Gourmet

So you're at The New York Times.

Gourmet calls, and you turn them down.

What changed your mind?

[sighs] Well, [laughs] um-

It's not great to be going out every night when you have a nine-year-old.

Um, and he said, "Or you can take over the Bible of American food.

I mean, w- if you really care that much about food, what do you think is more important, Gourmet or The New York Times? I mean, um, this is your chance." And they had promised me I could do anything I wanted.

Hmm.

Over the course of her career, Lori Colwin wrote five novels, three short story collections, and two volumes of essays that really read more like memoirs.

She also contributed regularly to food columns for Gourmet Magazine, which I think is why, in my mind, I've always thought of her as Nora Ephron meets Ruth Reicholm.

Her volume of work is actually astounding considering the limited time in which she had to do it.

She died unexpectedly at the age of 48, but her books live on.

Let's make a book." And then that book got national attention.

Gourmet Magazine was around.

They had a cookbook club.

That was like the Oprah of, like, cookbooks at the time.

I mean, she has had such an interesting life.

Save Me The Plums is particularly about her season with Gourmet Magazine.

Yes, and My Kitchen Year is the aftermath.

Oh, really?

...

it just, it spanned a huge chunk of her life and clearly left an impact on her.

And also, sadly, like, Gourmet Magazine isn't around anymore, and that's, like, part of the story, spoiler, that how, yeah, how she kinda came to end that particular chapter.

But I just, I love her.

I lived there for five years and of course stopped in at my favorite pizza place.

In fact, it's recognized by Gourmet Magazine as the top five.

And Chris Bianco, I used to eat there when I lived on 9th and Van Buren in Phoenix downtown.

I would always go to Pizzeria Bianco.

Worker-owned restaurants might not be as socialist as I initially assumed.

And the new gourmet is now called something else.

As always, I'm Lucas Servodio, and without further ado, it's time to chow down.

Dear listener, I owe approximately 80 of you an explanation.

Definitely recommend reading Jaya's piece.

We're linking it in the show notes.

The other thing I want to draw your attention to... remember how we covered the new gourmet which was getting sued by conde nast owner of the old gourmet over its name well they changed the name and they picked drum roll please buffet why buffet well they say in part because it's fun to say and because the buffet in all its bounty they write captures something about the spirit of the magazine their argument is that the buffet is a democratic mode of dining both for the diner for whom it's an invitation to choose your own adventure, and for the chef who gets a challenge to make food that can actually withstand a little quote-unquote jostling.

They also write that some people may still prefer the quote-unquote tweezed and foamy tasting menu fed to them by corporate media, but that's not what they're offering.

They are weird, right? Yeah.

I was the little girl who snuck into my mom's room and took Vogue and Gourmet Magazine and like Bon Appetit.

And I would take those magazines and I'd be like under the covers at night, like thumbing through the pages and like, you know, dog earring like the pages on like outfits that I found were beautiful or like food that I found was beautiful.

And I mean, I'm talking like I was a child doing this, right? And I would, you know, I've always painted.

[laughs]

And, you know, like, like the writer for Gourmet Magazine, I gotta say it was, it was terrifying.

I don't know what I was afraid of, uh, but it, it did require screwing up a lot of gumption.

But I did, and, and, and I said, you know, "I, if I have the courage of my, uh, convictions, you know, I, I gotta do it." And so I went in, uh, but I was defeated by the sight that greeted me at the hostess station.

Perhaps that's why they hired maitre d's in pairs.

[laughs]

Uh, you know, one of the revelations of this article in Gourmet Magazine is that bribing maitre d's is, is eminently possible.

Uh, now of course, restaurants, uh, the owner of the restaurant has an incentive that, uh, hi- his or her maitre d's not be bribable because then people would be loath to make reservations if they could just be delayed and delayed and delayed by people jumping the queue with $50 bills.