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Meet Me at the Bamboo Table: Everyday Meals Everywhere
In our ever-more-globalized world, how better to connect than with food, and who better to connect us than a chowhound communications professor? A.V. Crofts has spent decades eating (and learning) her way around the world. She's studied in China, taught in Italy, and conducted humanitarian communications trainings in war-torn Sudan. Here, she traces a lifetime of meals across states and continents for the ways that food ties us together. With warm, thoughtful prose, Crofts invites us to the only coffee shop in Kunming; to a home-cooked feast at a civil rights pilgrimage in Alabama; to a surprise Thanksgiving in Germany; and to her annual Lunar New Year dumpling party in Seattle. This full-color visual tour-de-force will delight foodies, armchair travelers, and anyone who's ever learned a little something from a special meal. Photos, "sketchnotes," and other ephemera from Crofts's globetrotting coalesce into a truly beautiful meditation on how food nourishes community. A.V. Crofts works at the University of Washington as a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Communication and a Clinical Instructor in the Department of Global Health. Her work has been published in Gastronomica and Saveur and on her popular blog avcrofts.com.
216 pages, Paperback
Published October 4, 2016
4 people are currently reading
322 people want to read
About the author
A.V. Crofts
1 book14 followersA.V. Crofts is on faculty at the University of Washington and lives in Seattle and Maine.
Ten Things about AVC:
1. I believe it’s all about the communities you create.
2. My laugh fills a room but I am not the life of the party.
3. I am naturally caffeinated.
4. Eating my way through China made me a chowhound.
5. When I write I want the reader to be able to hear me talking.
6. I will never turn down a donut.
7. I believe storytelling can be an act of leadership, activism, or comfort.
8. A “cross-cultural training” does not mean leave your opinions at the door.
9. I love airports, except Dulles International.
10. I bake a mean pie.
Her first book, Meet Me at the Bamboo Table: Everyday Meals Everywhere debuts September 2016. For more, visit www.pepperforthebeast.com.
Ten Things about AVC:
1. I believe it’s all about the communities you create.
2. My laugh fills a room but I am not the life of the party.
3. I am naturally caffeinated.
4. Eating my way through China made me a chowhound.
5. When I write I want the reader to be able to hear me talking.
6. I will never turn down a donut.
7. I believe storytelling can be an act of leadership, activism, or comfort.
8. A “cross-cultural training” does not mean leave your opinions at the door.
9. I love airports, except Dulles International.
10. I bake a mean pie.
Her first book, Meet Me at the Bamboo Table: Everyday Meals Everywhere debuts September 2016. For more, visit www.pepperforthebeast.com.
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
October 12, 2016
I received a free copy of this book through a Goodreads First Reads giveaway.
Okay, I hate the author A.V. Crofts.
Not really. It's just my intense jealousy speaking (typing?) for me after finishing Meet Me at the Bamboo Table!
"Meet Me..." is equal parts memoir, travelogue, photography book and food writing. The stories are interesting. The pictures are magnificent. The variety is broad. My feet itch while reading about Crofts' travels and my mouth waters at her descriptions of the food she encounters, enjoys, and photographs while on those travels. You finish each essay with an appreciation of food and friendship you could only hope to achieve in your own life. And Crofts makes you want to try.
I'm jealous of her travel alone. From Seattle to China. From Maine to Sudan. From Wisconsin to India and many places in between. Add in the photographs and food and it's almost too much to handle.
Overall, a fantastic read. If you have a wanderlust, like food memoirs, like memoirs in general, definitely give this book a try. The author has already lived a fascinating life and the fascination comes through in her writing and photographs.
I don't hate A.V. Crofts...I'm just envious of her travels and experiences.
Okay, I hate the author A.V. Crofts.
Not really. It's just my intense jealousy speaking (typing?) for me after finishing Meet Me at the Bamboo Table!
"Meet Me..." is equal parts memoir, travelogue, photography book and food writing. The stories are interesting. The pictures are magnificent. The variety is broad. My feet itch while reading about Crofts' travels and my mouth waters at her descriptions of the food she encounters, enjoys, and photographs while on those travels. You finish each essay with an appreciation of food and friendship you could only hope to achieve in your own life. And Crofts makes you want to try.
I'm jealous of her travel alone. From Seattle to China. From Maine to Sudan. From Wisconsin to India and many places in between. Add in the photographs and food and it's almost too much to handle.
Overall, a fantastic read. If you have a wanderlust, like food memoirs, like memoirs in general, definitely give this book a try. The author has already lived a fascinating life and the fascination comes through in her writing and photographs.
I don't hate A.V. Crofts...I'm just envious of her travels and experiences.
May 17, 2022
Book group theme: food cultures beyond American shores.
Cool little book - I liked the layout and the photos - but it left me wanting more. The photos are not captioned, something I could forgive because they were personal snapshots from years of travel, but some seemed to contradict the narrative in small ways (eg. an essay about traveling alone but the photo showed a welcome note to two people). The essays were short and at times a little awkward. They only skimmed the surface of the theme I chose this book for, international food cultures. It wasn’t bad, just not as relevant or inspirational as I had hoped.
Cool little book - I liked the layout and the photos - but it left me wanting more. The photos are not captioned, something I could forgive because they were personal snapshots from years of travel, but some seemed to contradict the narrative in small ways (eg. an essay about traveling alone but the photo showed a welcome note to two people). The essays were short and at times a little awkward. They only skimmed the surface of the theme I chose this book for, international food cultures. It wasn’t bad, just not as relevant or inspirational as I had hoped.
June 1, 2017
I received this book as an early reviewer.
I enjoyed parts of A.V. Crofts Meet Me at the Bamboo Table, but it was really more about travel and relationships than food. It jumps around a bit in time which can make it hard to follow at points, wondering if one section happened before or after another. There are lovely bits about relationships among humans, and lovely photos (uncaptioned however), which I may have enjoyed more if I had realized up front that was the book's focus. Instead I was disappointed by the lack of focus on the food itself since I expected more of a memoir with recipes. Overall I felt quite "meh" about it as a read.
I enjoyed parts of A.V. Crofts Meet Me at the Bamboo Table, but it was really more about travel and relationships than food. It jumps around a bit in time which can make it hard to follow at points, wondering if one section happened before or after another. There are lovely bits about relationships among humans, and lovely photos (uncaptioned however), which I may have enjoyed more if I had realized up front that was the book's focus. Instead I was disappointed by the lack of focus on the food itself since I expected more of a memoir with recipes. Overall I felt quite "meh" about it as a read.
January 4, 2018
While the book itself is aesthetically pleasing, designed well and upbeat, the writing feels forced, clunky and a tad bit awkward at times. It felt like a first draft blog rather than a book. I wanted to like it more than I did.-Two and a half stars.
April 22, 2020
This is a book that you can pick up, open and take a literary trip essay by essay. While I previously read several of the essays, I decided to virtually travel during the pandemic via Anita’s delicious travel essays. It’s just what my soul needed. It’s a beautiful book in prose and design.
May 31, 2021
One to come back to.
If you like food or travel or journals you’ll like this one. The writing style and cadence are a bit awkward at times, which is why it’s only 4 stars, but I liked it anyway. The glimpses into AV’s life are interesting and I want to know more about her.
If you like food or travel or journals you’ll like this one. The writing style and cadence are a bit awkward at times, which is why it’s only 4 stars, but I liked it anyway. The glimpses into AV’s life are interesting and I want to know more about her.
May 3, 2018
Rich bites of food, travel, and life.
August 9, 2019
A memoir about food. What's not to like!
September 24, 2020
Magical read!
January 31, 2021
The story of a person's life built out of a series of short stories, all told through lovley prose and photos. It's a read that will leave you happy and satisfied.
March 8, 2017
Maybe it is because we both love food. Or we both speak several languages. Or we both live in Greater Seattle. Or we both have degrees in Communications. Or we both enjoy world travel. Or we both attended the University of Washington. Or we both make Chinese dumplings. Whatever it is, between author A.V. Crofts and me, it compelled me to enjoy reading her memoir of meals. She correctly understands that a meal such as those she describes is a fusion between geography (location), anthropology (who you're dining with) and gastronomy (what's for dinner). And she conjures delicious pictures of meals she has enjoyed around the world touching on all three of those aspects. The only thing that would have made it a better book would be the inclusion of recipes; maybe in a second edition.
Want to read
September 29, 2016Note: I accessed a digital review copy of this book through Edelweiss.
February 6, 2017
A.V.Crofts live a fantasy lives She travels the world has a great job&best of all seeks out the ethnic food of each country she travels to. She has a true wanderlust a joy for life&a good appetite.This is the perfect read for those who will travel&actor those who travel &eat the worlds delicacies while sitting in our chair. Oh yes there are pictures
April 2, 2017
A delightful culinary scrapbook.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews