A delicious bucket list of great tastes
To work your way through “1,000 Foods to Eat Before You Die” — Mimi Sheraton’s new comprehensive list for food fanatics — you’d have to do almost nothing else but eat to complete the list before, well, dying.
So to think that the renowned food writer and former New York Times restaurant critic not only whittled this list down from an original 1,800 items, but wrote it over the span of a decade, only confirms what we already knew — that her impressive palate, food knowledge and motivation is practically unparalled.
For those who care about food, this book has it all. It’s an encyclopedia, a travel guide, a memoir. It’s a resource and a cookbook. Most of all, says Sheraton, “I hope it will be a good read.”
It is. It will also make you feel full just by flipping the pages. And it’s hard to know where to begin.
There is almost no good way to organize a book like this. In some cases, Sheraton’s favorite dishes are a memory from a cookbook recipe. In others, a longago meal from a restaurant that’s now closed — a hazard of the industry when putting together something so voluminous.
Some entries list a single restaurant; others a lone dish. But Sheraton says that “everything is sample-able in one form or another,” so she’ll print recipes, cookbook suggestions or online resources when she can’t offer a specific spot.
Of course, it’s those far-off places that are the biggest draw.
The book is categorized by type of cuisine, and Sheraton says it should inspire travels, though she’d like for it to work both ways. Already in Seville, Spain? Head to Bar Ajoblanco for white gazpacho. But if The Om Ali — an Egyptian dish akin to bread pudding — catches your eye, maybe you’ll consider a future jaunt to Cairo. San Francisco is well represented. From Hangtown Fry at Tadich to the burger at Zuni and chicken at Frisco Fried, the classics are there.
Are your favorites included? You’ll have to check it out.