All The Things I Eat

Few restaurant chains are memorable enough to have their legacy outlast their operations. Howard Johnson’s is the rare exception, in part because their unique buildings remained identifiable icons long after a location closed. Anthony Mitchell Sammarco looks into this rich history in A History of Howard Johnson’s: How a Massachusetts Soda Fountain Became an American Icon.

The melting pot of America is never more evident than in the country’s cuisine. The food we eat tells us a lot about who we are and where we came from. In Food Americana: The Remarkable People and Incredible Stories behind America’s Favorite Dishes, David Page takes us through the journey of how many different foods become part of a larger American cuisine, examining the multinational origins and the evolution in restaurants across the country.

A look at the Andrew Freidman’s The Dish: The Lives and Labor Behind One Plate of Food, a book chronicling one meal at a one restaurant.

Hot dogs provide an ideal medium for expressing culinary creativity. Across the United States exist hundreds of unique recipes created and loved by local and regional consumers. Comedian and author Jaime Loftus goes on the search for the perfect hot dog in her latest book, Raw Dog: The Naked Truth About Hot Dogs.

José R. Ralat’s examination of the American taco looks at the history of restaurants and categorizes many of the tacos currently available today by region and style.