The United States of Arugula
  • Published: 15 October 2007
  • ISBN: 9780767915809
  • Imprint: Crown
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 416
  • RRP: $39.99

The United States of Arugula

The Sun Dried, Cold Pressed, Dark Roasted, Extra Virgin Story of the American Food Revolution

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The wickedly entertaining, hunger-inducing, behind-the-scenes story of the revolution in American food that has made exotic ingredients, celebrity chefs, rarefied cooking tools, and destination restaurants familiar aspects of our everyday lives.

Amazingly enough, just twenty years ago eating sushi was a daring novelty and many Americans had never even heard of salsa. Today, we don't bat an eye at a construction worker dipping a croissant into robust specialty coffee, city dwellers buying just-picked farmstand produce, or suburbanites stocking up on artisanal cheeses and extra virgin oils at supermarkets. The United States of Arugula is a rollicking, revealing stew of culinary innovation, food politics, and kitchen confidences chronicling how gourmet eating in America went from obscure to pervasive—and became the cultural success story of our era.
  • Published: 15 October 2007
  • ISBN: 9780767915809
  • Imprint: Crown
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 416
  • RRP: $39.99
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About the author

David Kamp

DAVID KAMP is a writer and editor for Vanity Fair and the author of The United States of Arugula, The Food Snob’s Dictionary, The Film Snob’s Dictionary, and The Rock Snob’s Dictionary. DAVID LYNCH is a James Beard Award—winning writer, sommelier, and restaurant manager, having served as wine director of Babbo Ristorante for seven years. Both authors live in New York City. ROSS MACDONALD’s illustrations have appeared in many publications, from The New Yorker to The Wall Street Journal.

Also by David Kamp

The Wine Snob's Dictionary
The Film Snob*s Dictionary
The Rock Snob's Dictionary
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Praise for The United States of Arugula

"The United States of Arugula is a page-turner filled with fascinating footnotes, delicious dish about bold-faced names and an in-depth look at the ways in which a series of food pioneers touched off a revolution...Kamp's an excellent writer. He uses his prodigious research, sly humor and storytelling skills to illuminate the back stories of well-known food-centric businesses such as Chez Panisse, Williams-Sonoma and the Zagat guides. He evenhandedly recounts and missteps even as he celebrates the entrepreneurial derring-do that has provided Americans with new cuisines." (USA Today)

"In this light sociological book, David Kamp documents the ongoing shift in America's tastes in food: Over the past few years we've seen the burgeoning of sushi and organic produce, and gourmet chefs are treated as top celebrities. You would never know that just a few years ago we derided vegetarians. Kamp journeys through the '30s onward to try to make sense of a "food-phobic" nation that became a land of connoisseurs." New York Daily News

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