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The Other American Revolution -- Food
By Ruth Kava, Ph.D., R.D.
If Rip Van Winkle fell asleep after a restaurant dinner in 1950 and awoke in time for that meal in 2007, the poor man wouldn't have a clue as to how to order. Mesclun? Radicchio? California roll? Yes, things have changed enormously in the world of American food over the last fifty or so years -- we've gone from tuna casserole, ketchup, and Jell-o mold to lobster parfait, salsa, and white chocolate mousse.
Along the way, chefs have become celebrities who both entertain and instruct on the niceties of various ethnic cuisines on their own TV shows, open eponymous restaurants, and roll out cookbooks by the dozen. Those of us who still do our own cooking have an ever-expanding list of exotic foods from which to choose.
David Kamp, writer for Vanity Fair magazine, ably recounts the story of this revolution (or evolution, as he calls it) in American cuisine in The United States of Arugula: How We Became a Gourmet Nation. A self-described food enthusiast, he crows that this "is a great time to be an eater" -- and since the publication of the book, he has found himself getting attention in part, he says, because his is an optimistic account of food progress, while so many books about food these days harp on obesity and other health hazards.
The current good times for gourmets can be traced back to the influences of James Beard, lover of American foods; Julia Child, who made French cuisine accessible to American housewives; and Craig Claiborne, who, despite his personal idiosyncrasies (some of which are described in the book), managed to turn food journalism into a respectable calling.
Beginning with these well-known figures, Kamp weaves a complex and fascinating tapestry of the people and movements that have so changed the American culinary landscape.
Chuck Williams' Williams-Sonoma kitchenware store prospered on Americans' fascination with Child's culinary antics. Specialty stores such as Dean and Deluca's, Peet's, and Starbucks Coffee, and more recently the Whole Foods Market and commodity purveyors such as the Niman Ranch, are but a few examples of businesses that filled niches for foods that fit a new sensibility -- fresh, tasty, but also in some way politically correct. Thus the provision of organic produce, free-range chickens, and grass-fed cattle became hot selling points for both stores and restaurants. Further, the burgeoning number of restaurants and Americans' interest in them spawned the American equivalent of the Michelin guides -- the highly regarded Zagat guides.
Alice Waters and her Berkeley-infused Chez Panisse made "California cuisine" hot in the 1970s -- and she still actively promotes her obsession with locally-sourced organic provisions. But not all the celebrity chefs hew to the Berkeley sensibility. Charlie Trotter, a self-proclaimed libertarian, opines that "everybody who's against genetically modified foods and against big corporate food production, I think they could be a little more open-minded in how they look at all these things."
Arugula provides candid descriptions of both the movements and individuals who have been instrumental in the evolution of the American food scene. Describing his reaction to the hyper-expensive new restaurants in New York's Time-Warner Center, restaurateur Drew Nieporent said that they are "restaurants on steroids." The backgrounds and histories of myriad chefs and restaurateurs, including Soltner of Lutece, Wine of The Quilted Giraffe, Emeril, Daniel, and many more, are thoroughly delineated. The reader not only learns who they are and what they do but gains an understanding of what inspires their passions for food.
Kamp has produced a well-written and serious chronicle that includes fascinating footnotes and an extensive bibliography, but it is much more than a simple chronology. Spiced with incisive (and sometimes rather wicked) personal tidbits about the major players in the food world, the volume entertains as well enlightens.
Anyone looking for a Valentine's day gift for a serious foodie, should consider The United States of Arugula -- perhaps with a box of chocolates attached.
Ruth Kava, Ph.D., R.D., is Director of Nutrition at the American Council on Science and Health (ACSH.org, HealthFactsAndFears.com) and wrote the introduction to the new book The OC Diet Revolution by Chazz Weaver, who lost weight while eating exclusively at McDonald's.
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