Appetite City: A Culinary History of New York,   ISBN:9780865476929

Customer Rating: 

Written as a history of NY restaurants, this work by W. Grimes is big on detail of 18th & 19th century NY dining but loses steam as it progresses into the 20th century. The author is to be commended for undertaking such an enormous subject matter, but in order to do it justice the book would have to have been double the pages. If you're a "foodie" who loves NY restaurants, this might book fill your appetite. But the average reader will come away hungry for more.

Customer Rating: 

My overall impression of this book is that Mr. Grimes was exhausted after doing the research, which I must say was extensive and scrupulously done. I can only imagine the vast amounts of information that were available. But, having found it all and strung it all together, he failed to find the statue hiding in the marble. As he approached the end, it became more of a timeline: and then there was, and then there was, and finally. Where was the editor on this project? In my opinion, what should have been a lively history of a rich topic read more like a somewhat humorless dissertation. There were moments of comic relief, but overall I feel that the subject deserved better.

Customer Rating: 

I enjoyed this book immensely until I read his lines on page 283..how Politically Correct..how dismissive of 2 airplanes commandeered by rich,educated Saudis..who determined to kill Americans..and this author so offhandidly says"..on September 11 ,after two jetliners slammed into the Twin Towers.."
that was just too much. How liberal of him..
My parents and my husband and I danced and dined at the Windows on the World..my brother and I ate meals there..my friend,neighbor,Patrick O'Keefe died,as a firefighter with Rescue 1,trying to save the lives of all those innocent people.
No,I won't buy another copy of this book.The cowards,the politically correct,don't deserve a cent of my money.

Customer Rating: 

This book took me by surprise. I could not have imagined that a tale of defunct restaurants could be so lively and so funny. Mr. Grimes has managed to summon up, generously and with great wit, bygone places, people, and an entire era.

Customer Rating: 

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Grimes is an excellent writer who really brings his subject to life. I found myself immersed in the tastes and excitements of New York from the 1800's until the present. In the author's capable hands, food becomes a fascinating prism in which to understand the history of a great city.