reading. The narrative as it is, typically focused on one person in the present combined with many lives in the past, connects present reality and a world stretching hundreds of years into the past.
Though I enjoyed the book and found its many stories delicious, uplifting and astonishing by turns, I found that some sections were stronger than others. Honey and vegetables were two robust chapters, while the one on fish came off a bit as preachy, and parts of wine sounded to this ear like an old man’s tall tale, undiluted. In addition, I was a little bit dismayed to see that this history of New York’s food production is, overall, a man’s story. I can’t help thinking that there must be more women’s stories in the city, and I was dismayed to see the central lives and focus given solely to men.
Whatever I found to criticize is balanced by the fact that not only can I give this book to half of my relatives for the holidays, I also enjoyed the book and the writing made me very, very hungry. Shulman has a way with words, with description, with personal history and (unsurprisingly) with food. A bit of the essence of Eat the City, from page 64:
“Every human being is a museum piece. Along with DNA, we inherit the language, knowledge, and values of the people who raised us, and those who raised them. Among the most profound and unshakable parts of our inheritance is food. Recipes from the Old Country often last generations, longer than language, sometimes longer even than ritual and religion.”
Eat the City is an introduction and invitation for those living in an urban area to ask, “Where did this meal come from, and what is my city’s history?”
Recommended for: foodies, food historians (amateur or otherwise), urbanites, devoted New York City residents or those who merely curious, and anyone with an eye and ear for description and a taste for food. So, basically, everyone.
July 18, 2012
New York is a city that never sleeps, is always changing and never fails to surprise the unwary. A city that is renowned for its finance and tourism industries, you might be forgiven for forgetting that there is an entire food production world operating within the city limits. Author Robin Schulman aims to change that memory lapse.
In this very thick, obvious labour of love, Schulman looks at New Yorkers past and present who each have a particular story to tell as to why they are keeping bees, refining sugar and countless other food production activities. In the big city where anonymity is invariably inevitable a number of personalities shine out through their relatively uncommon occupations and activities.
Of course, food production has to take place somewhere and this happens also within the New York city limits, yet the activities showcased by Schulman are not owned by megacorps and neither are they just hobbies by the eccentric or over-enthusiastic.
Take for example the rooftop beekeeper mentioned in this book. He has hives dotted all over the city in what would be prized penthouse locations with a price to match for humans. It seems surreal that he might be travelling with beekeeper garb clanking from his belt as he rides the subway, yet the majority of New Yorkers fail to register this possibly strange sight. Sometimes when driving his pickup truck, complete with bees “hovering” above the truck’s flat bed, he is an apian Pied Piper with his own mini swarm for company. Yet this does not ordinarily generate much of a response either, other than the odd comment from a cop who is more used to people carrying drugs about than honey and their stinging protectors.
The book is full of interesting colourful tales that beggar belief. Who would have thought that someone would have started a fruit and vegetable garden as a front for an illegal gambling operation… but they did. Maybe the gardening bug became a little too addictive as the garden remains well-tended and in operation even if other former activities are best forgotten.
There are countless many other examples. All different, charming, engaging and strangely addictive in their own right. This is not a recipe or food book, neither is it a typical tourist book, yet the reader is drawn in to the quirky, different, personal style of the New York “food producers” and their rather unique, special surroundings. The author has expertly, lovingly weaved together all the different tales, folklore and happenings for a rather enjoyable, dreamy read. At a time when cooks often focus about their ecological footprint, how organic an ingredient might be and other such stuff, often the real, quirky personal stories fall by the wayside. This is a pleasing antidote to that.
It is hard to think who would not like this book. If you like fiction books this could be a great read as, whilst certainly not a fictitious work, it could almost be though with the twists and turns of the various stories. For the lover of facts, reading will be punctuated with many pauses whilst the enormity of a given situation is taken into account. A little something for everyone. An ideal read also when travelling, but look out for passing bees hitchin’ a ride.
Eat The City: A Tale of the Fishers, Foralers, Butchers, Farmers, Poultry Minders, Sugar Refiners, Cane Cutters, Beekeepers, Winemakers and Brewers Who Built New York, written by Robin Schulman and published by Crown Publishing Group. ISBN 9780307719058, 352 pages. Typical price: GBP15. YYYY.
// This review appeared in YUM.fi and is reproduced here in full with permission of YUM.fi. YUM.fi celebrates the worldwide diversity of food and drink, as presented through the humble book. Whether you call it a cookery book, cook book, recipe book or something else (in the language of your choice) YUM will provide you with news and reviews of the latest books on the marketplace. //
In this very thick, obvious labour of love, Schulman looks at New Yorkers past and present who each have a particular story to tell as to why they are keeping bees, refining sugar and countless other food production activities. In the big city where anonymity is invariably inevitable a number of personalities shine out through their relatively uncommon occupations and activities.
Of course, food production has to take place somewhere and this happens also within the New York city limits, yet the activities showcased by Schulman are not owned by megacorps and neither are they just hobbies by the eccentric or over-enthusiastic.
Take for example the rooftop beekeeper mentioned in this book. He has hives dotted all over the city in what would be prized penthouse locations with a price to match for humans. It seems surreal that he might be travelling with beekeeper garb clanking from his belt as he rides the subway, yet the majority of New Yorkers fail to register this possibly strange sight. Sometimes when driving his pickup truck, complete with bees “hovering” above the truck’s flat bed, he is an apian Pied Piper with his own mini swarm for company. Yet this does not ordinarily generate much of a response either, other than the odd comment from a cop who is more used to people carrying drugs about than honey and their stinging protectors.
The book is full of interesting colourful tales that beggar belief. Who would have thought that someone would have started a fruit and vegetable garden as a front for an illegal gambling operation… but they did. Maybe the gardening bug became a little too addictive as the garden remains well-tended and in operation even if other former activities are best forgotten.
There are countless many other examples. All different, charming, engaging and strangely addictive in their own right. This is not a recipe or food book, neither is it a typical tourist book, yet the reader is drawn in to the quirky, different, personal style of the New York “food producers” and their rather unique, special surroundings. The author has expertly, lovingly weaved together all the different tales, folklore and happenings for a rather enjoyable, dreamy read. At a time when cooks often focus about their ecological footprint, how organic an ingredient might be and other such stuff, often the real, quirky personal stories fall by the wayside. This is a pleasing antidote to that.
It is hard to think who would not like this book. If you like fiction books this could be a great read as, whilst certainly not a fictitious work, it could almost be though with the twists and turns of the various stories. For the lover of facts, reading will be punctuated with many pauses whilst the enormity of a given situation is taken into account. A little something for everyone. An ideal read also when travelling, but look out for passing bees hitchin’ a ride.
Eat The City: A Tale of the Fishers, Foralers, Butchers, Farmers, Poultry Minders, Sugar Refiners, Cane Cutters, Beekeepers, Winemakers and Brewers Who Built New York, written by Robin Schulman and published by Crown Publishing Group. ISBN 9780307719058, 352 pages. Typical price: GBP15. YYYY.
// This review appeared in YUM.fi and is reproduced here in full with permission of YUM.fi. YUM.fi celebrates the worldwide diversity of food and drink, as presented through the humble book. Whether you call it a cookery book, cook book, recipe book or something else (in the language of your choice) YUM will provide you with news and reviews of the latest books on the marketplace. //
August 21, 2012
There are times I like to pretend that I have not been living in the Midwest since about 1990. Before that I moved around a lot and lived just about everywhere. I was born on the shore of Lake Superior but have lived in Houston, the Los Angeles area, and gone to school in New Orleans. I've lived in the country and have lived in a city for over 14 years now, of course comparing Wichita, KS to New York, NY is like comparing a dik-dik to a giraffe. I guess what I'm trying to say is that I pretend to be more worldly than I am, I like to think I know everything there is to know about living in a "big" city, but books like Eat the City prove me wrong time and again. They show me what it means to really understand city living, and that most of us have no clue about what's going on in their streets we walk everyday.
How many of us would be comfortable with having several bee hives on the roof or our apartment building? Would we begrudge our neighbor growing a grape vine up the back of his house? Would we complain if the vacant lot down the street was taken over by our neighbors who want to grow their own vegetables? Or would be celebrate the fact that even amongst the miles of pavement and high rises, some of our fellow city dwellers are working with their own hands to produce the food for their kitchen table. That they are rethinking how our food is produced and deciding that maybe the old days were better for us. Maybe it's a great idea for those of us who live in urban setting to rethink what we've been doing and allow ourselves to fully appreciate what food means to our culture and our heritage.
Now I'm not saying I'm going to start keeping bees or growing my own tomatoes out on the balcony. I don't have the space or the time. That and the was summers have been going, I'm not sure how long those plants would even stay alive. But I am curious to find out what, if any, local food is being produced in the city of Wichita. Robin Shulman in her examination of New York and it's history of food production has made me want to know about what took place in and around Wichita over the last 100 years. I want to know about our past cattle and dairy industry, signs of which can still be found today in and around downtown. I'm curious to know how many bootleggers roamed the city of Wichita during Prohibition. I want to know the fishing history of the Arkansas and Little Arkansas rivers as they flow through the city of Wichita, waters of which I would not being eating out of today. Robin Shulman has not only given me a glimpse of New York, it's history and it's present, but she has given me the desire to know more about my own city and how food has and continues to impact the people of Wichita.
How many of us would be comfortable with having several bee hives on the roof or our apartment building? Would we begrudge our neighbor growing a grape vine up the back of his house? Would we complain if the vacant lot down the street was taken over by our neighbors who want to grow their own vegetables? Or would be celebrate the fact that even amongst the miles of pavement and high rises, some of our fellow city dwellers are working with their own hands to produce the food for their kitchen table. That they are rethinking how our food is produced and deciding that maybe the old days were better for us. Maybe it's a great idea for those of us who live in urban setting to rethink what we've been doing and allow ourselves to fully appreciate what food means to our culture and our heritage.
Now I'm not saying I'm going to start keeping bees or growing my own tomatoes out on the balcony. I don't have the space or the time. That and the was summers have been going, I'm not sure how long those plants would even stay alive. But I am curious to find out what, if any, local food is being produced in the city of Wichita. Robin Shulman in her examination of New York and it's history of food production has made me want to know about what took place in and around Wichita over the last 100 years. I want to know about our past cattle and dairy industry, signs of which can still be found today in and around downtown. I'm curious to know how many bootleggers roamed the city of Wichita during Prohibition. I want to know the fishing history of the Arkansas and Little Arkansas rivers as they flow through the city of Wichita, waters of which I would not being eating out of today. Robin Shulman has not only given me a glimpse of New York, it's history and it's present, but she has given me the desire to know more about my own city and how food has and continues to impact the people of Wichita.
January 28, 2016
I LOVE food. Though I don’t consider myself a foodie, I appreciate and deliberately seek out delicious and authentic food wherever I happen to be–from Panama to Rhode Island to Ecuador to New York. Life’s too short not to eat well–but what does “eating well” mean? And as a student and educator, I’ve learned and taught about food justice and food sovereignty, of which the ability to produce and control your own food makes up a large part. As more and more people realize the failures of industrialized agriculture, more and more people try to take food production in their own hands. Robin Shulman’s Eat the City: A Tale of the Fishers, Foragers, Butchers, Farmers, Poultry Minders, Sugar Refiners, Cane Cutters, Beekeepers, Winemakers, and Brewers Who Built New York, tries to answer one huge, related question: What does the urban food production landscape look like in New York City?
Shulman tackles this question subject by subject, chapter by chapter, covering honey, vegetables, meat, sugar, beer, fish, and wine. New York City has a surprisingly rich history of food production, beginning with the Lenape Indians who first hunted, fished, and gathered along the shores of Manhattan. With the arrival of the Dutch, and then the Germans, English and successive waves of immigrants, agriculture in New York City expanded to include everything from pork to oysters to various types of beer. This all began to change, however, with the industrialization of the city and the increased emphasis on other kinds of production.
Recently, however, some New Yorkers have found ways to produce their own food, and Shulman tells these stories as well. The balance of historical and modern attempts at urban agriculture included in each chapter was pitch-perfect. The stories reflected upon one another organically, and I never felt that Shulman was attempting to shoehorn in more detail or facts than necessary. I learned a lot about New York City’s history as a meat producer, for example, but was never bored by it. (Though how you could be bored by learning that the city once underwent something called “the Hog Wars” is beyond me!) Reading about New Yorkers’ attempts to bring the city back to its agricultural roots was really inspiring–taking over abandoned lots for gardens, or using building rooftops for their beehives. That ingenuity and determination is one of the most impressive parts of the local food movement!
Please read the rest of my review over at Bookwanderer!
Shulman tackles this question subject by subject, chapter by chapter, covering honey, vegetables, meat, sugar, beer, fish, and wine. New York City has a surprisingly rich history of food production, beginning with the Lenape Indians who first hunted, fished, and gathered along the shores of Manhattan. With the arrival of the Dutch, and then the Germans, English and successive waves of immigrants, agriculture in New York City expanded to include everything from pork to oysters to various types of beer. This all began to change, however, with the industrialization of the city and the increased emphasis on other kinds of production.
Recently, however, some New Yorkers have found ways to produce their own food, and Shulman tells these stories as well. The balance of historical and modern attempts at urban agriculture included in each chapter was pitch-perfect. The stories reflected upon one another organically, and I never felt that Shulman was attempting to shoehorn in more detail or facts than necessary. I learned a lot about New York City’s history as a meat producer, for example, but was never bored by it. (Though how you could be bored by learning that the city once underwent something called “the Hog Wars” is beyond me!) Reading about New Yorkers’ attempts to bring the city back to its agricultural roots was really inspiring–taking over abandoned lots for gardens, or using building rooftops for their beehives. That ingenuity and determination is one of the most impressive parts of the local food movement!
Please read the rest of my review over at Bookwanderer!
July 23, 2012
I like to cook and have been trying to get healthier and also learn about food. This is why I decided to check out Eat the City. It sounded like an entertaining read. To be honest I was expecting to also learn about places around the city to eat at like restaurants and I thought I would find recipes. Of course, I did not find recipes but I did learn to have more of an appreciation of the locals in the markets and small shops.
I could tell that Robin really put a lot of work and detail into this book. She thoughly researched the people and the process of the topic that she was speaking about during that specific chapter. I learned so much about bees and harvesting honey that I think I could actually start making my own honey. Not to mention the fishermen and women. They know the importance of the term "fresh catch of the day". If you go to any fish market, then you can probably see the haul that these people brought in. Just the thought of eating fresh seafood from the sea has my mouth watering.
Of course, while I did enjoy learning about food and New York life, I did find myself rushing forward though out the book. Only because, I found that this book also read like a history lesson and there was only so much of the knowledge that I could cram into my head. For the want to be foodies wanting to learn to cook like Iron Chefs then this is not the book for you but if you are a true food enthusiast then you might want to add this book to your collection.
I could tell that Robin really put a lot of work and detail into this book. She thoughly researched the people and the process of the topic that she was speaking about during that specific chapter. I learned so much about bees and harvesting honey that I think I could actually start making my own honey. Not to mention the fishermen and women. They know the importance of the term "fresh catch of the day". If you go to any fish market, then you can probably see the haul that these people brought in. Just the thought of eating fresh seafood from the sea has my mouth watering.
Of course, while I did enjoy learning about food and New York life, I did find myself rushing forward though out the book. Only because, I found that this book also read like a history lesson and there was only so much of the knowledge that I could cram into my head. For the want to be foodies wanting to learn to cook like Iron Chefs then this is not the book for you but if you are a true food enthusiast then you might want to add this book to your collection.
May 22, 2012
Urban farming. Urban agriculture. A trendy and serious topic. Robin Shulman could have written an essay surfing on the 'hip' factor of the subject. Instead she chose to write about the people who are doing it, were doing it ages ago, people who do it to survive, to live differently.
Eat the City is a very well documented, yet easy to read and engaging essay on the many, many ways agriculture survived, adapted and sometimes thrived in New York City through the histories of sugar, beer, city gardens, honey, meat, wine and fish.
Robin Shulman focuses on the stories behind the trends like beekeeping, growing your own food, etc. You get a full picture of why, when, how beekeeping evolved in New York, same for the history of butchers and the meat packing districts (my favourite chapter of the whole book with the vegetable chapter not far behind). She doesn't shy away from giving the readers ample information and succeeds in not overwhelming them.
For people who love to read about food, about how food changes and molds our lives. Bonus if you love to read about New York city because it's really the star of the book.
This review was possible via a Netgalley advanced copy.
Eat the City is a very well documented, yet easy to read and engaging essay on the many, many ways agriculture survived, adapted and sometimes thrived in New York City through the histories of sugar, beer, city gardens, honey, meat, wine and fish.
Robin Shulman focuses on the stories behind the trends like beekeeping, growing your own food, etc. You get a full picture of why, when, how beekeeping evolved in New York, same for the history of butchers and the meat packing districts (my favourite chapter of the whole book with the vegetable chapter not far behind). She doesn't shy away from giving the readers ample information and succeeds in not overwhelming them.
For people who love to read about food, about how food changes and molds our lives. Bonus if you love to read about New York city because it's really the star of the book.
This review was possible via a Netgalley advanced copy.
February 1, 2013
The premise of the book is an intriguing one. Each chapter focuses on a different type or category of food--vegetables, honey, meat--and the author describes both the history of how the food was produced in the city, as well as contemporary efforts to continue those traditions. I wish, though, that Shulman had focused a little more on contemporary (and maybe even historical) food politics, which, I think, is a huge driving force behind the work of many gardeners, butchers, brewers, etc., in the city today. And, although a few pop up in various chapters, I wish Shulman had incorporated the culinary traditions of more recent immigrant populations--certainly, ethnic enclaves are a fundamental part of the New York food "scene," and contribute mightily to the "building" of the city. I think immigrant stories would have been much more interesting than those of the Brooklyn food hobbyists she focuses on, for example. Finally, while I found the writing to be a bit dry, I did enjoy learning many fun facts, especially about the history of brewing and winemaking. Who knew that Prohibition caused a mysterious surge in the number of rabbis in the city?
October 19, 2012
I really loved the chapters on beekeepers and community gardens but the rest was so uninteresting to me, I could not get through it. I had to skip most of the meat chapter because it was gross and I'm a vegetarian. There was so much dry history in the sugar chapter, I fell asleep multiple times. The fish chapter bummed me out so hard - the extremely polluted water and poisonous fish, eaten by poor people. Ugh. It was too much. I skipped the wine chapter. I knew I would not be able to muster enough interest to get through it.
January 25, 2014
The history of food in New York City through the course of waves of immigrants, from chickens in the backyard to beer in the bathtub and bee hives on the roofs. The narrative moves seamless back and forth between early and contemporary New York and gives voice to the movement to produce good, healthy food in the middle of an urban landscape. It is happening, but it can't be easy. Makes me want to look a little closer, and find a way right here, in my landscape.
December 3, 2012
quick and fun read about 2 things i love--food and new york city. huge topic, but she manages to do it nicely by framing each chapter around a different topic (meat, veggies, sugar, etc). would have preferred slightly more history/less fawning over brooklyn hipsters/locavores, but in the end found it compelling and informative.
April 21, 2022
I loved the intertwined contemporary and historical narratives. Reminded me of Gotham Unbound: The Ecological History of Greater New York but with a personal touch. The different foods told the story of the city, lending each chapter a unique perspective that touched on different migration experiences, socioeconomic backgrounds and neighborhoods. This was a story of industry and deindustrialization of New York that centered people.
October 4, 2017
What do you do when some chapters are better than the others? I have given the rating based on the chapters I liked. The one with the meat left me cold. But the ones with the sugar and beekeepers were phenomenal. The winemakers and brewers were also quite interesting. Especially loved the history bits, of the city that was built on sugar. How the landscape changes both coz of food and vice versa, it makes you look at the city in a very different light. Wish I had read it before I visited so I would have been on the lookout for the changes.
January 31, 2018
This book was unexpectedly great. It’s “profiles” 5-6 different food and beverage industries in NYC, and weaves the history of the industry’s communities (not just defined by race or ethnicity) into the narrative. I’d recommend to anyone who is interested in learning NYC history in a short and creative way and who is interested in food production. Honestly, if you’re interested in stories with quirky characters, this book is right up your alley too. A friend recommended this book and I’m very glad he did!
April 3, 2013
Eat the City: a tale of the Fishers, Foragers, Butchers, Farmers, Poultry Minders, Sugar Refiners, Cane Cutters, Bee Keepers, Wine Makers, and Brewers Who Built New York
By Robin Shulman
Crown Publishers (Random House), 335 pgs
978-0-307-71905-8
Rating: 4
"Go on bite the big apple..." Richards and Jagger warned us. I always took this to be a metaphor. Who knew one of the world's megalopolises had such agricultural bounty? Turns out New York has a history of growing and producing any number of crops: honey, beef, fish, sugar, beer, etc., etc.
Chapter 2. During the economic catastrophe of the 1970s hundreds of vacant lots appeared where buildings once stood. Today a large percentage of those lots are no longer vacant. Community gardens have sprung up all over the city thanks to passionate local growth advocates and many transplants to the city from the South with rural agricultural backgrounds. Community gardens are producing everything from corn and potatoes to squash and tomatoes, even sugar cane. Okra is itchy to pick, did you know that? I did. I used to pick okra in my aunt and uncle's garden as a little girl in West Texas.
Chapter 3. New York was the largest meat processing center on the East Coast until Work War II. Cattle were herded down the middle of city streets. Millions of immigrants flooded the city and discovered that meat was plentiful and cheap, unlike in their homelands. Eating meat was a measure of success. One man recalled that his grandfather would put a toothpick in his mouth as he left home "to give the impression that he had eaten meat." By 1980 there were only six slaughterhouses left in the city. Then came another wave of immigrants and a slaughterhouse renaissance of sorts. Now there are eighty. Another reason for the growing number of slaughterhouses is the large Jewish population that ensures a healthy kosher slaughter business. How you ever considered there to be anything sexy about butchers? Try this on for size, regarding a butcher named Tom: "He's confident and sure of his touch and his impact on the meat, and if there's something sexy about butchering, it's that - it shows a man who's comfortable with flesh." Think about it.
Chapter 5. Beer has been brewed on the island of Manhattan since before the Dutch bought it in 1626. One might think that the Midwest was the king of beer in this country but this was not always so. New York was the king of beer until refrigeration technology made it possible to get ice-cold beer from Milwaukee and St. Louis to the larger markets on the east coast. Breweries declined precipitously in New York. Then came the local micro-brew movement. Now apparently every hipster has a still in the laundry room. The same can be said of wineries. They are making a comeback. Time was when people bought grapes from upstate and fermented their own wine. Like bell bottoms, it's cool to be a vintner again in Manhattan. Friends of another aunt and uncle tried their hand at homemade wine back in the 80s. Word has it that the wine was terrible but I wouldn't know about that. I was just a kid, certainly never tasted it. Certainly.
Another factor in the decline of breweries was Prohibition. However the New York Telegram claimed in 1929 that you could buy alcohol in the following places: "In open saloons, restaurants, nightclubs, bars behind a peephole, dancing academies, drugstores, delicatessens, cigar stores, confectioneries, soda fountains, behind partitions of shoeshine parlors, back rooms of barber shops, from hotel bellhops, from hotel headwaiters, from hotel day clerks, night clerks, in express offices, motorcycle delivery agencies, paint stores, malt shops, cider stubes, fruit stands, vegetable markets, taxi drivers, groceries, smoke shops, athletic clubs, grillrooms, taverns, chophouses, importing firms, tearooms, moving-van companies, spaghetti houses, boarding houses, Republican clubs, Democratic clubs, laundries, social clubs, newspapermen's associations." Smile.
Eat the City is a great book. I love this sort of thing, sort of esoteric history, learning something in an entertaining, humorous way. It does lag in a few places but I think you'll find it worth it in the end. Not all is good news though. The situation with the water quality is truly atrocious and I hope something can be done so it's safe to eat the fish again. It hadn't occurred to me that this sort of agricultural history existed in a city the size of New York. (Have you been? Wow.) Omaha I would have believed. I am a fan of organic, locally grown, community-based foodstuffs. We even have a community garden here in Colorado City, Texas. I sincerely applaud the residents of New York in their attempts to take back the city's more blighted neighborhoods.
In closing, can you guess why David Selig's Brooklyn bees began making red honey? Have you ever considered that the color and flavor of honey depends upon the diet of the bees making it? This had never occurred to me, though it makes perfect sense. You'll never believe what David's bees had gotten into!
The author, Robin Shulman, is a writer and reporter whose work has appeared in the New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Slate, etc. For more from the author: www.robinshulman.com
For more from the publisher: www.crownpublishing.com
By Robin Shulman
Crown Publishers (Random House), 335 pgs
978-0-307-71905-8
Rating: 4
"Go on bite the big apple..." Richards and Jagger warned us. I always took this to be a metaphor. Who knew one of the world's megalopolises had such agricultural bounty? Turns out New York has a history of growing and producing any number of crops: honey, beef, fish, sugar, beer, etc., etc.
Chapter 2. During the economic catastrophe of the 1970s hundreds of vacant lots appeared where buildings once stood. Today a large percentage of those lots are no longer vacant. Community gardens have sprung up all over the city thanks to passionate local growth advocates and many transplants to the city from the South with rural agricultural backgrounds. Community gardens are producing everything from corn and potatoes to squash and tomatoes, even sugar cane. Okra is itchy to pick, did you know that? I did. I used to pick okra in my aunt and uncle's garden as a little girl in West Texas.
Chapter 3. New York was the largest meat processing center on the East Coast until Work War II. Cattle were herded down the middle of city streets. Millions of immigrants flooded the city and discovered that meat was plentiful and cheap, unlike in their homelands. Eating meat was a measure of success. One man recalled that his grandfather would put a toothpick in his mouth as he left home "to give the impression that he had eaten meat." By 1980 there were only six slaughterhouses left in the city. Then came another wave of immigrants and a slaughterhouse renaissance of sorts. Now there are eighty. Another reason for the growing number of slaughterhouses is the large Jewish population that ensures a healthy kosher slaughter business. How you ever considered there to be anything sexy about butchers? Try this on for size, regarding a butcher named Tom: "He's confident and sure of his touch and his impact on the meat, and if there's something sexy about butchering, it's that - it shows a man who's comfortable with flesh." Think about it.
Chapter 5. Beer has been brewed on the island of Manhattan since before the Dutch bought it in 1626. One might think that the Midwest was the king of beer in this country but this was not always so. New York was the king of beer until refrigeration technology made it possible to get ice-cold beer from Milwaukee and St. Louis to the larger markets on the east coast. Breweries declined precipitously in New York. Then came the local micro-brew movement. Now apparently every hipster has a still in the laundry room. The same can be said of wineries. They are making a comeback. Time was when people bought grapes from upstate and fermented their own wine. Like bell bottoms, it's cool to be a vintner again in Manhattan. Friends of another aunt and uncle tried their hand at homemade wine back in the 80s. Word has it that the wine was terrible but I wouldn't know about that. I was just a kid, certainly never tasted it. Certainly.
Another factor in the decline of breweries was Prohibition. However the New York Telegram claimed in 1929 that you could buy alcohol in the following places: "In open saloons, restaurants, nightclubs, bars behind a peephole, dancing academies, drugstores, delicatessens, cigar stores, confectioneries, soda fountains, behind partitions of shoeshine parlors, back rooms of barber shops, from hotel bellhops, from hotel headwaiters, from hotel day clerks, night clerks, in express offices, motorcycle delivery agencies, paint stores, malt shops, cider stubes, fruit stands, vegetable markets, taxi drivers, groceries, smoke shops, athletic clubs, grillrooms, taverns, chophouses, importing firms, tearooms, moving-van companies, spaghetti houses, boarding houses, Republican clubs, Democratic clubs, laundries, social clubs, newspapermen's associations." Smile.
Eat the City is a great book. I love this sort of thing, sort of esoteric history, learning something in an entertaining, humorous way. It does lag in a few places but I think you'll find it worth it in the end. Not all is good news though. The situation with the water quality is truly atrocious and I hope something can be done so it's safe to eat the fish again. It hadn't occurred to me that this sort of agricultural history existed in a city the size of New York. (Have you been? Wow.) Omaha I would have believed. I am a fan of organic, locally grown, community-based foodstuffs. We even have a community garden here in Colorado City, Texas. I sincerely applaud the residents of New York in their attempts to take back the city's more blighted neighborhoods.
In closing, can you guess why David Selig's Brooklyn bees began making red honey? Have you ever considered that the color and flavor of honey depends upon the diet of the bees making it? This had never occurred to me, though it makes perfect sense. You'll never believe what David's bees had gotten into!
The author, Robin Shulman, is a writer and reporter whose work has appeared in the New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Slate, etc. For more from the author: www.robinshulman.com
For more from the publisher: www.crownpublishing.com
August 2, 2019
Such an incredible book! It is a history of New York but through important food industries, compelling stories from all walks of NYC life and so beautifully written. I already know that I’ll want to read it again and again! Would love to find more books just like this one.
February 18, 2018
This is a very interesting book about the way some people in the boroughs of New York went back to the making of food and drink as had people from colonial times forward until today,
March 3, 2019
A good read but daunting at times.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 22, 2022
I love it
August 8, 2024
I love learning about food and this one about local food was interesting! It's over 10 years old so i'd be interested in an updated version.
July 23, 2012
My mother grew up on a farm in during the Depression and throughout World War Two. Although at some point my grandparents quit farming and moved into town, much of the rest of the family still farmed and those that didn't gardened. My Great-Uncle Shed raised gorgeous pigs and did all the butchering, sausage-making, smoked pork, and country hams. When I was a little girl, he used to take me to see his pigs and I would scratch between their ears and chuck them under their chins. I knew we were going to eat them, but it seemed cool to give them affection - for respect their coming sacrifice if for nothing else. My mother and I were laughing about the fact that now my Great-Uncle Shed would be an "artisanal" butcher. Funny, that.
I also grew up in a family of foodies so there were often gardens around us and I've been going to farmer's markets since I was a kid - sometimes just a few trucks, sometimes a bunch of farmers underneath a closed off highway underpass - always beautiful food with great value for the money. We ate locally and seasonally and never thought anything about it. I compare those markets to local ones - here in Berkeley and the Ferry Building Farmer's Market in San Francisco and always end up sort of depressed. These markets aren't bringing affordable produce into the neighborhoods, but rather extra fancy, overpriced, yuppie food. It's sad - we all think we're closer to the farm and to local sustainability and, instead, we're building food economies for the wealthy.
Despite all of that, regular people continue to garden, keep bees, brew beer, make wine, learn to butcher like my Uncle Shed did, hunt and gather, fish, and use all of these ongoing activities to build community and feed their families fresh and healthy food, particularly in places where none of that is available. Eat the City tells the New York side of this story. Spotlighting modern individuals and weaving the history of the city and its industries throughout, the book is unputdownable. The absolute second that I finished it, I wanted to read it all over again.
Ms. Shulman has a wonderful clear voice, her reporting is excellent, and most of what she wrote about was uplifting to me. I loved the stuff about beekeeping, although it's something I could never do since I'm deathly allergic. It was fascinating, though, to learn about all the beehives on rooftops and the terroir of honey that tells the tale of the neighborhoods.
I was also very fond of the section on brewing beer. When I was a little girl my father and one of his friends brewed beautiful beers in the basement of one of their houses. I loved the idea of a potter and a sculptor using their creativity in a different and almost alchemical way. As an adult I lived in Seattle for ten years - the ten years that saw an explosion of local craft beers and have been spoiled ever since.
I have to admit that the section on fishing made me so very sad. My grandfather took me out on Puget Sound to fish pretty much all year round if I was around. I caught the biggest Petrale sole and the biggest salmon ever caught by anyone in the family. I share credit with my father for the salmon because it took both of us to haul that sucker up. I remember vividly how beautiful it was, but I also remember the amazing meal that it made for the entire family - grilled on a special grill for large cuts of meat and fish and treated with tender loving care. I cleaned every piece of fish I caught - it was a requirement - and I can see now how much it connected us to the creature we were going to eat. It is heartbreaking how much of our water is so polluted that the fish is essentially poisonous, but people eat it anyway.
This book just went up there with The Omnivore's Dilemna by Michael Pollan as one of my very favorite food books that we will be recommending to everyone I know. One of the best books I've read all year. You must read this book.
I also grew up in a family of foodies so there were often gardens around us and I've been going to farmer's markets since I was a kid - sometimes just a few trucks, sometimes a bunch of farmers underneath a closed off highway underpass - always beautiful food with great value for the money. We ate locally and seasonally and never thought anything about it. I compare those markets to local ones - here in Berkeley and the Ferry Building Farmer's Market in San Francisco and always end up sort of depressed. These markets aren't bringing affordable produce into the neighborhoods, but rather extra fancy, overpriced, yuppie food. It's sad - we all think we're closer to the farm and to local sustainability and, instead, we're building food economies for the wealthy.
Despite all of that, regular people continue to garden, keep bees, brew beer, make wine, learn to butcher like my Uncle Shed did, hunt and gather, fish, and use all of these ongoing activities to build community and feed their families fresh and healthy food, particularly in places where none of that is available. Eat the City tells the New York side of this story. Spotlighting modern individuals and weaving the history of the city and its industries throughout, the book is unputdownable. The absolute second that I finished it, I wanted to read it all over again.
Ms. Shulman has a wonderful clear voice, her reporting is excellent, and most of what she wrote about was uplifting to me. I loved the stuff about beekeeping, although it's something I could never do since I'm deathly allergic. It was fascinating, though, to learn about all the beehives on rooftops and the terroir of honey that tells the tale of the neighborhoods.
I was also very fond of the section on brewing beer. When I was a little girl my father and one of his friends brewed beautiful beers in the basement of one of their houses. I loved the idea of a potter and a sculptor using their creativity in a different and almost alchemical way. As an adult I lived in Seattle for ten years - the ten years that saw an explosion of local craft beers and have been spoiled ever since.
I have to admit that the section on fishing made me so very sad. My grandfather took me out on Puget Sound to fish pretty much all year round if I was around. I caught the biggest Petrale sole and the biggest salmon ever caught by anyone in the family. I share credit with my father for the salmon because it took both of us to haul that sucker up. I remember vividly how beautiful it was, but I also remember the amazing meal that it made for the entire family - grilled on a special grill for large cuts of meat and fish and treated with tender loving care. I cleaned every piece of fish I caught - it was a requirement - and I can see now how much it connected us to the creature we were going to eat. It is heartbreaking how much of our water is so polluted that the fish is essentially poisonous, but people eat it anyway.
This book just went up there with The Omnivore's Dilemna by Michael Pollan as one of my very favorite food books that we will be recommending to everyone I know. One of the best books I've read all year. You must read this book.
August 8, 2012
I don't read nonfiction works like these more than three or four times a year, mainly because they get me so fascinated and give me so many great ideas for exploring either hobbies, practical applications, research or story ideas that I don't want to read such things one on top of the other.
Eat this city is not an exhaustive history of food in NYC, but rather vignettes of individuals in the city who are connected with food and the raising, catching or producing of it. The author gives each story a fleshing out with the history of the food or beverage in NYC, an overview that is connected back with the individual that she is focusing on for that part of her chapter.
I loved the trip, the information, the stories of individuals. This is a fun type of nonfiction book to read that will provide the reader with a jumping off point. It's well-researched, but won't provide someone looking for extensive details on the historical subject for their own research. However, the list of resources in the back will be a boon for those researchers looking for more detailed information.
I will admit I found it odd that most of the individuals portrayed in this text as the central chapter characters are men. I'm a little disappointed not to see more women featured, though there are plenty of women mentioned in the chapters themselves. I also noticed a pattern where these colorful characters are definitely given an "earthy" side. Rather than focus simply on the businessmen who enabled much of the fortunes and the historical influence, she focuses on the laborers, the small time vegetable growers of the city, the urban beekeeper, and the 'rock star' butcher.
No mistake, the author has her ideals and viewpoints in this book and they come through the text--though it doesn't become overwhelming or preachy to my mind. I think confirmed vegans and vegetarians may find the meat chapter particularly stomach roiling. The author does like to really get into describing the meats and the meat cutting and how the animals are slaughtered.
I think this'll be a popular book with nonfic readers--it fits well with the push to go green and locavore and it gives hope and perspective in years of a troubled economy that we are not bound to big business and corporations for all our sustenance.
Eat this city is not an exhaustive history of food in NYC, but rather vignettes of individuals in the city who are connected with food and the raising, catching or producing of it. The author gives each story a fleshing out with the history of the food or beverage in NYC, an overview that is connected back with the individual that she is focusing on for that part of her chapter.
I loved the trip, the information, the stories of individuals. This is a fun type of nonfiction book to read that will provide the reader with a jumping off point. It's well-researched, but won't provide someone looking for extensive details on the historical subject for their own research. However, the list of resources in the back will be a boon for those researchers looking for more detailed information.
I will admit I found it odd that most of the individuals portrayed in this text as the central chapter characters are men. I'm a little disappointed not to see more women featured, though there are plenty of women mentioned in the chapters themselves. I also noticed a pattern where these colorful characters are definitely given an "earthy" side. Rather than focus simply on the businessmen who enabled much of the fortunes and the historical influence, she focuses on the laborers, the small time vegetable growers of the city, the urban beekeeper, and the 'rock star' butcher.
No mistake, the author has her ideals and viewpoints in this book and they come through the text--though it doesn't become overwhelming or preachy to my mind. I think confirmed vegans and vegetarians may find the meat chapter particularly stomach roiling. The author does like to really get into describing the meats and the meat cutting and how the animals are slaughtered.
I think this'll be a popular book with nonfic readers--it fits well with the push to go green and locavore and it gives hope and perspective in years of a troubled economy that we are not bound to big business and corporations for all our sustenance.
May 24, 2013
Eat the City was a very interesting look at New York City, of both the present and the past, through the lens of food production. Shulman presents each chapter by focusing on a certain type of food (honey, vegetables, meat, sugar, beer, fish, and wine) and relates the story of a present day New Yorker (or a couple New Yorkers) and alternates that story with the history of that food industry in the city. She made the story flow, obviously did a TON of interviews and research, and the reader benefits by getting to learn some amazing current stories and history.
I personally found the honey, vegetable and fish chapters my favorites because they were the most interesting (at least to me). I would definitely recommend this to any mature readers who want to learn more about New York, city agriculture, city development, or of course, urban food.
Notes on content: This is why I'd only recommend it to mature readers. Shulman includes a lot of interviews with New Yorkers, which is great. It makes it feel really authentic, and you trust she isn't holding things back from you. Because some of the interviewees have rather colorful language and stories. The number of f words in the book would probably earn an R rating alone if turned into a documentary (the butcher in the Meat chapter has especially colorful language). Also, some of the historical and current stories include sexual references or things with sexual connotations. Nothing is in excessive detail, more like Saturday Night Live content-wise, but it is scattered throughout several chapters. This would probably get the documentary version a PG-13 rating. The violence is very minimal, except if you count the butchering descriptions in the Meat chapter (and they are rather descriptive).
I'd loved to see a cleaned-up youth edition sometime in the future because I think it'd be a great teaching resource for students, but I know in the present state they'd get hung up on the naughty words and such and miss the important things.
I personally found the honey, vegetable and fish chapters my favorites because they were the most interesting (at least to me). I would definitely recommend this to any mature readers who want to learn more about New York, city agriculture, city development, or of course, urban food.
Notes on content: This is why I'd only recommend it to mature readers. Shulman includes a lot of interviews with New Yorkers, which is great. It makes it feel really authentic, and you trust she isn't holding things back from you. Because some of the interviewees have rather colorful language and stories. The number of f words in the book would probably earn an R rating alone if turned into a documentary (the butcher in the Meat chapter has especially colorful language). Also, some of the historical and current stories include sexual references or things with sexual connotations. Nothing is in excessive detail, more like Saturday Night Live content-wise, but it is scattered throughout several chapters. This would probably get the documentary version a PG-13 rating. The violence is very minimal, except if you count the butchering descriptions in the Meat chapter (and they are rather descriptive).
I'd loved to see a cleaned-up youth edition sometime in the future because I think it'd be a great teaching resource for students, but I know in the present state they'd get hung up on the naughty words and such and miss the important things.
October 8, 2014
Eat the City is a great look at NYC food history and culture that is handily divided up into >ahem< easily digestible sections by type of food. Covering honey, sugar, beer, and other delicious foodstuffs, the book is informative, evocative, and often craving-inducing.
Robin Shulman manages to walk a delicate balance between sketching the details of the history behind the food and its place in the city and capturing the story of where it stands today. Too much history could have weighted the book down, but here there is just enough to give the right context to the stories.
And that's where the book has an enjoyable spin to offer. Each food's chapter is anchored by the story of a person involved with that food in modern New York. Shulman manages to trace the arc of their individual story and fill in around it with just enough history to give that story importance.
Another aspect I appreciated was the tone. For a book focused on small production, often artisanal production (as much as artisanal has become an overused buzzword), it could have easily slid into pretentious food snobbery. Thankfully, it does not. It is a celebration of hands-on, local, passionate food production. But in a way that is joyous rather than condescending. This is food writing for foodies in the best sense of that term.
This is very much a book of the "why" of food, rather than the "how." No recipes here.
But if you have an interest in food culture, or just good stories about people and what they are passionate about (in this case, food), I unreservedly recommend Eat the City. Who knows, you may kindle your own passion for beekeeping, beer making, or something you might never have thought to try.
**Per FTC and Goodreads rules, I must disclose I received a copy of this book for free as part of the First Reads program. No other form of compensation has been provided for this review. And believe me, if a book sucks, I'll say so.**
Robin Shulman manages to walk a delicate balance between sketching the details of the history behind the food and its place in the city and capturing the story of where it stands today. Too much history could have weighted the book down, but here there is just enough to give the right context to the stories.
And that's where the book has an enjoyable spin to offer. Each food's chapter is anchored by the story of a person involved with that food in modern New York. Shulman manages to trace the arc of their individual story and fill in around it with just enough history to give that story importance.
Another aspect I appreciated was the tone. For a book focused on small production, often artisanal production (as much as artisanal has become an overused buzzword), it could have easily slid into pretentious food snobbery. Thankfully, it does not. It is a celebration of hands-on, local, passionate food production. But in a way that is joyous rather than condescending. This is food writing for foodies in the best sense of that term.
This is very much a book of the "why" of food, rather than the "how." No recipes here.
But if you have an interest in food culture, or just good stories about people and what they are passionate about (in this case, food), I unreservedly recommend Eat the City. Who knows, you may kindle your own passion for beekeeping, beer making, or something you might never have thought to try.
**Per FTC and Goodreads rules, I must disclose I received a copy of this book for free as part of the First Reads program. No other form of compensation has been provided for this review. And believe me, if a book sucks, I'll say so.**
October 19, 2013
I really don't know much about NYC and I know even less about where people get their food there. But I go there quite a bit and like the culture and know some about museums and whatnot. It seems like an oxymoron to grow and eat food from NYC, even reading this book, where the author describes pollution to the fishing harbor and awful practices of raising livestock there 100 to 200 years ago.
But the way she talks about the history of food within NYC like it's a a big cultural thing, I almost want to be creative and find ways of doing what she documents all the people she interviews in this book. There are seven chapters: honey, vegetables, meat, sugar, fish, beer, and wine. I liked the vegetable chapter a lot because she went into a lot of detail about African Americans who came from the south, taking their tradition of planting/farming with them to NYC in the mid 1900s. I kept thinking about Philadelphia because I know there are a lot of community gardens there too. It was interesting how the community gardens (or private ones) evolved to today.
I was kind of surprised to learn about honey and the other food chapters in terms of how they were coming out of NYC. I liked the wine chapter because it feels like NYC should have vineyards or wine because wine is soooo very popular. It was also surprising that beer industries in NYC had so much influence from the early 1800s to 1950s and now there are barely any because it's too much of a hit or miss!
The honey chapter seemed the most artsy and creative food art to come about in the city and the guy the author interviewed seemed like he had a love affair with honey. Made me think I should appreciate (and buy) it more.
I highly recommend this book for anyone who loves NYC (and food) and wants to be a part of this food and social revolution that seems to be going on.
But the way she talks about the history of food within NYC like it's a a big cultural thing, I almost want to be creative and find ways of doing what she documents all the people she interviews in this book. There are seven chapters: honey, vegetables, meat, sugar, fish, beer, and wine. I liked the vegetable chapter a lot because she went into a lot of detail about African Americans who came from the south, taking their tradition of planting/farming with them to NYC in the mid 1900s. I kept thinking about Philadelphia because I know there are a lot of community gardens there too. It was interesting how the community gardens (or private ones) evolved to today.
I was kind of surprised to learn about honey and the other food chapters in terms of how they were coming out of NYC. I liked the wine chapter because it feels like NYC should have vineyards or wine because wine is soooo very popular. It was also surprising that beer industries in NYC had so much influence from the early 1800s to 1950s and now there are barely any because it's too much of a hit or miss!
The honey chapter seemed the most artsy and creative food art to come about in the city and the guy the author interviewed seemed like he had a love affair with honey. Made me think I should appreciate (and buy) it more.
I highly recommend this book for anyone who loves NYC (and food) and wants to be a part of this food and social revolution that seems to be going on.
October 12, 2014
Lately, as I begin to move towards growing my own food and becoming less dependent on factory production to sustain myself, I have been gravitating towards books on the subject, like Jonathan Safran Foer’s eye-opening Eating Animals and Michael Pollan’s In Defense of Food. Robin Shulman’s new book Eat the City, which focuses on the local food production of New York City, might be my new favorite in this genre.
In this extensive and entertaining ode to the food producers of NYC, Shulman weaves a colorful portrait of a city brimming with sustainability. I had never thought of a major city as a place that would be conducive to farming or brewing or keeping bees, but I was clearly incorrect. After all, as Shulman points out, food is culture, and where can you find more culture than New York? From the vacant lots-turned-vegetable gardens of Harlem to the rooftop empire of beehives in Brooklyn to the crab fishing of Coney Island, New York is filled with a host of characters who work hard for what they eat. Just as the city alters the way that these people produce their nourishment, so too do they have an impact on the history and landscape of the city, changing the way we eat day by day.
Shulman has a great writing style that draws you into the narrative with ease, entertaining while still informing. Each chapter brought lots to love, and I’ve already filled a notebook with the names of different places that I want to check out the next time I take a trip to the Big Apple. I highly recommend this well-researched, conversational book—it’s certainly an appealing read. (Careful, though, it’ll make you hungry!)
In this extensive and entertaining ode to the food producers of NYC, Shulman weaves a colorful portrait of a city brimming with sustainability. I had never thought of a major city as a place that would be conducive to farming or brewing or keeping bees, but I was clearly incorrect. After all, as Shulman points out, food is culture, and where can you find more culture than New York? From the vacant lots-turned-vegetable gardens of Harlem to the rooftop empire of beehives in Brooklyn to the crab fishing of Coney Island, New York is filled with a host of characters who work hard for what they eat. Just as the city alters the way that these people produce their nourishment, so too do they have an impact on the history and landscape of the city, changing the way we eat day by day.
Shulman has a great writing style that draws you into the narrative with ease, entertaining while still informing. Each chapter brought lots to love, and I’ve already filled a notebook with the names of different places that I want to check out the next time I take a trip to the Big Apple. I highly recommend this well-researched, conversational book—it’s certainly an appealing read. (Careful, though, it’ll make you hungry!)
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