I have to tell you something

Washington square park on this beautiful evening

Yesterday I met Frank Bruni at the Fales Library “Critical Topics in Food” discussion series at NYU.  You can watch some of the previous sessions in the NYUTV archives.

Bruni (of former NY Times restaurant reviewer fame) was one of a number of panelists who participated in a discussion about food media in the world of new media.  Clark Wolf moderated, as per usual.  The discussion was a familiar reprisal of the “bloggers vs. journalists” debate, and the tone was “we won’t say we hate bloggers, but we kind of do.”  Consider the background of the other panelists:

Scott Hocker, San Franciso Edition Editor of Tasting Table.com, a daily email with a journalistic point of view
Marion Nestle, Author, NYU Professor of Food Studies, who blogs at foodpolitics.com
Krishnendu Ray, Author, NYU Food Studies Faculty, who serves on the editorial board of the journal Food, Culture & Society

The last panelist was a woman whose name I didn’t catch, but she was the former food editor of Gourmet magazine, before it closed in October of last year.

These are all very much print/editorial focused individuals who lament the changes in the newspaper industry.  They say there’s little to no editorial oversight or fact-checking in the blogosphere the way there is in newspapers or - gasp - books.  Some people, like Scott, started out in print and wound up online due to changes in the media landscape.

That’s not to say that the panelists aren’t using new media tools: Frank, Marion and Scott are all on Twitter and have a well developed online presence.  One audience member asked whether they saw any opportunities in the digital world.  I liked Frank Bruni’s response best - he suggested a reverse-Epicurious type of search site where instead of saying “I have these ingredients and I want to cook dinner,” saying “I want to eat salmon tonight, who’s got a good special?”

So tech geeks, someone get out there and do it!

I went to a great panel discussion at NYU’s Fales Library this afternoon.  The subject: why New York loves Italian food.  The panelists:

Elena Kostioukovitch, author of Why Italians Love to Talk About Food

William Grimes, former New York Times restaurant critic and author of Appetite City

Fabio Parasecoli, author of Bite Me: Food in Popular Culture

Chris Cannon, partner at the upscale Italian restaurant Marea

The Fales Library is known for its Food and Cookery Collection, and it also recently acquired the Gourmet archives.  Several times a semester, there is another “critical topics in food” discussion, of which this was one.  I have been to several and find them fascinating.  Typically, the panelists each bring their own perspective and discuss topics that are relevant to their experience.  At the last event I went to, I met Sara Moulton, former executive chef at Gourmet just days after the announcement that the magazine was to close.  I hear Frank Bruni is going to be at the next event and I am dying to meet him!

Here’s a quick synopsis of today’s discussion.

Elena: During research for her book, Elena traveled throughout Italy.  In Puglia, on the coast of southern Italy, locals catch and eat seafood with maybe just a touch of lemon.  She said it was a pleasure to see people enjoying their food without a rigorous cooking process.

William: Back in 1850s New York, Italian food was still considered exotic.  Many Italian immigrants who had come from well-off northern Italy came to New York and started off with the idea that they would cook for their countrymen and women.  A family acquired a brownstone, housed other Italian tenants and opened a restaurant on the ground floor.  Those early restaurants were “sumptuous” - not like the red-and-white-checkered table cloths we think of at trattorias today.

Chris: Marea, a 200-seat high end Italian seafood restaurant, opened during the height of the recession.  Much to the surprise and pleasure of New York’s food industry, it is enjoying great success.  Chris’ background includes the Greek culture of familiy-style food and French precision and training.  At his restaurants, the goal is to have the people at the table sit for five hours, look at the clock and wonder where the time went.  Sounds pretty good to me!

Fabio: While teaching undergraduates in Italy, he helped his students realize that yes, you can buy food, cook it and then eat it.  Not everything comes pre-packaged!

After the discussion there was wine, cheese and other delicious snacks.  I made the rounds and sampled everything, including the wine… and then I went to yoga.  A perfect afternoon, if you ask me!