Fiction with food on the side

Culture, Media, General
102

My all-time favorite fiction w/ food are the 6 novels by Mary Lasswell. They’re set at the start of WWII & finish in '62. 3 ladies who drink beer, get into adventures, and eat a lot. I recommend reading Let’s Go For Broke first even though it’s the last one. They’re all available from Amazon, Kobo, B&N.

“WHEN MRS. RASMUSSEN hit the kitchen next morning, N. Carnation had the fire going and was sweeping the floor with a broom she had made of dry palm fronds tied together around a stick. The aluminum-foil trays the spareribs had come in were washed and dried. “Sure fine,” Mrs. Rasmussen said. She didn’t need language to communicate. N. Carnation’s shy smile was enough. Swiftly the chef sliced the cold, hardened mush and dipped it in flour, salt, and pepper. Then she fried it to a crisp, golden brown in the remainder of the bacon fat.”

Lasswell, Mary. Let’s Go For Broke (p. 121). Open Road Distribution. Kindle Edition.

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another excerpt:

NOBODY at the Ark slept late the next morning, even though it was Sunday, usually a very dreamy, leisurely kind of Sabbath. Mrs. Rasmussen carried out a big bowl of steaming rich coffee to the side of the truck where she was sure she would find Old-Timer. Overnight his face seemed to have sprung a thousand little wrinkles. The door slammed and Mrs. Feeley came out in blue jeans and red checkered shirt. She blew noisily on her coffee. “Things don’t never look so bad in the daylight,” she said. “Long’s the engine ain’t rurnt.” “There’s ham an’ grits an’ hot biscuits.” Mrs. Rasmussen apparently felt like atoning for her share in the accident. “An’ bananas, fried-like, with cinnamon sticks grated on ’em an’ little chips o’ lemon rind.” “Ambrosia,” Miss Tinkham trilled from the steps. “Mrs. Rasmussen’s Sunday breakfasts seem to give one a new life."

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104

Thanks for mentioning this - it sounds fun. $3.99 for the Kindle version on Amazon, as opposed to $75 and up for the actual book.

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105

You’re Welcome!.

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Yes!

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My preferred reading is SF & F, Men’s trashy romances (Clancy etc), mysteries, & WWII. Generally not a whole lot of food on the side in those. Lady romances, which I read when I want a break from aliens & explosions, come through for that.

This is Kindle Unlimited and a real GEM! (much pastry)

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108

Now this one, a romance, is a bit different. The food on the side is mostly in the pub & it’s remarkably bad. There are a couple-three decent meals elsewhere.

In Kindle Unlimited

The Village Shop for Lonely Hearts by Alison Sherlock.

First of 4 books-- total empty calories equivalent to eating a Twinkie but the author does a decent job, I did read all 4-- with much skimming! :grin:

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109

I rarely read fiction. I believe the last I read is Waiting by Ha Jin.

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Otherwise I’m making my way through these piles.

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No food though…unless one considers a book as a garden we carry with us.

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111

Just published. Joe Ide, The Goodbye Coast. At p. 5:

"They met at Basilio’s favorite restaurant, Panda Express on Cahuenga. They sat at a table the size of a school desk eating something called orange chicken with dried-out sticky rice.

. . .

"Basilio had ordered broccoli beef along with the orange chicken. He moved the broccoli aside with his plastic fork.

"‘You’re not eating that?’ Marlowe said.

“‘The broccoli? No. It’s only there to flavor the meat.’ Basilio said. He paused. Seemingly his throat was too full to go on eating.”

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Nice!

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113

It is but it is not my original thought. I read it somewhere, I don’t recall where or who said it. I only remember the words… a book is a garden I carry around in my pocket. Something close to that.

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I’ve a Lebanese friend who says it’s an Arabian proverb - one she had tattooed on her arm - but a quick web search also shows it being a Chinese proverb.

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More from Joe Ide, The Goodbye Coast. At page 79:

“There was a pause. ‘Are you hungry?’ Nicole said.

“Yeah, I could eat,’ Marlowe said.

“‘Do you know how to fry bacon properly?’

“‘Yes, I do.’

“‘Then I’ll leave you to it.’

“Marlowe looked in the fridge. He was pleased to find bacon from Vande Rose Farms. Slow smoked, thick cut, uncured, from a heritage breed of Duroc hogs. . . . He took a cast iron pan off the rack, set in on medium-high heat and laid strips down in an even row. As the bacon began to cook, he moved strips from inside out. The middle of the pan is hotter and rotating them lets them cook evenly.

“‘I like your style,’ Nicole said. When the bacon was nearly done, she got out a skillet, set it on low heat and added a healthy knob of butter. She cracked six eggs in a bowl and whipped them vigorously with a fork. She gently poured the eggs into the pan and didn’t stir right away. Marlowe approved. Stir them and you get a bunch of broken-up curds. Marlowe made a fresh pot of coffee, sliced some fresh tomatoes and waited before he put the toast on. Too early and it would be cold when the eggs were done.

“The eggs were setting up. Nicole used the spatula and pushed the edges of the curds toward the center of the pan, the liquid egg taking their place. She was patient, folds of egg taking shape in the middle . . .

“‘It’s beautiful,’ Nicole said.

“‘Yes it is,’ Marlowe said.

“Nicole bowed her head and said grace. She was earnest and sincere, adding warmth to the occasion. They spoke little while they ate. Good food requires respect.”

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Again, Joe Ide, The Goodbye Coast. Page 108:

“Emmet’s favorite restaurant was Musso & Frank. The legendary eatery served its first meal in 1919 and had remained essentially the same since then. Red leather booths, white tablecloths, saloon chandeliers and dark wood paneling. Emmet and Cody came in the back way and took a booth. Cody looked around skeptically and said, ‘It looks like a restaurant in an Al Capone move.’

“‘You’re not far from the truth,’ Emmet said. ‘Bugsy Siegel drank here. Mickey Cohen too. Cohen got beat up in prison and the waiters put hot towels on his knees. They used to have a back room for celebrities. Dashiell Hammett, F. Scott Fitzgerald, William Faulkner.’

“Cody rolled her eyes. ‘Did anyone famous come here that wasn’t born during the Bronze Age?’

“‘Hmm. Let me see. There’s Keith Richards and George Clooney.’

“‘Now you’re talking.’ Cody said.

“‘Michael Connelly loves this place,’ Emmet went on. ‘Says the martinis are the best.’

“‘Who’s Michael Connelly?’”

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117

Ok - you got me! I just requested this from the library. I’m number 25 in line.

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After reading a review a few weeks ago in the Wall Street Journal, we immediately logged in to put in a hold request. We were floored a few days ago to find a library e.mail telling us to come and get it.

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Me too. I get all the libraries in my county to pick from so I get the next available book.
Thanks @BoneAppetite for the heads up.

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120

I’ve “read” all of his books except that one!. I did buy it though. Have you read his others? Different main character!

I didn’t actually read them. I listened to them on audible.

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121

This is our introduction to Mr. Ide. We just placed a hold request on the first of the IQ series.

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122

We’ll also recommend the Netflix series “The Kominsky Method” for its homage to Musso & Frank and staff:

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