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The Best American Food Writing
The Best American Food and Travel Writing 2024
A collection of the year’s top food and travel writing, selected by the trailblazing
New York Times
bestselling author and Emmy-nominated host of
Taste the Nation
and
Top Chef
Padma Lakshmi.
“Food and travel are natural companions,” writes guest editor Padma Lakshmi. From this pairing comes “the possibility of seeing anew, of examining how we make and assign meaning.” The essays in this year’s Best American Food and Travel Writing circle the world—from Dakar in Senegal, to Michoacán in south-central Mexico, to the Camino de Santiago in Spain—and deepen our understanding of our place in it. An ode to the American grilled cheese spurs the desire to find beauty in the smallest daily activities. An obsessive odyssey for the perfect Chinese food blossoms into a heart-wrenching search for a lost childhood. Bold and insightful, joyful and moving, this collection celebrates the experiences that connect us all.
The Best American Food and Travel Writing 2024 includes C PAM ZHANG LIGAYA MISHAN KIESE LAYMON MARIAN BULL MAYUKH SEN BEN TAUB AND OTHERS
“Food and travel are natural companions,” writes guest editor Padma Lakshmi. From this pairing comes “the possibility of seeing anew, of examining how we make and assign meaning.” The essays in this year’s Best American Food and Travel Writing circle the world—from Dakar in Senegal, to Michoacán in south-central Mexico, to the Camino de Santiago in Spain—and deepen our understanding of our place in it. An ode to the American grilled cheese spurs the desire to find beauty in the smallest daily activities. An obsessive odyssey for the perfect Chinese food blossoms into a heart-wrenching search for a lost childhood. Bold and insightful, joyful and moving, this collection celebrates the experiences that connect us all.
The Best American Food and Travel Writing 2024 includes C PAM ZHANG LIGAYA MISHAN KIESE LAYMON MARIAN BULL MAYUKH SEN BEN TAUB AND OTHERS
240 pages, Paperback
First published October 22, 2024
75 people are currently reading
278 people want to read
About the author
Padma Lakshmi
14 books162 followersPadma Lakshmi is an American television host, producer, author, model, and activist whose multifaceted career has spanned fashion, food, literature, and social justice. Born Padma Parvati Lakshmi in Chennai, India, she immigrated to the United States as a child, where she was raised by her mother, a single parent and oncology nurse. Overcoming significant personal hardships, including bullying, health issues, and sexual trauma, Lakshmi has used her platform to advocate for marginalized voices and promote cultural understanding.
Lakshmi first rose to international prominence as a fashion model. Discovered while studying abroad in Madrid, she quickly became the first Indian model to build a successful career in fashion capitals like Paris, Milan, and New York. She worked with renowned designers such as Giorgio Armani, Gianni Versace, Ralph Lauren, and Alberta Ferretti, and posed for iconic photographers including Helmut Newton and Mario Testino. Her modeling work, often showcasing the seven-inch scar on her arm from a childhood car accident, challenged traditional beauty standards and redefined representation in the fashion industry.
She transitioned into television with hosting roles on culinary travel shows and ultimately became best known for hosting Top Chef, a position she held from 2006 to 2023. As both host and executive producer, Lakshmi earned multiple Emmy nominations and three Critics’ Choice Awards. She later created and produced Taste the Nation with Padma Lakshmi, a Hulu docuseries exploring immigrant and indigenous culinary traditions in the United States. The series received widespread critical acclaim, winning multiple Critics’ Choice Awards and a James Beard Foundation Award.
Lakshmi is also a best-selling author. Her debut cookbook Easy Exotic won a Gourmand World Cookbook Award, and her memoir Love, Loss, and What We Ate became a New York Times best-seller. Her other publications include Tangy, Tart, Hot and Sweet, The Encyclopedia of Spices and Herbs, and the children’s book Tomatoes for Neela. She has also contributed essays and articles to The New York Times, Vogue, and Harper’s Bazaar, and guest-edited The Best American Travel Writing 2021.
In business, Lakshmi has built several successful ventures. She created The Padma Collection, featuring fine jewelry and home décor, and launched Padma’s Easy Exotic, a line of teas, spices, and organic foods. In 2024, she introduced Padma X Bare Necessities, a lingerie line celebrating body inclusivity.
A fierce advocate for women's health, Lakshmi co-founded the Endometriosis Foundation of America after being diagnosed with the condition herself. She is also an ACLU ambassador for immigration and women's rights and a United Nations Development Programme Goodwill Ambassador. Her activism spans reproductive rights, anti-colorism efforts, and immigrant justice.
Lakshmi’s achievements have earned her numerous honors, including the Ellis Island Medal of Honor, the Carnegie Corporation’s Great Immigrants Award, and inclusion in Time magazine’s 2023 list of the 100 most influential people. In 2024, she became a visiting scholar at MIT and received the ICON Award from Boston University. Through her work, Padma Lakshmi continues to empower communities, celebrate cultural diversity, and advocate for equality on a global scale.
Lakshmi first rose to international prominence as a fashion model. Discovered while studying abroad in Madrid, she quickly became the first Indian model to build a successful career in fashion capitals like Paris, Milan, and New York. She worked with renowned designers such as Giorgio Armani, Gianni Versace, Ralph Lauren, and Alberta Ferretti, and posed for iconic photographers including Helmut Newton and Mario Testino. Her modeling work, often showcasing the seven-inch scar on her arm from a childhood car accident, challenged traditional beauty standards and redefined representation in the fashion industry.
She transitioned into television with hosting roles on culinary travel shows and ultimately became best known for hosting Top Chef, a position she held from 2006 to 2023. As both host and executive producer, Lakshmi earned multiple Emmy nominations and three Critics’ Choice Awards. She later created and produced Taste the Nation with Padma Lakshmi, a Hulu docuseries exploring immigrant and indigenous culinary traditions in the United States. The series received widespread critical acclaim, winning multiple Critics’ Choice Awards and a James Beard Foundation Award.
Lakshmi is also a best-selling author. Her debut cookbook Easy Exotic won a Gourmand World Cookbook Award, and her memoir Love, Loss, and What We Ate became a New York Times best-seller. Her other publications include Tangy, Tart, Hot and Sweet, The Encyclopedia of Spices and Herbs, and the children’s book Tomatoes for Neela. She has also contributed essays and articles to The New York Times, Vogue, and Harper’s Bazaar, and guest-edited The Best American Travel Writing 2021.
In business, Lakshmi has built several successful ventures. She created The Padma Collection, featuring fine jewelry and home décor, and launched Padma’s Easy Exotic, a line of teas, spices, and organic foods. In 2024, she introduced Padma X Bare Necessities, a lingerie line celebrating body inclusivity.
A fierce advocate for women's health, Lakshmi co-founded the Endometriosis Foundation of America after being diagnosed with the condition herself. She is also an ACLU ambassador for immigration and women's rights and a United Nations Development Programme Goodwill Ambassador. Her activism spans reproductive rights, anti-colorism efforts, and immigrant justice.
Lakshmi’s achievements have earned her numerous honors, including the Ellis Island Medal of Honor, the Carnegie Corporation’s Great Immigrants Award, and inclusion in Time magazine’s 2023 list of the 100 most influential people. In 2024, she became a visiting scholar at MIT and received the ICON Award from Boston University. Through her work, Padma Lakshmi continues to empower communities, celebrate cultural diversity, and advocate for equality on a global scale.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 57 reviews
December 31, 2024
Some really incredible essays in this book! Padma’s intro had me in my feels from sentence 1. Favorites included India’s beef with beef, The Hungry Jungle, notable sandwiches: the grilled cheese, my favorite restaurant served gas, My Catalina, Forbidden Fruit, Unsafe Passage, and Eating Badly. I don’t normally pick these essay anthologies up but am so glad I did.
April 18, 2025
It’s hard to give a star rating to a collection of articles written by different authors about such vastly varied subjects. It’s also difficult for me to remain objective in my evaluation of the book because Padma Lakshmi served as the guest editor. I would gladly crawl across broken glass if Padma asked me to while batting her eyelashes (Molly, I’m sorry you had to read that).
Nevertheless, I will do my level best.
This collection is thematically coherent and contains some true gems. The article about the inevitable demise of the Oceangate submersible is thoroughly researched and masterfully written. Lisa Wells’ piece titled “Numinous Strangers” should be required reading for anyone who has ever felt the inkling to travel forever and make a life on the road.
Far and away, however, Mosab Abu Toha’s “Unsafe Passage” stands out. Across 14 pages, the Palestinian poet details his family’s winding, painful, harrowing flight from their home in Gaza. Written simply and beautifully, the article captures the violence, absurdity, and tragedy of Israel’s assault on the people of Palestine better than almost any other account I have seen come out of this cursed chapter in history.
The book also contains a few misses and a some ultimately forgettable pieces, but on balance it kept me engaged and wondering what came next.
This collection took me a very long time to finish, partly because I treated it like a magazine I would read occasionally on my commute, but more so because the subject matter in most of these articles is So. Damn. Heavy. This is not your grandfather’s travel writing regaling you with charming stories of hospitality in quaint European towns.
At one point, I did find myself wishing for more levity, more whimsy, or any sort of reprieve from the barrage of stories about conflict and oppression that make up the majority of this collection. But the truth is thats not the world we’re living in right now. It made me think of these lines from an even better known Palestinian poet, Mahmoud Darwish:
“In order for me to write poetry that isn't political I must listen to the birds and in order to hear the birds the warplanes must be silent.”
Nevertheless, I will do my level best.
This collection is thematically coherent and contains some true gems. The article about the inevitable demise of the Oceangate submersible is thoroughly researched and masterfully written. Lisa Wells’ piece titled “Numinous Strangers” should be required reading for anyone who has ever felt the inkling to travel forever and make a life on the road.
Far and away, however, Mosab Abu Toha’s “Unsafe Passage” stands out. Across 14 pages, the Palestinian poet details his family’s winding, painful, harrowing flight from their home in Gaza. Written simply and beautifully, the article captures the violence, absurdity, and tragedy of Israel’s assault on the people of Palestine better than almost any other account I have seen come out of this cursed chapter in history.
The book also contains a few misses and a some ultimately forgettable pieces, but on balance it kept me engaged and wondering what came next.
This collection took me a very long time to finish, partly because I treated it like a magazine I would read occasionally on my commute, but more so because the subject matter in most of these articles is So. Damn. Heavy. This is not your grandfather’s travel writing regaling you with charming stories of hospitality in quaint European towns.
At one point, I did find myself wishing for more levity, more whimsy, or any sort of reprieve from the barrage of stories about conflict and oppression that make up the majority of this collection. But the truth is thats not the world we’re living in right now. It made me think of these lines from an even better known Palestinian poet, Mahmoud Darwish:
“In order for me to write poetry that isn't political I must listen to the birds and in order to hear the birds the warplanes must be silent.”
July 11, 2024
I received this book from the publisher via NetGalley.
I read a past book in this series, 2022's Best American Food Writing. I remember it being an excellent read with some stand-out works. This new edition, that now incorporates the best travel writing as well? Astonishing. Piece after piece was educational and enlightening, each one unique.
Some of the works that left me the most impressed:
- "India's Beef with Beef" - an insightful piece about the role of beef within Indian society and how some extreme Hindu groups are using beef as an excuse to persecute Muslims.
- "The Hungry Jungle" - I thought this would only be about a trek into the Guatemalan jungle for a wedding, but it included a piece of evocative body horror that has lingered with me for days. I will NOT be making a similar journey myself, let me tell you.
- "Notable Sandwiches #75: Grilled Cheese" - a rapturous short work on the glory of the grilled cheese sandwich. It made me crave.
- "My Catalina" - a meditation on grief and memory revolving around the author's mother's reliance on Catalina dressing. "Eating Badly," the very last piece in the book, took a different angle on the theme of grief through a Chinese-American perspective, with a final line that was breathtaking.
- "The Titan Submersible Was 'An Accident Waiting to Happen'" - A deeply-researched piece on the Titan submersible and its bombastic creator, who died when the submarine and its passengers were lost over the wreck of the Titanic. Really, a piece about arrogance and innovation, and the lack of industry safeguards. I had no idea how hard a whistleblower fought to end this project.
- "Unsafe Passage" - a first-person account from a Palestinian man who tried to get out of Gaza with his family. Heart-breaking and infuriating.
Really, I could cite something that was noteworthy about every story. There is not a dud in the bunch. The curators did an incredible job.
I read a past book in this series, 2022's Best American Food Writing. I remember it being an excellent read with some stand-out works. This new edition, that now incorporates the best travel writing as well? Astonishing. Piece after piece was educational and enlightening, each one unique.
Some of the works that left me the most impressed:
- "India's Beef with Beef" - an insightful piece about the role of beef within Indian society and how some extreme Hindu groups are using beef as an excuse to persecute Muslims.
- "The Hungry Jungle" - I thought this would only be about a trek into the Guatemalan jungle for a wedding, but it included a piece of evocative body horror that has lingered with me for days. I will NOT be making a similar journey myself, let me tell you.
- "Notable Sandwiches #75: Grilled Cheese" - a rapturous short work on the glory of the grilled cheese sandwich. It made me crave.
- "My Catalina" - a meditation on grief and memory revolving around the author's mother's reliance on Catalina dressing. "Eating Badly," the very last piece in the book, took a different angle on the theme of grief through a Chinese-American perspective, with a final line that was breathtaking.
- "The Titan Submersible Was 'An Accident Waiting to Happen'" - A deeply-researched piece on the Titan submersible and its bombastic creator, who died when the submarine and its passengers were lost over the wreck of the Titanic. Really, a piece about arrogance and innovation, and the lack of industry safeguards. I had no idea how hard a whistleblower fought to end this project.
- "Unsafe Passage" - a first-person account from a Palestinian man who tried to get out of Gaza with his family. Heart-breaking and infuriating.
Really, I could cite something that was noteworthy about every story. There is not a dud in the bunch. The curators did an incredible job.
August 22, 2024
In this edition of Best American Food and Travel are twenty-one robust and arresting pieces from around the world that invite readers in to little slices of life. From cheesesteaks in Philly and fast food in Mississippi to avocados in Mexico and grapes in Palestinian vineyards.
These essays, though packed with mouth-watering meals and exquisite travels, offer much more to savor. In the introduction, we witness Lakshmi wrestle with the grief of her absent father’s death. In “The Science of Savoring”, Andrews explores how mindful eating can lead to a more fulfilled life. In “The Gay Roots of (Ugh) Friendsgiving”, Birdsall explores the origin of Friendsgiving—originally Queer Thanksgiving—in America in response to the 1980’s AIDS crisis in San Francisco. In “My Favorite Restaurant Served Gas”, Laymon describes finding a love for food in a gas station. In “Meet America’s Godmother of Tofu”, Sen relays an inspiring tale of one woman’s determination for Americans to embrace tofu.
As with most essay collections, there are hits and misses; some I enjoyed more than others. Still, each piece was written well and the writers chosen for this year’s collection are excellent contenders. The themes of food and/or travel stay present throughout each essay. At the root of these essays is the human desire to connect, specifically over our shared need for food.
Thank you Mariner Books and NetGalley for the digital copy in exchange for an honest review! Available 10/22/2024.
These essays, though packed with mouth-watering meals and exquisite travels, offer much more to savor. In the introduction, we witness Lakshmi wrestle with the grief of her absent father’s death. In “The Science of Savoring”, Andrews explores how mindful eating can lead to a more fulfilled life. In “The Gay Roots of (Ugh) Friendsgiving”, Birdsall explores the origin of Friendsgiving—originally Queer Thanksgiving—in America in response to the 1980’s AIDS crisis in San Francisco. In “My Favorite Restaurant Served Gas”, Laymon describes finding a love for food in a gas station. In “Meet America’s Godmother of Tofu”, Sen relays an inspiring tale of one woman’s determination for Americans to embrace tofu.
As with most essay collections, there are hits and misses; some I enjoyed more than others. Still, each piece was written well and the writers chosen for this year’s collection are excellent contenders. The themes of food and/or travel stay present throughout each essay. At the root of these essays is the human desire to connect, specifically over our shared need for food.
Thank you Mariner Books and NetGalley for the digital copy in exchange for an honest review! Available 10/22/2024.
Read
February 11, 2025Like all anthologies, this one is a mixed bag. Many solid essays, several great, and a couple, while good, do not deserve recognition as “the best.” I also think the editors’ aim to create a diverse anthology led to some selections that felt forced. The essay about Ukrainian bakers, for example, was a good essay but it felt like it was included partly to check a box of a politically relevant theme.
I also agree with other readers that food and travel writing should remain distinct categories. There’s so much overlap, of course, but I think combining the two topics into one anthology is limiting and sad because it means less writing gets visibility.
My favorite essays were Numinous Strangers, The Hungry Jungle, Notable Sandwiches #75 the grilled cheese, and Orange is the New Yolk.
I wasn’t wowed by The Science of Savoring or The Butchering.
I also agree with other readers that food and travel writing should remain distinct categories. There’s so much overlap, of course, but I think combining the two topics into one anthology is limiting and sad because it means less writing gets visibility.
My favorite essays were Numinous Strangers, The Hungry Jungle, Notable Sandwiches #75 the grilled cheese, and Orange is the New Yolk.
I wasn’t wowed by The Science of Savoring or The Butchering.
August 3, 2024
This book series used to separated into best food writing and then best travel writing, and the publishers decided to make one book because you do both at the same time. Makes sense.
September 14, 2024
I’ve read the last three editions of best American food writing and I’m so thankful to get an early copy from Mariner books and Netgalley of the 2024 edition!
This anthology rocks. I can’t stop recommending essays from this collection and they are curated so wonderfully from complex food politic journeys in Mexico and India and Palestine, to single serving pieces about gas station food in Mississippi, the near-spiritual grilled cheese sandwich. I love how the later half of the anthology focused multiple essays on journeys - solemn pilgrimage to refugee crossing to the titan submersible. Brilliant writing and I don’t think there was a single piece that didn’t deserve to be included.
Note: the grilled cheese piece near altered my brain chemistry and I’ve read it 4? 5? more times since.
This anthology rocks. I can’t stop recommending essays from this collection and they are curated so wonderfully from complex food politic journeys in Mexico and India and Palestine, to single serving pieces about gas station food in Mississippi, the near-spiritual grilled cheese sandwich. I love how the later half of the anthology focused multiple essays on journeys - solemn pilgrimage to refugee crossing to the titan submersible. Brilliant writing and I don’t think there was a single piece that didn’t deserve to be included.
Note: the grilled cheese piece near altered my brain chemistry and I’ve read it 4? 5? more times since.
April 12, 2025
pretty solid collection (that i took too long to read). food is so political and to not recognize that would be an injustice to it !! i loved getting to know so much about the world and all its diverse cultures through the lens of food.
favorites: “new american”, india’s beef with beef, my favorite restaurant served gas, in the west bank palestinians preserve grapes, taste the feeling. also the titan submersible piece was pretty interesting too
favorites: “new american”, india’s beef with beef, my favorite restaurant served gas, in the west bank palestinians preserve grapes, taste the feeling. also the titan submersible piece was pretty interesting too
March 2, 2025
very much a mixed bag— some relied too heavily on your typical food metaphors/cliches, but many were pretty excellent— insightful and informative, and/or beautiful and poetic.
January 25, 2025
Some of these stories will stick with me for a very long time. A testament to what last year was like, in the US and around the world.
April 27, 2025
I loved a few of the essays, liked most of them, and adore the existence of this collection as always!
December 20, 2024
I guess that the editors decided to combine travel and cooking, so now we have the single volume “The Best American Food and Travel Writing 2024”, edited by Padma Lakshmi; series editor Jaya Saxena. I always enjoyed the separate volumes, but I can see how the two can be intertwined into one common experience.
We start with an absolutely fantastic introduction from editor Padma Lakshmi, by far the best introduction in this series’ history and probably one of the better pieces in the volume. The unexpected grief upon hearing of the loss of her estranged father leads Ms. Lakshmi to a friend/food-centric trip to New Orleans and a visit to family in India, part of her grieving process. A fantastic story. The rest:
“’New American’, ‘Fusion’, and the Endless, Liberating Challenge of Describing American Food Right Now”: A brief history of what fine dining in the USA has been labeled as, and where we stand today. OK.
“The Science of Savoring”: How savoring food changes as we age. Ho-hum.
“The Gay Roots of (Ugh) Friendsgiving”: An interesting history of how a family-centric holiday came to be celebrated by those rejected by their families.
“Orange Is The New Yolk”: How our attitude towards eggs has changed over the past 40 years or so. Kinda interesting but a bit too long.
“India’s Beef With Beef”: How beef is being used as an issue for extreme Hindus to persecute Muslims. Quite surprising.
“The Hungry Jungle”: What could go wrong in attending a destination wedding? Plenty, it turns out.
“Notable Sandwiches #75: Grilled Cheese”: An ode to a simple pleasure.
“My Favorite Restaurant Served Gas”: Reliving the author’s childhood down in Mississippi.
“Our Daily Celeb”: Appreciating millet in Senegal. Another ho-hum.
“Tell Me Why the Watermelon Grows”: The racial history of watermelons, from Africa to Illinois.
“Taste the Feeling”: Why we like crunchy food, and other reflections on texture.
“My Catalina”: The author sees Catalina salad dressing as a window to her past. I used to love the stuff as well.
“Forbidden Fruit”: A small town in Mexico fights in the avocado wars. A fascinating story.
“In the West Bank, Palestinians Preserve Grapes and Tradition”: The growing of grapes and the effects of war.
“Meet America’s Godmother of Tofu”: The history of tofu in the US.
“The Butchering”: Preserving family traditions.
“From Blackout to Bakhmut”: Baking bread during the Ukrainian war.
“The Titan Submersible Was ‘An Accident Waiting to Happen’”: A fascinating and in-depth look at the Titan submersible accident and its causes. Not really on theme, but fascinating nonetheless.
“Unsafe Passage”: The author escaping Gaza during the war.
“Numinous Strangers”: Modern-day pilgrims on the holy trails in Europe.
“How Things Disappear”: How travel writing can make places become overcrowded, or else make them disappear.
“Eating Badly”: Reflections on the Chinese food of the author’s grandmother.
So, very little in this collection that wasn’t depressing in some form or another, but that seems to be the common theme in today’s world. But still worth reading.
I requested and received a free advanced electronic copy from Mariner Books via NetGalley. Thank you!
We start with an absolutely fantastic introduction from editor Padma Lakshmi, by far the best introduction in this series’ history and probably one of the better pieces in the volume. The unexpected grief upon hearing of the loss of her estranged father leads Ms. Lakshmi to a friend/food-centric trip to New Orleans and a visit to family in India, part of her grieving process. A fantastic story. The rest:
“’New American’, ‘Fusion’, and the Endless, Liberating Challenge of Describing American Food Right Now”: A brief history of what fine dining in the USA has been labeled as, and where we stand today. OK.
“The Science of Savoring”: How savoring food changes as we age. Ho-hum.
“The Gay Roots of (Ugh) Friendsgiving”: An interesting history of how a family-centric holiday came to be celebrated by those rejected by their families.
“Orange Is The New Yolk”: How our attitude towards eggs has changed over the past 40 years or so. Kinda interesting but a bit too long.
“India’s Beef With Beef”: How beef is being used as an issue for extreme Hindus to persecute Muslims. Quite surprising.
“The Hungry Jungle”: What could go wrong in attending a destination wedding? Plenty, it turns out.
“Notable Sandwiches #75: Grilled Cheese”: An ode to a simple pleasure.
“My Favorite Restaurant Served Gas”: Reliving the author’s childhood down in Mississippi.
“Our Daily Celeb”: Appreciating millet in Senegal. Another ho-hum.
“Tell Me Why the Watermelon Grows”: The racial history of watermelons, from Africa to Illinois.
“Taste the Feeling”: Why we like crunchy food, and other reflections on texture.
“My Catalina”: The author sees Catalina salad dressing as a window to her past. I used to love the stuff as well.
“Forbidden Fruit”: A small town in Mexico fights in the avocado wars. A fascinating story.
“In the West Bank, Palestinians Preserve Grapes and Tradition”: The growing of grapes and the effects of war.
“Meet America’s Godmother of Tofu”: The history of tofu in the US.
“The Butchering”: Preserving family traditions.
“From Blackout to Bakhmut”: Baking bread during the Ukrainian war.
“The Titan Submersible Was ‘An Accident Waiting to Happen’”: A fascinating and in-depth look at the Titan submersible accident and its causes. Not really on theme, but fascinating nonetheless.
“Unsafe Passage”: The author escaping Gaza during the war.
“Numinous Strangers”: Modern-day pilgrims on the holy trails in Europe.
“How Things Disappear”: How travel writing can make places become overcrowded, or else make them disappear.
“Eating Badly”: Reflections on the Chinese food of the author’s grandmother.
So, very little in this collection that wasn’t depressing in some form or another, but that seems to be the common theme in today’s world. But still worth reading.
I requested and received a free advanced electronic copy from Mariner Books via NetGalley. Thank you!
August 11, 2024
I really loved this collection of stories. I look forward to this series every year, but this is the first one that had me fully hooked - start to finish. Loved the forward from Padma and the special eye on essays chronicling Palestine and Gaza. Shedding light is what journalism should do and I was proud to see these essays reflected here.
Thank you, Mariner Books, for the ARC.
Thank you, Mariner Books, for the ARC.
August 6, 2024
*This book was received as an Advanced Reviewer's Copy from NetGalley
I wasn't sure how to feel when I learned that they were combining the food and travel writing anthologies for 2024. I'd enjoyed the previous years books (having only read the food and not the travel) and thought there was more than enough content from just that standpoint. I think this one is still technically food, but with a few travel stories thrown in. It more seems a disservice to the travel anthologies and writers.
The collection of stories in this one were ok. I can't say that any were hugely impactful for me, but I think they were well chosen. Lakshmi chose a variety of stories that spanned typical food writing about the food itself, to more sociological topics that touched on culture along with food. The one that comes to mind most after reading was about avocados and its impact on drought in Mexico. As a lover of avocados, it means that I'm going to look into sourcing more sustainably when I do have them.
Not a bad anthology but I'm not a fan of combining with the travel. While I enjoy travel writing, and I recognize that a lot of journeys have food incorporated, for me they are separate and deserving of their own editions.
Review by M. Reynard 2024
I wasn't sure how to feel when I learned that they were combining the food and travel writing anthologies for 2024. I'd enjoyed the previous years books (having only read the food and not the travel) and thought there was more than enough content from just that standpoint. I think this one is still technically food, but with a few travel stories thrown in. It more seems a disservice to the travel anthologies and writers.
The collection of stories in this one were ok. I can't say that any were hugely impactful for me, but I think they were well chosen. Lakshmi chose a variety of stories that spanned typical food writing about the food itself, to more sociological topics that touched on culture along with food. The one that comes to mind most after reading was about avocados and its impact on drought in Mexico. As a lover of avocados, it means that I'm going to look into sourcing more sustainably when I do have them.
Not a bad anthology but I'm not a fan of combining with the travel. While I enjoy travel writing, and I recognize that a lot of journeys have food incorporated, for me they are separate and deserving of their own editions.
Review by M. Reynard 2024
December 11, 2025
These annual collections of food writing are always enjoyable and thought-provoking, highlighting writers and perspectives that I may not have been exposed to throughout the year that these pieces were published. While it's unfortunate that The Best American Travel Writing had to be absorbed into this series, those essays made this collection even richer, as the genres are as harmonious as a perfectly composed dish. As soon as I saw that the 2024 edition was edited by the goddess Padma, I was in.
Padma's introduction may have been my favorite piece of the bunch. Bouncing around New Orleans on a "tour of gluttony" during Mardi Gras with her friend Punkie Johnson, Padma's descriptions of the flavors and accompanying environments envelop the reader to the point where the aromas and flavors of the pâté chaud, for example, manifest clearly in your mind. You feel like you spent those 30 hours with them, sharing every sensation and smile.
Other notable pieces included:
- Karen Resta's ode to Kraft Catalina salad dressing as a vessel of bittersweet nostalgia.
- Alexander Sammon's deep dive into the cultivation of Mexican avocados (the cartels aren't just involved in drugs!) and the militant environmentalists protecting their land from the destruction that such a monocrop brings.
- Mayukh Sen's history of tofu in America, emphasizing the work of Dr. Kin Yamei.
- Ben Taub's chronicle of the impending doom surrounding the Titan submersible.
- The pieces about Palestine were, of course, heartbreaking and horrifying.
In Padma's excellent show Taste the Nation, there's a quote from the Puerto Rico episode (S2E1 - "Ketchup or No Ketchup") that has occupied a corner of my mind ever since I watched it. When she's cooking and chatting with Chef Natalia Vallejo, owner of Cocina al Fondo in San Juan, about Puerto Rican food sovereignty, Padma says, “To eat is political!"
Food IS political and touches every aspect of life, and this collection is a beautiful snapshot of how that looked in 2024.
From "Orange Is the New Yolk" by Marian Bull: "Keeping farm animals always entails a bit of control: even at the microfarming level, animals are there primarily to produce food. But the great scam of industrial greenwashing is convincing consumers that the animal welfare and sustainability that smaller farms often prioritize is easily scalable, without sacrifice." p. 24"The egg yolk is now sexy in the way that selectively placed body fat and overhydrated skin are sexy - it promises an abundance of life." p. 24
From "My Favorite Restaurant Served Gas" by Kiese Laymon: "Grandmama was the best chef, cook, food conjurer, and gardener in Scott County. Hence, she hated on all food, and all food stories, that she did not make." p. 52
From "Tell Me Why the Watermelon Grows" by Jori Lewis: "I wonder about these small differences between my husband's family in Senegal where the watermelon is simply enjoyed, and my own family in the United States where the watermelon isn't just a luscious fruit, but also a symbol of violence, a metaphorical weapon whose cut still stings and sometimes burns." p. 70
From "My Catalina" by Karen Resta: "A single bit of a certain food can carry a person away to a different time. It can conjure people and places, aromas, the colors and textures of clothing, bits of conversations, the edge of a smile, a glance of quick anger. The foods of your culture will fascinate some people and alienate others. Nobody can escape this phenomenon. Merely looking at a food, even without tasting it, can reveal your family's background, a specific region of a faraway country, and whether your family had money or lacked it." p. 84
From "The Butchering" by Jake Skeets: "Stories have a unique ability to collapse time. Food does too. Stories move through time differently than we do. They can move between times, slow time, or even stop time. Food operates similarly, carrying metaphors, images, and memories. Which is why so much of our culture involves gathering around a table for a nice sit-down dinner or hunching over a barstool on the roadside to devour street tacos. Each culture carries traditions around food. Native and Indigenous foods also carry certain traditions. They are able to navigate the past, present, and future." p. 121
From "Numinous Strangers" by Lisa Wells: "Courage comes through doing, not fretting. People are constantly asking her, Aren't you afraid? After an encounter with a particularly concerned Kansan couple, Ann wrote, 'My standard answer, fully from the heart, is that fear and experience seem to me to occupy the same place in the soul. The more experience one has, the less room there is for fear; yet in the absence of experience - even borrowed experience - fear expands to fill the void. It can become paralyzing.'" p. 173
Padma's introduction may have been my favorite piece of the bunch. Bouncing around New Orleans on a "tour of gluttony" during Mardi Gras with her friend Punkie Johnson, Padma's descriptions of the flavors and accompanying environments envelop the reader to the point where the aromas and flavors of the pâté chaud, for example, manifest clearly in your mind. You feel like you spent those 30 hours with them, sharing every sensation and smile.
Other notable pieces included:
- Karen Resta's ode to Kraft Catalina salad dressing as a vessel of bittersweet nostalgia.
- Alexander Sammon's deep dive into the cultivation of Mexican avocados (the cartels aren't just involved in drugs!) and the militant environmentalists protecting their land from the destruction that such a monocrop brings.
- Mayukh Sen's history of tofu in America, emphasizing the work of Dr. Kin Yamei.
- Ben Taub's chronicle of the impending doom surrounding the Titan submersible.
- The pieces about Palestine were, of course, heartbreaking and horrifying.
In Padma's excellent show Taste the Nation, there's a quote from the Puerto Rico episode (S2E1 - "Ketchup or No Ketchup") that has occupied a corner of my mind ever since I watched it. When she's cooking and chatting with Chef Natalia Vallejo, owner of Cocina al Fondo in San Juan, about Puerto Rican food sovereignty, Padma says, “To eat is political!"
Food IS political and touches every aspect of life, and this collection is a beautiful snapshot of how that looked in 2024.
From "Orange Is the New Yolk" by Marian Bull: "Keeping farm animals always entails a bit of control: even at the microfarming level, animals are there primarily to produce food. But the great scam of industrial greenwashing is convincing consumers that the animal welfare and sustainability that smaller farms often prioritize is easily scalable, without sacrifice." p. 24"The egg yolk is now sexy in the way that selectively placed body fat and overhydrated skin are sexy - it promises an abundance of life." p. 24
From "My Favorite Restaurant Served Gas" by Kiese Laymon: "Grandmama was the best chef, cook, food conjurer, and gardener in Scott County. Hence, she hated on all food, and all food stories, that she did not make." p. 52
From "Tell Me Why the Watermelon Grows" by Jori Lewis: "I wonder about these small differences between my husband's family in Senegal where the watermelon is simply enjoyed, and my own family in the United States where the watermelon isn't just a luscious fruit, but also a symbol of violence, a metaphorical weapon whose cut still stings and sometimes burns." p. 70
From "My Catalina" by Karen Resta: "A single bit of a certain food can carry a person away to a different time. It can conjure people and places, aromas, the colors and textures of clothing, bits of conversations, the edge of a smile, a glance of quick anger. The foods of your culture will fascinate some people and alienate others. Nobody can escape this phenomenon. Merely looking at a food, even without tasting it, can reveal your family's background, a specific region of a faraway country, and whether your family had money or lacked it." p. 84
From "The Butchering" by Jake Skeets: "Stories have a unique ability to collapse time. Food does too. Stories move through time differently than we do. They can move between times, slow time, or even stop time. Food operates similarly, carrying metaphors, images, and memories. Which is why so much of our culture involves gathering around a table for a nice sit-down dinner or hunching over a barstool on the roadside to devour street tacos. Each culture carries traditions around food. Native and Indigenous foods also carry certain traditions. They are able to navigate the past, present, and future." p. 121
From "Numinous Strangers" by Lisa Wells: "Courage comes through doing, not fretting. People are constantly asking her, Aren't you afraid? After an encounter with a particularly concerned Kansan couple, Ann wrote, 'My standard answer, fully from the heart, is that fear and experience seem to me to occupy the same place in the soul. The more experience one has, the less room there is for fear; yet in the absence of experience - even borrowed experience - fear expands to fill the void. It can become paralyzing.'" p. 173
April 3, 2025
I am a long-time reader of the Best American Food Writing series and a real fan of Padma Lakshmi. Her essay was excellent and a great start to the book. My family is in New Orleans and I thought she really captured the spirit of Mardi Gras from a local perspective well also including her own story, woven been so beautifully in it.
Despite my disappointment in realizing that they had merged food and travel together into one volume, I went into it with an open mind. But after reading the whole thing, I’ve decided that I hate merging food and travel together. I really see them as different and yes, they can be complementary, but what was so wonderful about the past volumes was that it really had a singular focus. Within that singular focus, there were so many different dimensions: agriculture, family, culture, the senses, the environment, history.
This edition, unfortunately, didn’t have the variety I’ve come to look forward to. And that’s a shame. It’s not a very thick book and it’s merging two topics which really deserve their own focus. They just wasn’t room for the kind of depth and breath that I love. I’m hoping that they go back to giving food its own volume in the future.
And like so many of the other reviewers, I also hope they will have a slightly less dreary edition. I know it would feel tone deaf to be sunshine and roses when so much in the world is suffering, but people do go on Living And the world is a beautiful place (one of the reasons people love to travel and eat!). I think this volume could have done a better job of showing the complexity of human experience while still paying tribute to the difficulties that so many are enduring.
There could’ve been more science, more profiles. Looking forward to next year as I always do but hoping for more.
Thanks to everyone who put this together and to the writers who wrote all of the great works that were included. I did enjoy them despite my overall tepid review of the collection. My disagreement with it had to do with the setup not the writing.
Despite my disappointment in realizing that they had merged food and travel together into one volume, I went into it with an open mind. But after reading the whole thing, I’ve decided that I hate merging food and travel together. I really see them as different and yes, they can be complementary, but what was so wonderful about the past volumes was that it really had a singular focus. Within that singular focus, there were so many different dimensions: agriculture, family, culture, the senses, the environment, history.
This edition, unfortunately, didn’t have the variety I’ve come to look forward to. And that’s a shame. It’s not a very thick book and it’s merging two topics which really deserve their own focus. They just wasn’t room for the kind of depth and breath that I love. I’m hoping that they go back to giving food its own volume in the future.
And like so many of the other reviewers, I also hope they will have a slightly less dreary edition. I know it would feel tone deaf to be sunshine and roses when so much in the world is suffering, but people do go on Living And the world is a beautiful place (one of the reasons people love to travel and eat!). I think this volume could have done a better job of showing the complexity of human experience while still paying tribute to the difficulties that so many are enduring.
There could’ve been more science, more profiles. Looking forward to next year as I always do but hoping for more.
Thanks to everyone who put this together and to the writers who wrote all of the great works that were included. I did enjoy them despite my overall tepid review of the collection. My disagreement with it had to do with the setup not the writing.
October 12, 2024
There's a lot of sadness and darkness in this book. It's the successor to the "Best American Travel Writing" annual compilations (or at least, that's how I know it, as I used to read those, but there was a Best American Food Writing series I hadn't read, too--and now they're merged). The old travel series wasn't always cheery or fun stuff. Like this book, it was a collection of articles from a variety of publications, and it wasn't like reading a sunny travel story. There was good and bad. But it feels like this compilation was made by someone having a bad year.
Sure, we could say the world isn't in the best place now, seeing too much war on the heels of a pandemic. Even so, I didn't expect something quite so negative. The food articles are largely the importance of food in the shadow of loss or of someone having to learn to slaughter sheep with his own hands and a knife, to uphold family/tribal tradition. Or the work of preserving Palestinian food traditions in the midst of massive bloodshed. It doesn't matter who you fault in that ongoing war, it's not an entertaining food subject. Not that everything has to be sunshine and roses, but this was an example of the best American food writing?
Similarly, an article about the Titan submersible disaster? I suppose that's a form of travel, but really? And yes, the subject was important, but is that what this book should be about?
Or an article about watermelon and its unfortunate entwining with deep-seated racism? Or an article about a lesbian wedding in the jungle and some of the truly disgusting things one can deal with deep in a Central American jungle?
You may find this book interesting and informative, but I can't imagine it's anything like the best of food and travel writing for the year. It's an okay book, but I feel it could be much better and truer to its supposed subjects.
Thanks to NetGalley for letting me read and review an advance reader copy of this book.
Sure, we could say the world isn't in the best place now, seeing too much war on the heels of a pandemic. Even so, I didn't expect something quite so negative. The food articles are largely the importance of food in the shadow of loss or of someone having to learn to slaughter sheep with his own hands and a knife, to uphold family/tribal tradition. Or the work of preserving Palestinian food traditions in the midst of massive bloodshed. It doesn't matter who you fault in that ongoing war, it's not an entertaining food subject. Not that everything has to be sunshine and roses, but this was an example of the best American food writing?
Similarly, an article about the Titan submersible disaster? I suppose that's a form of travel, but really? And yes, the subject was important, but is that what this book should be about?
Or an article about watermelon and its unfortunate entwining with deep-seated racism? Or an article about a lesbian wedding in the jungle and some of the truly disgusting things one can deal with deep in a Central American jungle?
You may find this book interesting and informative, but I can't imagine it's anything like the best of food and travel writing for the year. It's an okay book, but I feel it could be much better and truer to its supposed subjects.
Thanks to NetGalley for letting me read and review an advance reader copy of this book.
December 1, 2024
"The Best American Food and Travel Writing 2024" is a sumptuous anthology that brings together an eclectic array of voices and perspectives on the intertwined worlds of food and travel. Guest editors Padma Lakshmi and Jaya Saxena have selected an outstanding collection of essays that celebrate the rich experiences and insights that emerge when we explore the culinary traditions and journeys that shape our lives.
The essays in this anthology transport readers to diverse locations around the globe, from Dakar in Senegal to Michoacán in Mexico and the Camino de Santiago in Spain. Each piece offers a unique perspective on the ways in which food and travel can illuminate our shared humanity and deepen our understanding of the world.
What sets this anthology apart is its focus on the interconnectedness of food and travel and the potential for these experiences to transform our perceptions and create meaningful connections. Whether delving into the nostalgia of a childhood favorite or the exploration of a new culture's cuisine, the stories in this collection invite readers to savor the richness and complexity of the human experience.
"The Best American Food and Travel Writing 2024" is a feast for the senses and a testament to the power of storytelling to connect us across cultures and borders. This exceptional anthology is a must-read for food and travel enthusiasts, as well as anyone who appreciates thought-provoking and beautifully crafted narratives.
** Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a digital ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review **
The essays in this anthology transport readers to diverse locations around the globe, from Dakar in Senegal to Michoacán in Mexico and the Camino de Santiago in Spain. Each piece offers a unique perspective on the ways in which food and travel can illuminate our shared humanity and deepen our understanding of the world.
What sets this anthology apart is its focus on the interconnectedness of food and travel and the potential for these experiences to transform our perceptions and create meaningful connections. Whether delving into the nostalgia of a childhood favorite or the exploration of a new culture's cuisine, the stories in this collection invite readers to savor the richness and complexity of the human experience.
"The Best American Food and Travel Writing 2024" is a feast for the senses and a testament to the power of storytelling to connect us across cultures and borders. This exceptional anthology is a must-read for food and travel enthusiasts, as well as anyone who appreciates thought-provoking and beautifully crafted narratives.
** Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a digital ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review **
January 5, 2025
Continuing my tradition of easing into the new year with some food writing. This edition sandwiched together (see what I did there?) food and travel writing. Maybe The Best American series is hurting for money? But it resulted in a bit of a mishmash with very loosely connected essays on the topic of...food yes, but also world cultures and people and travel both voluntary and not (I would not consider Gazan refugees to be traveling, but I guess Padma Lakshmi wanted to include that New Yorker essay in this collection. It's an excellent and moving essay, don't get me wrong, but I was a little surprised to see it in here.)
My favorites were the hilarious essay about taking an unwisely dangerous hike in the Guatemalan jungle to fulfill the alternative wedding dream of a friend. The writer goes through a heightened version of every challenging hike I've ever been on: why am I doing this to myself, get me out of here, I'm in so much physical discomfort, wow that view! I can't believe we did that, it really wasn't so bad, I'm inspired! But her hike was times a billion times more intense in terms of physical discomfort and misery (she gets a tick bite in a place no one should ever get a tick bite!!) It was very funny, making it shine among the rest of the essays which at times could get a little self-serious. I also really liked the essay on the words we use for describing taste and texture and how limited the English language really is (Japanese has a half a dozen words for crunchy.)
Till next year! I hope that they separate Food and Travel in 2025 though, or at least pick essays that deal with both. I'm here for the food writing.
My favorites were the hilarious essay about taking an unwisely dangerous hike in the Guatemalan jungle to fulfill the alternative wedding dream of a friend. The writer goes through a heightened version of every challenging hike I've ever been on: why am I doing this to myself, get me out of here, I'm in so much physical discomfort, wow that view! I can't believe we did that, it really wasn't so bad, I'm inspired! But her hike was times a billion times more intense in terms of physical discomfort and misery (she gets a tick bite in a place no one should ever get a tick bite!!) It was very funny, making it shine among the rest of the essays which at times could get a little self-serious. I also really liked the essay on the words we use for describing taste and texture and how limited the English language really is (Japanese has a half a dozen words for crunchy.)
Till next year! I hope that they separate Food and Travel in 2025 though, or at least pick essays that deal with both. I'm here for the food writing.
December 4, 2024
The themes of adversity and reverence pervade the essays in this book. My favorite essay is "India's Beef with Beef". I didn't know that people could be killed just for eating beef in certain parts of the country. The phrase beef eater is a phrase of contempt in India. My other favorite essay is "Forbidden Fruit". This essay is about the adversity in the production of avocado because of a lack of water and the chopping down of trees in central Mexico. "The Hungry Jungle" is about the dangers of travelling in the rainforest of Guatemala. The author tries to fend off the scorpions and mosquitoes on the way to a pyramid for a wedding.
"Notable Sandwiches" is an essay about the reverence for the grilled cheese sandwich. This essay praises the grilled cheese sandwich because it is simple to make, but it is also delicious to eat. "My Catalina" is an essay about the author's reverence for the salad dressing. The author writes about the memories she associates with eating this salad dressing growing up. She replicates this dressing by making it herself, and I believe that this action is the best form of reverence for a food I ever read. "Our Daily Ceeb" is about the reverence the people of Senegal have for a fish and rice dish called ceeb. I love to eat different variations of fish and rice, so I would love to eat this dish daily too. The different perspectives of adversity and reverence makes this book interesting to read.
"Notable Sandwiches" is an essay about the reverence for the grilled cheese sandwich. This essay praises the grilled cheese sandwich because it is simple to make, but it is also delicious to eat. "My Catalina" is an essay about the author's reverence for the salad dressing. The author writes about the memories she associates with eating this salad dressing growing up. She replicates this dressing by making it herself, and I believe that this action is the best form of reverence for a food I ever read. "Our Daily Ceeb" is about the reverence the people of Senegal have for a fish and rice dish called ceeb. I love to eat different variations of fish and rice, so I would love to eat this dish daily too. The different perspectives of adversity and reverence makes this book interesting to read.
December 31, 2024
I always thought I was too poor to read travel books. To me, travel essays and manifestos were always from Ivy grads with nothing better to do expounding on the very brave revelations one can achieve from the top level of a yacht off the shore of who knows where. It was less someone imparting a crucial moment of human experience; more an advertisement of experiences I could never hope to replicate as the writer intended. Food writing I never saw as much better either, as white people’s foray into culinary practices well established but suddenly deemed important because Whole Foods 360 came out with a sauce of it is decidedly uninteresting to me.
I was wrong.
This anthology exists on the precipice of each of its genre’s (food and travel having not been previously combined) downfall in favor of the very content I thought it always had been. Yet the struggle seems to have only been to each genre’s benefit because this is some of the best short form nonfiction writing I have ever come across. Please go read this or at least go read one of the articles within this selection.
And yes, the five stars is because this had tattoo level content in it. It’s going to be a grilled cheese on my left arm in honor of Notable Sandwiches #75 by Talia Lavin.
I was wrong.
This anthology exists on the precipice of each of its genre’s (food and travel having not been previously combined) downfall in favor of the very content I thought it always had been. Yet the struggle seems to have only been to each genre’s benefit because this is some of the best short form nonfiction writing I have ever come across. Please go read this or at least go read one of the articles within this selection.
And yes, the five stars is because this had tattoo level content in it. It’s going to be a grilled cheese on my left arm in honor of Notable Sandwiches #75 by Talia Lavin.
October 23, 2024
This is an outstanding collection of essays! There’s something for everyone in here - from a report on violence in the avocado industry to an ode to grilled cheese to the history of tofu in the United States. Unsafe Passage, about the ongoing war in Gaza, should be mandatory reading for everyone.
Many of the selected essays, including by Lakshmi at the beginning of the book, have themes relating to loss and the role food can play in the grieving process. I found the most poignant story to be My Catalina, which was about a woman trying to connect with memories of her mother.
Travel is present in many of the essays about food, but the story that stood out to me as pure travel writing was about a lesbian wedding in the jungle in Guatemala. The report on the submersible that imploded near the Titanic is more of a cross between travel writing and a consumer warning.
If you enjoy food, travel, or are interested in topics of social justice, this is a book you will love.
I received a free eARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Many of the selected essays, including by Lakshmi at the beginning of the book, have themes relating to loss and the role food can play in the grieving process. I found the most poignant story to be My Catalina, which was about a woman trying to connect with memories of her mother.
Travel is present in many of the essays about food, but the story that stood out to me as pure travel writing was about a lesbian wedding in the jungle in Guatemala. The report on the submersible that imploded near the Titanic is more of a cross between travel writing and a consumer warning.
If you enjoy food, travel, or are interested in topics of social justice, this is a book you will love.
I received a free eARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
February 12, 2025
This is the first year that the Best American has merged their Food & Travel writing together in one volume. Great! Thank you for still publishing! Many of the essays bring both themes together seamlessly and the first 2/3 of this collection consists of essays that are about someone visiting their homeland or a meaningful location. They eat food that evokes not only the place, but also their memories and brings forth feelings about community, culture, language, and history. These stories are cozy, inspiring, and atmospheric.
AND THEN there is an essay about the Titan - the submersible that imploded last year attempting to navigate WITH PASSENGERS to the Titanic. This story is BANANAS. I hate underwater things - the thought of being that far under the ocean is very gross to me, but this story was completely riveting. The dude power play of ignoring international regulations, security measures, industry standards, and the role of credible technology for underwater glory is MIND BOGGLING. WUT.
The final essay is about a family in Gaza and their struggle and I cried many times.
AND THEN there is an essay about the Titan - the submersible that imploded last year attempting to navigate WITH PASSENGERS to the Titanic. This story is BANANAS. I hate underwater things - the thought of being that far under the ocean is very gross to me, but this story was completely riveting. The dude power play of ignoring international regulations, security measures, industry standards, and the role of credible technology for underwater glory is MIND BOGGLING. WUT.
The final essay is about a family in Gaza and their struggle and I cried many times.
January 21, 2025
Delightful collection of travel and food writing that was published in 2024. Some of my favorites were Lisa Wells' piece about the modern-day mendicant pilgrim, Ann Sieben (first published in Harper's) and the Kiese Laymon's My Favorite Restaurant Served Gas. I will also never forget Mosad Abu Toha's Unsafe Passage, which I somehow missed when it was first published in the New Yorker. I would not really call it "travel writing" but it involves his family's attempt to flee Gaza after the recent war starts and his subsequent detainment by Israeli troops. (They think he might be a spy.) Harrowing. and it shows the deplorable tactics that some Israeli troops use when they suspect someone of being Hamas. Toha only gets out because influential friends demand his release, asserting that he is, in fact, a poet and a writer who has taught in the United States. One wonders what happens to innocent Gazans who are less connected. I shudder to think.
January 12, 2025
As with all of these volumes, there are stories that stand out, stories that I find to be less interesting, and stories that fall into neither group. As a whole, I didn't enjoy this volume as much as I have others, but it wasn't among my least favorite. Without a doubt, every entry is well written and there is a nice diversity of topics within food writing . With the exception of ~2 stories (out of 20 plus) this volume skews heavily toward food vice travel (I don't count a foreign setting as travel writing, if the main focus is food). I've always enjoyed the food writing volumes, but now that they have merged, a warning to anyone who is looking for travel writing that this volume may be lacking for you.
July 14, 2025
As a longtime fan of The Best American Food Writing, I was disappointed to see it combined with the Travel Writing volume this year--until I read it. Some of my favorite stories in this collection were the travel stories, like the trek through the Guatemalan jungle for a secret wedding or the Palestinian writer's close escape from the Israeli army, and the stories where travel and food collided, like the community of radical anti-avocado environmentalists in Mexico or the devastating cow-related violence in India. This collection made me rethink some of my assumptions about the world, and it will stick with me for a long time. Was every single story 5 stars? No, but enough of them were that I can't rate this anything less!
October 28, 2024
Travel and food writing are among my favorite genres, so I am very happy that after a short absence they returned in „The Best American Writing” antology, this time together. I agree with the series editor, who remarks in the preface that “the food writer and the travel writer [...] often are one and the same” – after all, is there a better way to get to know a new country and its culture than through local meals?
I find it refreshing that this volume contains a lot of stories from less known magazines and publications, so it is guaranteed that you will find something new and worth reading here.
Thanks to the publisher, Mariner Books, and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book.
I find it refreshing that this volume contains a lot of stories from less known magazines and publications, so it is guaranteed that you will find something new and worth reading here.
Thanks to the publisher, Mariner Books, and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book.
June 17, 2025
I've really enjoyed the Best American Food Writing books the last few years, so I'm a bit bummed they have now been combined with the Travel Writing books. I have nothing against travel writing, it's just not what I'm looking for with these books. A few essays here have some nice overlap, but for the most part, I wasn't really a fan of most of these essays. That could also have a lot to do with the editor this time around and her choices, which maybe just didn't resonate with me as much as past editions. Which is fine, it can't be a home run every time. But overall, I was underwhelmed by this edition.
July 13, 2024
The Best American Food and Travel Writing incorporates multiple different authors for each sections which creates an interesting approach. There’s a lot of history immersed into the book. It was interesting to learn about how food is an important part of history.
One of the sections "India's Beef with Beef” was fascinating to learn about how government policies had such a role in extreme acts of some Hindu groups.
Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
One of the sections "India's Beef with Beef” was fascinating to learn about how government policies had such a role in extreme acts of some Hindu groups.
Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
March 3, 2025
This is an excellent curation of wholesome food and compelling travel writing that informs, delights, and encourages to reflect on your the impact that culinary and adventure can have on one’s life. I especially loved getting to know more about Odesa bakeries, the power of a grilled cheese, and also how the old Spanish countryside can draw in a new set of tourists despite being removed from guidebooks. This was an exceptional curation all around
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