Flash in the Pan: Life and Death of an American Restaurant - Softcover

Blum, David

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1439193770 ISBN 13: 9781439193778

Publisher: Simon & Schuster, 2009

Synopsis

“Finally back in print, Flash in the Pan is the original—and still the best—reportage on the life and death of an American restaurant, a ground level view of every phase of its life. From the early, hope filled planning stages to the last, humiliating moments, it's a tragi-comic epic of hubris and human folly. Painfully hilarious and even more painfully true. This is a welcome reissue of a restaurant classic that should be read by every culinary and food service student in America and sit comfortably next to Orwell's Down and Out on every shelf.”
—Anthony Bourdain, author of Kitchen Confidential

In 1990, journalist David Blum got backstage access to the life and death of The Falls, a downtown Manhattan restaurant that captured the 1980s in all its extravagant excess. Its owners—a tanned, Brahmin barkeep and a handsome Irish firefighter from Queens—partnered with movie star pal Matt Dillon to cater to New York's most glamorous models, actors, and writers. Flash in the Pan captured in hilarious detail the quick decline and disastrous fall of The Falls, and has become a classic cautionary tale for anyone who might harbor the fantasy of opening a restaurant.

David Blum is the editor of Kindle Singles, the storefront for high quality longform writing on Kindle. He was previously the editor in chief of The Village Voice and has written for New York magazine, Esquire, Vanity Fair, The New Yorker, and The New York Times Magazine. Flash in the Pan, first published in 1992, was his first book.

About this title

About the Author:

David Blum is the editor of Kindle Singles, the storefront for high quality longform writing on Kindle. He was previously the editor in chief of The Village Voice and has written for New York magazine, Esquire, Vanity Fair, The New Yorker, and The New York Times Magazine. Flash in the Pan, first published in 1992, was his first book.

From Library Journal:

When The Falls opened in lower Manhattan in 1990 with all the pomp and press attention befitting a "hot" new trendy restaurant, no one imagined that it would close in little more than a year. The story of The Falls sadly typifies those dining-as-theater eateries where an artsy space, chic clientele, and modelesque service upstage the cuisine. Blum, a writer for Esquire , Vanity Fair , and The New Republic , offers a voyeuristic behind-the-scenes account of the intricacies of starting and running such an establishment. Filled with plentiful humor and satisfying anecdotes about the characters and events that make up the hip "downtown" New York scene, Blum's book is more an entertaining look at, rather than a serious dissertation on, the restaurant business. Recommended for popular business collections.
-David Nudo, New York
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Simon & Schuster
• Publication date: 2009
• ISBN 10: 1439193770
• ISBN 13: 9781439193778
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 304