What do you think?
Rate this book
Eat Something: A Wise Sons Cookbook for Jews Who Like Food and Food Lovers Who Like Jews
Stemming from the thesis that Jews eat by occasion (and with enthusiasm), the book is organized into 19 different events and celebrations chronicling a Jewish life in food, from bris to shivah, and all the makeshift and meaningful events in between, including: Shabbat, Passover, the high holidays, first meal home from college, J-dating, wedding, and more.
• Both a Jewish humor book and a cookbook
• Recipes are drawn from the menus of their Bay Area restaurants, as well as all the occasions when Jews gather around the table.
• Includes short essays, illustrations, memorabilia, and stylish plated food photography.
• Both a Jewish humor book and a cookbook
• Recipes are drawn from the menus of their Bay Area restaurants, as well as all the occasions when Jews gather around the table.
• Includes short essays, illustrations, memorabilia, and stylish plated food photography.
240 pages, Hardcover
Published March 3, 2020
25 people are currently reading
127 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
December 16, 2020
This was an ok book, 3.5 stars. If you aren't Jewish but married to one and would like to know how tribal Jews who like being Jewish but are not attached to the religion in any way except by food. The short essays and rather simple recipes of the food that we all grew up with is entertaining but not outstanding.
American Jews are apparently mad about Chinese food, have it every Sunday and it's almost a religion to go to a Chinese restaurant on Christmas day. When the authors asked if Chinese people like Jewish food, the answer was no, they never eat anything no matter what country they are in except Chinese food, because it's the best. They all (Jews) agreed Chinese food was better.
In my only proper job, the statistician was a Hong Kong Chinese lady. She would go to the Jewish deli for lunch every day, pastrami, chicken soup, she really loved it. I didn't. I used to go out with my secretary to a fancy cocktail place for lunch and drink Singapore slings. I really don't like Jewish food.
It's Chanukah. Last night my son and I went to this supreme court (commercial and Caribbean, not fancy and US) judge's for dinner. He wasn't into cooking so we brought pizzas. He did supply the traditional peanuts and doughnuts and some very good wine. Why are doughnuts and peanuts traditional? No idea.
When I was a kid in Jerusalem and it was Chanukah little doughnut stands sprung up on every street. They would make round doughnuts right in front of you and then you could stick it on one of three spigots each with a different flavour of jam, and pump once. Pump twice or three times (always) the stall owner would shout at you, lol. One of them had Polish rose petal jam, I can almost taste it.
____________________
How to tell the Jews from the non-Jews coming out of the theatre: the non-Jews all say, 'let's go for a drink', the Jews all say, 'have you eaten yet?' I cringed reading that. It's not untrue. Everything revolves around food. Jewish life revolves around food. And double portions of bread and wine on Friday night and almost every festival. Not tradition, religion. You must have them, you must eat up! (On the two seder nights of Passover, it's four glasses of wine, plus as much as you like during the mid-service break, the meal).
American Jews are apparently mad about Chinese food, have it every Sunday and it's almost a religion to go to a Chinese restaurant on Christmas day. When the authors asked if Chinese people like Jewish food, the answer was no, they never eat anything no matter what country they are in except Chinese food, because it's the best. They all (Jews) agreed Chinese food was better.
In my only proper job, the statistician was a Hong Kong Chinese lady. She would go to the Jewish deli for lunch every day, pastrami, chicken soup, she really loved it. I didn't. I used to go out with my secretary to a fancy cocktail place for lunch and drink Singapore slings. I really don't like Jewish food.
It's Chanukah. Last night my son and I went to this supreme court (commercial and Caribbean, not fancy and US) judge's for dinner. He wasn't into cooking so we brought pizzas. He did supply the traditional peanuts and doughnuts and some very good wine. Why are doughnuts and peanuts traditional? No idea.
When I was a kid in Jerusalem and it was Chanukah little doughnut stands sprung up on every street. They would make round doughnuts right in front of you and then you could stick it on one of three spigots each with a different flavour of jam, and pump once. Pump twice or three times (always) the stall owner would shout at you, lol. One of them had Polish rose petal jam, I can almost taste it.
____________________
How to tell the Jews from the non-Jews coming out of the theatre: the non-Jews all say, 'let's go for a drink', the Jews all say, 'have you eaten yet?' I cringed reading that. It's not untrue. Everything revolves around food. Jewish life revolves around food. And double portions of bread and wine on Friday night and almost every festival. Not tradition, religion. You must have them, you must eat up! (On the two seder nights of Passover, it's four glasses of wine, plus as much as you like during the mid-service break, the meal).
January 20, 2020
Huge fan of cooking and I love cookbooks. This one will add nicely to my collection. Not only is it recipes, but also funny stories and looks into life dynamics. Although not a culture or cooking style that i have any knowledge of, there are definitely recipes in there that I can't wait to try. Thanks for sharing it with me.
December 26, 2019
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
This was so fun! The recipes were good, with several good-looking and practical adaptations of classics. But this book is a gem because of the photos and commentary. It's hilarious. If you get this, you should def cook from it, but also take the time to read the essays and commentary! Priceless.
This was so fun! The recipes were good, with several good-looking and practical adaptations of classics. But this book is a gem because of the photos and commentary. It's hilarious. If you get this, you should def cook from it, but also take the time to read the essays and commentary! Priceless.
January 21, 2021
Cook book with a few amusing things in it.
February 12, 2020
Originally published on my blog: Nonstop Reader.
Eat Something is a whimsical look at Jewish American food culture along with a number of collected recipes. Due out 3rd March from Chronicle Books, it's 240 pages and will be available in hardcover and ebook formats.
While this book does indeed contain recipes and cooking instructions, it is primarily (and charmingly) a running commentary on Jewishness, identity, food, and family. It is celebratory in a way, in that it emphasizes the things we have in common and our mutual humanity. There are a number of tongue in cheek comments about the prevalence of ordering way too much Chinese takeaway every Sunday night (my mixed family did that too), but they're said warmly and kindly. This book is humor filled, maybe trying a little too hard for some easy laughs, but there's not a mean-spirited word to be found. This is a comforting and friendly book, and I have no doubts whatever that I would enjoy sitting down to an overloaded brunch buffet with the authors.
The book has an interesting arrangement. The recipes are arranged around a fictitious lifetime: The Early Years (bris, Hanukkah, visiting the grandparents in Florida, sick days), Awkward Years (Mitzvah, Last Supper (before summer camp), Christmas Dinner, Sunday Chinese takeaway), Young Adult Years, Grownup, etc etc.
The recipes are arranged thematically around different lifetime milestones or holidays. The book includes both a recipe list with the table of contents and a cross referenced index at the back.
Recipe ingredients are listed in a bullet sidebar with both metric and American standard measures given (yay!). Info and tips about the ingredients or the recipes themselves are given in sidebars below the preparation information. Yields are stated in the header info. Nutritional information and special diet concerns/allergens (nuts, celery, wheat, etc) are not given.
These are yummy and (mostly) made from easily sourced ingredients.
I am very much a visual learner and one of my concerns with several cookbooks I've reviewed recently has been the lack of photography and serving suggestions. I know that photography can increase the cost of a published book significantly but it enhances the end result so much that in my case at least, it's a necessary part of any cookbook which I buy and use. This book is somewhere in the middle. There aren't many photos, but the ones which are included are clear and appealing.
Four stars. This is a good niche cookbook with a wide variety of goodies included.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes
Eat Something is a whimsical look at Jewish American food culture along with a number of collected recipes. Due out 3rd March from Chronicle Books, it's 240 pages and will be available in hardcover and ebook formats.
While this book does indeed contain recipes and cooking instructions, it is primarily (and charmingly) a running commentary on Jewishness, identity, food, and family. It is celebratory in a way, in that it emphasizes the things we have in common and our mutual humanity. There are a number of tongue in cheek comments about the prevalence of ordering way too much Chinese takeaway every Sunday night (my mixed family did that too), but they're said warmly and kindly. This book is humor filled, maybe trying a little too hard for some easy laughs, but there's not a mean-spirited word to be found. This is a comforting and friendly book, and I have no doubts whatever that I would enjoy sitting down to an overloaded brunch buffet with the authors.
The book has an interesting arrangement. The recipes are arranged around a fictitious lifetime: The Early Years (bris, Hanukkah, visiting the grandparents in Florida, sick days), Awkward Years (Mitzvah, Last Supper (before summer camp), Christmas Dinner, Sunday Chinese takeaway), Young Adult Years, Grownup, etc etc.
The recipes are arranged thematically around different lifetime milestones or holidays. The book includes both a recipe list with the table of contents and a cross referenced index at the back.
Recipe ingredients are listed in a bullet sidebar with both metric and American standard measures given (yay!). Info and tips about the ingredients or the recipes themselves are given in sidebars below the preparation information. Yields are stated in the header info. Nutritional information and special diet concerns/allergens (nuts, celery, wheat, etc) are not given.
These are yummy and (mostly) made from easily sourced ingredients.
I am very much a visual learner and one of my concerns with several cookbooks I've reviewed recently has been the lack of photography and serving suggestions. I know that photography can increase the cost of a published book significantly but it enhances the end result so much that in my case at least, it's a necessary part of any cookbook which I buy and use. This book is somewhere in the middle. There aren't many photos, but the ones which are included are clear and appealing.
Four stars. This is a good niche cookbook with a wide variety of goodies included.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes
April 9, 2020
Really enjoyed this. Yummy food interspersed with funny anecdotes. Definitely made me hungry.
November 18, 2023
The family pictures and personal anecdotes are a nice homey touch that really made me look forward to trying some real home-family Jewish recipes. I open the book to the Hamantaschen, the very first recipe for Purim and it lists "store bought sugar cookie dough" as its first ingredient. I was under the assumption that this was a COOKbook - every other Jewish recipe I have read actually provides instructions on making the cookie dough AKA the bulk of the dish. With this, play with store bought dough, fill it with different fillings and that is "better than what you had in Hebrew school." I felt like I could have Googled that.
Many of the recipes also use "shortcuts" like these and maybe it runs parallel to the homey, relaxed style of the stories and family pictures (this isn't supposed to be a fancy, schmancy cookbook) but growing up, Hamantaschen aren't just glorified sugar cookies - they are something all their own.
They also broke the cardinal sin of cookbooks - BARELY any pictures of FOOD! So many spreads of blurry photos from the 1960s and 1970s but like three or four actual pictures of food in the cookbook. Like I would like to know what my rugelach or kugel is supposed to look like as I make it.
Many of the recipes also use "shortcuts" like these and maybe it runs parallel to the homey, relaxed style of the stories and family pictures (this isn't supposed to be a fancy, schmancy cookbook) but growing up, Hamantaschen aren't just glorified sugar cookies - they are something all their own.
They also broke the cardinal sin of cookbooks - BARELY any pictures of FOOD! So many spreads of blurry photos from the 1960s and 1970s but like three or four actual pictures of food in the cookbook. Like I would like to know what my rugelach or kugel is supposed to look like as I make it.
May 5, 2025
Great Hanukah present for the Ashkenazi Jew in your life. The recipes and pictures honor memory and tradition with standard Jewish deli dishes and humor. Do not expect kosher though.
I could do without the butter in several dishes. Use margarine. And a few kvetches: If it is a good bagel, you don't need to toast. I do agree that raisin is not a bagel. Milk in meatloaf? Ugh. Cheese burger? Double ugh. Pineapple upside down cake for Passover? Interesting.
I could do without the butter in several dishes. Use margarine. And a few kvetches: If it is a good bagel, you don't need to toast. I do agree that raisin is not a bagel. Milk in meatloaf? Ugh. Cheese burger? Double ugh. Pineapple upside down cake for Passover? Interesting.
July 10, 2020
Normally I don't review cookbooks; many that I "read" I don't even find a recipe in them that I'm willing to copy. This one, however, was more book and had a real story to tell. I'm glad I read this one and can't wait to start on some of the recipes I pulled from it. Yum!
December 17, 2020
Funny, informative, and incredibly warm. This cookbook feels like it was written and edited with a lot of love. I love the structure and layout and all the old family photos are beautiful. I can't wait to try my hand at these recipes.
January 6, 2025
I came for the recipes but stayed for the incredible insight, wit, and humor in the essays sprinkled throughout this book. I learned so much about the Jewish American experience and I’ve been inspired to make my own Matzo Ball Soup!
January 3, 2021
A fun read as a cookbook. There’s more reading than you’d expect. There are some pieces that made me cringe, so lost a star. It coud go up when I work through the recipes.
January 17, 2021
What a total delight.
December 29, 2021
A great Hanukkah gift from a dear cousin! This amusing (and delicious) book captures the highlights of the American Ashkenazic Jewish experience through familiar life events and favorite foods.
September 1, 2022
More text than I imagined which proved fun and interesting!
January 13, 2023
Great stories. Recipes that I need to try to actually cook!
May 24, 2024
This book was so cute! I loved reading the stories, and it really resonated with me as a Jew. The recipes were good, but they are not kosher, so buyer beware.
Read
December 21, 2024Love the old photos and interludes, a small amount of recipes but I haven’t cooked any yet
January 24, 2020
Absolutely in love with the format of this cookbook and the recipes plus writing are very solid. Cannot wait to purchase my own physical copy. I didn't grow up Jewish myself but have always had an intrigue in the faith, food and culture. I received this as a digital review copy from NetGalley.
December 30, 2019
I am not of the Jewish faith but I have always been interested in the food and culture. This book not only gives you a little personal background on the food but the traditions as well. I thoroughly enjoyed this cookbook and can't wait to try out some of the recipes.
Thank You Netgalley and Chronicle Books for an ebook copy for my honest review.
#NetGalley #EatSomething
Thank You Netgalley and Chronicle Books for an ebook copy for my honest review.
#NetGalley #EatSomething
December 18, 2019
This is a hilarious Jewish cookbook with recipes arranged by Jewish events and some holidays. I love it!
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews