Between Bites: Memoirs of a Hungry Hedonist - Softcover

Villas, James

3.75

48 ratings by Goodreads

9780471448273: Between Bites: Memoirs of a Hungry Hedonist

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0471448273 ISBN 13: 9780471448273

Publisher: Wiley, 2003

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Praise for Between Bites Memoirs of a Hungry Hedonist

"An incredible journey of gastronomy by one of America's greatest journalists. Wow!"--Chef Emeril Lagasse

"For anyone interested in disciplined hedonism, this gripping book reminds us where real style comes from and how it is sustained."--Jeremiah Tower

"This is a wonderful book for all to cherish and enjoy--those who love gloriously meticulous writing, wit, the joy of good food from French to Southern, the love of friends who truly accept them, and the pleasure of dispute, which I intend to keep doing with Jimmy as long as he will let me. Bravo!"--Barbara Kafka

"The more stubborn, persnickety, demanding, and shocking Jim Villas's opinions become in his memoirs, the funnier, more informed, and commonsensical they seem. His appetite for the good life has never flagged, and his ability to convey the highs and lows of dining out makes this book as tantalizing as a mess of spiced crabs. Like A. J. Liebling and Waverley Root, Jim Villas is not really a food writer but a great writer who revels in the joy of living well."--John Mariani

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Review:

James Villas is in love with the notion of himself as a bon vivant. The food and wine editor of Town & Country magazine for many years, a cookbook author, and a contributor to Esquire, Villas has chronicled gourmet living through the foodie revolutions of the last three decades. In Between Bites: Memoirs of a Hungry Hedonist, he writes about discovering and developing his palate in France in the early 1960s, the Advent of Julia (Child, of course), the rise of nouvelle cuisine, and the return to regional cooking. Though he claims to be a supporter of down-home American cuisine, Villas is deeply enamored of all things jet set. His idea of glamour has everything to do with champagne and what he always refers to as "sufficiencies of caviar." His memoir unfolds as a series of portraits of great chefs, restaurateurs, and eaters he has known--chapters are devoted to everyone from James Beard and Paula Wolfert to Jeremiah Tower and Paul Bocuse. These friends are portrayed lovingly and wickedly; Villas is a self-described "old queen" who loves nothing more than a good gossip. Sometimes the storymongering can get a bit breathless; he describes at least three times a meal aboard the SS France with Salvador Dali and an ocelot. But even his name-dropping has a certain charm: here's a sophisticate who still gets starry-eyed about his own extraordinary good fortune. --Claire Dederer

From the Inside Flap:

Great food and stimulating prose come together in this provocative insider’s memoir of a life driven by a passion for fine cuisine and the good life. With a Southerner’s knack for storytelling, acclaimed writer and former Town & Country food and wine editor James Villas delivers a delectable tale of his personal and professional odyssey in Between Bites: Memoirs of a Hungry Hedonist. At the same time, he provides an exclusive peek at the intrigue behind the vibrant gastronomic evolution of food in America over the past forty years.

Working undercover as a captain at the five-star Le Perroquet in Chicago; dining in Paris with the cookbook author Paula Wolfert in an off-beat bistro inexplicably swarming with dozens of dachshunds; succumbing to last night’s bad oysters in the middle of an interview with the celebrated writer M.F.K. Fisher, only to be resuscitated by her homemade milk toast and soda: these and other anecdotes color the amazing story of Villas’s career in the fickle culinary world. By turns witty and poignant, sometimes controversial and irreverent, always candid and opinionated, this compelling narrative pinpoints the exploits of a personal journey filled with a lively cast of fellow food lovers and the memorable meals and adventures shared with them. James Beard, Julia Child, Craig Claiborne, Paul Bocuse, Jeremiah Tower, Ella Brennan—they are all here, along with many others who have contributed to the rich texture and flavor of Villas’s colorful life.

In between the "bites" of his story, Villas shares a selection of favorite recipes as well as a captivating collection of personal photos, journal notes, and other memorabilia. With outspoken revelations about the best and worst of all things gastronomic, Villas celebrates his own rebellious values while commenting freely on the foibles of contemporary chefs, restaurateurs, and the eating public. One of those rare writers who entertains and inspires even at his most outrageous, Villas joins the ranks of other visionaries who have stepped beyond the culinary world into the cultural mainstream with delightful, engaging results.

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