On the Town in New York: The Landmark History of Eating, Drinking, and Entertainments from the American Revolution to the Food Revolution

by Michael Batterberry

This delightful, vividly detailed book takes you out on the town in New York from the American Revolution to today's Food Revolution. Michael and Ariane Batterberry, founders of Food and Wine magazine, detail a magnificent journey through the streets of New York, exploring the customs in eating, drinking and entertainment of both high and low culture. They take you into the dives of the Tenderloin and to the elaborate banquets of the Gilded Age. Whether they are talking about a saloon or the famous Astor House, they provide the most fascinating details from New York's richly diverse culinary history. First published in 1973 when New York seemed to be a city in decline, the original edition of On the Town in New York saw very little hope in the city's culinary future. Who could have known that New York was on the brink of a Food Revolution and a total reinvention of the American dining experience? Conceived to redress that miscalculation and to celebrate the thriving growth of dining out in New York, this anniversary edition of On the Town in New York contains a new afterward that picks up where the Batterberrys left off. All of the wonderful details of the original edition remain. We still find the vivid picture of the reception for Lafayette in 1824, the interesting birth of the cafeteria, as well as the description of an 1897 costume ball that cost $350,000. Even the recipe for the Algonquin's Famous Apple Pie is here for the traditionalists. What's new is the interesting tale of how New York came to be the restaurant capital of the world at a time when no one thought it possible. The Batterberrys combine their keen sense of New York's social history with their insider's knowledge of how the food and beverage industry reconceptualized itself to take advantage of the changing social fabric following the turbulent 60s. Here we find details of how the changing role of women, the influx of new immigrant communities, and the focus on nouvelle cuisine combined in unique ways to create a thriving dining industry rich in talent and celebrity. Delicious and irrisistable, this social history of New York will please anyone whose tasted the specialties of Chinatown, had a steak at Keen's or basked in the luxuries of the Rainbow Room.

Genres: Food, History, Nonfiction, New York, Culinary, Cooking, Food and Drink

408 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1973

Reviews

[craige]

Recommended by Bourdain in Kitchen Confidential.

[Vassilena · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read that one based on a recommendation from Anthony Bourdain, It’s definitely not my favorite but it was an interesting read. It’s a collection of stories about different restaurants and establishments throughout the history of New York. But it’s no more than that. It’s weak on overarching narratives, which makes the whirlwind of individual stories reads disjointed and sometimes overwhelming.

[Chris Leuchtenburg · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is short on analysis and long on anecdotes. Many of the stories are fascinating, but since they are poorly integrated, they can seem like a long list of restaurants, menus and events rather than a proper history. If I owned the book, I would just dip into it from time to time. But this copy is going back to the library unfinished.

[Trish Graboske · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting and well-written; still, rather exhausting to read.