A History of Food in 100 Recipes

We’re going to let the book jacket write this one for us because it’s succinctly so many things we live for. The Mad Feast is a richly illustrated culinary tour of the United States through fifty signature dishes, and a radical exploration of our gastronomic heritage. We’re kinda obsessed with dishes that define cities and states. Matthew Gavin Frank does just that and digs in the history of each to boot. If you follow the Drool List, you know we’re entering travel season. This one makes us want to dust off the luggable loo and mount up the truck for an epic cross country zig zag…again.

With the every exploding foodie craze devouring New York, a book like Ina Yalof ’s Food and the City is a peephole into the minds of those on the front lines. Cutting through the clutter of food tweets, Instagram gasto-sensational pics and verbose bloggers (present company included) Ina interviews New York’s pro chefs, restaurateurs, line cooks, street vendors, and purveyors getting to the root of their passion for their daily grind. In a lot of ways, this will reground us all to why we care so much about this newly crowned food lifestyle popularity in the first place.

Dad’s are tricky people. you never know if your going to get a life lesson, a lazy afternoon sharing a beer or an informal reprimanding about saving in your 401k. Regardless, we wouldn’t be here without them and celebrating them next Sunday is not only appropriate but critical. The right gift could defer some of those tougher talks for a few months. Here’s our favorite nine round up for 2016. Sfoglini Pasta of the Month $75 |  Dad Bod T-Shirt $23 |  Silicon Grip Grill Gloves $20 | Big Apple Barbecue Block Party FREE | House Beer $8 | Dude Sweet $8 | Detroit Denim Apron $115 |  Bourbon Maple Syrup $16 | Po’ Man Charcoal Grill $115

We left New Orleans with a copy of John Kennedy Toole’s a Confederacy of Dunces in our digital back pocket. We were inspired to read the comedic, novel depicting Ignatius J. Reilly’s exploits because of Cynthia LeJeune Nobles’ cookbook of the same name. The Confederacy of Dunces Cookbook is a series of dishes inspired by 1960’s New Orleans and Ignatius’ favorite foods. The research that went into this book is incredible. I’m not sure which one I suggest you read first. Maybe read them both and cook simultaneously for a real immersive trip.