Reviewed by: Dina Di Maio

I have a short attention span, so I confess that I don’t read many novels. However, I love essay and short story collections and magazines. I like something I can read and finish in the few minutes I have en route somewhere on the subway, or waiting in the doctor’s office, or during a lull at work. I recently enjoyed a food and travel essay collection, Her Fork in the Road: Women Celebrate Food and Travel, edited by Lisa Bach and published by Travelers’ Tales. The book includes essays by Gourmet editor Ruth Reichl and food writer Laurie Colwin as well as M.F.K. Fisher, Isabel Allende and Chitrita Banerji. I love food and food writing, in the style of Saveur, so this book was right up my alley.

I didn’t read the book consecutively, but chose to pick around by topic. The first essay I read was "At War with Grandma," by Ashley Palmer. This was a delightful tale of the author’s surrogate Japanese grandma who tests her tolerance for unusual Japanese foods. In the end, the author thinks she will beat grandma by making her American brownies that she couldn’t possibly like. This story reminded me of an outing with a Japanese classmate at NYU, a strange girl named Ako who wore bright pink makeup dabbed haphazardly on her lids and lips. Another Japanese friend told me, "She is weird even to Japanese." To the point, Ako and I went to an opera and I got a brownie during intermission. Ako followed me around, expressing her awe and wonder at the chocolate concoction Americans call "brownie" until I finally gave her a bit of mine. In the end, Ako liked the brownie and grandma did too.

Another story I loved was "English Food" by Laurie Colwin. I remember telling a friend I was eating at an English restaurant to which he laughed, "What do they serve? Mutton and beer?" Well, anyone who has had English food knows that that is not true. In the essay, the author talks about cream in England, how it is thick enough to stay in a gravy boat turned upside-down. Indeed, it is a delicacy, on a scone with jam. This essay is enlightening for those who think that the Brits can’t cook. (Though I think the Two Fat Ladies helped dispel this myth as well!)

"Savoring the Trail" by Kelly Winters amazed me, as I did not know hikers had such ravenous appetites. Not being a hiker I guess I never thought about what they ate on a trip, but I’ve since been educated. "Bonito Mañana" is a great tale by Diane Selkirk about the blessings of patience. The local fisherman swear to her that they will catch a bonito—highly-prized tuna--mañana, but they never do. Just when she is ready to skip town…well, I’m sure you can guess the rest. Good things do come to those who wait. A disturbing essay is "Sourtoe Cocktail" by Diane Rigda. Even after reading this, I still cannot believe it’s true. Apparently, at a bar in the Yukon, you can get a cocktail with a real toe in it. The toes are donated, and I’m not sure why anyone would want to donate their toe or what’s more crazy, drink a drink with it.