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C o n 5 0 t r i b 5 0 u t o r s
We asked our contributors to tell us their favorite book or their favorite meal.
Allan Peterson's favorite book as book is The Book of Kells. The 8th-century Irish manuscript. The most lavish of the insular books, splendidly illustrated with Celtic interlace and rich coloration. He is not a believer, has never seen it, and doesn't read Latin, but believes in books and devoted artistry.
CL Bledsoe would do horrible things for some barbecue from the original Corky's in Memphis. Horrible things.
Corey Mesler is very fond of sushi and James Joyce. He is a Cancer and believes in fays, haints, revolution, raw eel and “the incorruptible eon of the gods."
Dale Wisely understands CL Bledsoe's confusion about Memphis barbecue, but the best meal Dale ever had was Gridley's ribs in Memphis. For an anniversary, his wife FedExed him a slab. This is love.
Doug Draime's favorite book is Catch-22 by Joseph Heller. He read it while in the army infantry in the '60s. It had a tremendous impact on him. The outrageous humor and anti-war and anti-authoritarian statements are unmatched.
Eric Burke ate the best meal he ever had (and he had it many, many times) at the Indian Oven back when it was still located on North High Street near the campus of The Ohio State University. Best Aloo Matar in Columbus.
F. John Sharp reveres the memory of Dalton Trumbo's Johnny Got His Gun because, while it was a book report assignment, he surprised himself by taking it home and reading it cover to cover in one sitting. He did so one Friday night when he could have been out trying to chase girls with his friends, but it turned out the whole book thing was going to be a more typical Friday night anyway.
F.J. Bergmann spent two formative years in Paris, advancing to the age of reason while resident there. In a city renowned for its cuisine, the most memorable meal began with a potato soup—potage Parmentier—sufficiently delicious to have another bowlful instead of dessert.
Helen Losse, who lived in Charlotte (NC) for fifteen years, misses The World Famous Open Kitchen, where—since her in-laws-to-be first took her and her husband-to-be there in December 1967—atmosphere has made family celebrations extra special. ACC posters cover the wall, and the bike-riding monkey-on-a-wire travels safely back and forth above her glass of Chianti, Greek salad, and Chicken Barcelona, followed by cheesecake with cherries.
Howie Good considers Tom Drury's The Driftless Area one of the best novels he's ever read, but that maybe because he can't remember anymore what happened in a book he's just read.
John Grey has work in this issue, but no real bio.
Larry D. Thomas, although he moved from Houston to Alpine, Texas more than a year ago, still misses and craves the Cajun red beans, rice and sausage (AND jalapeno cornbread!) at Treebeards on Old Market Square in downtown Houston. His talented dentist-wife, Lisa, who left Houston with a Treebeards cookbook in tow, comes so close to duplicating the dishes aforementioned that Larry, after dining at home in Alpine, gets dizzy looking for the creaking, oaken Treebeards stairs!
Luis Cuauhtemoc Berriozabal's favorite meal was Carne Asada a la Tampiqueña at Chef Adolfo in Mazatlan (Mexico).
Mark Cunningham doesn't know if it was the best meal he ever ate, but the most memorable was a tomato-and-cheese sandwhich he had at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. He had wanted to get to the museum for 20 years and finally made it. And he ate a sandwich.
Mather Schneider thinks The Stranger by Albert Camus is the best book he's ever read. He's read it many times, always in English. In one book we have one of the most memorable first lines and also most memorable last lines in literature. Bukowski said that The Stranger was an effective remedy for what was bothersome about the ending of Crime and Punishment, and Mather agrees.
Scot Siegel misses his mother's latkes and brisket. He does not miss her liver or tongue.
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