Jenni Ferrari-Adler

A collection of essays by food writers and fiction writers about their thoughts on and experiences in cooking and/or eating alone, whether it's trying to make elaborate meals in a tiny apartment, taking yourself out to a fancy restaurant, or eating cold refried beans out of a can while standing in the kitchen.

I bought this one because something about the title snagged my attention and wouldn't let it go, and because I found it at one of those library sales where everything is so cheap that there seems to be no reason not to just grab every book with a title that tickles you. Once I got it home, though, I wondered if that might have been a mistake, as it didn't really seem like my sort of thing at all. I am basically the antithesis of a foodie. I don't cook much to speak of, my tastes are utterly pedestrian, and I tend to look askance at food snobs. I also, as an inveterate loner, have very little patience for the common belief that dining alone is somehow weird or sad or socially unacceptable.

And, sure enough, there's quite a bit of food snobbery here, and several folks insisting that eating really should be a social activity, and a bunch of recipes that I couldn't cook if my life depended on it and probably wouldn't eat if you paid me. And yet, to my surprise... I liked it. Most of these essays are very well-written and thoughtful, and they provided some interesting little glimpses into people with lives and relationships with food that are very different from mine. So, hey, good job, Past Me, on that grabbing-books-with-eye-catching-titles strategy!… (mer)