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Lydia Beer's avatar

Another great read, Jason! I felt like I was right in the restaurant with her. I found both mentioned books on my used book site and can’t wait to peruse them. I’m excited for you to be dining in some French restaurants this fall and hopefully getting to read about your experiences. As always, thanks for enlightening your old Mom. ❤️

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Jason Beer's avatar

Thanks, Mom. As always, appreciate you reading. I hope you enjoy Fisher! I'm real glad I stumbled upon her writing a while back.

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Cassie Beer's avatar

This post has made me interested in reading her! You’ll have to leave your most highly recommended on my nightstand. Beautiful piece.

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Jason Beer's avatar

Thanks, Jo. She's a good one. You'll like her. She's got spunk and fire.

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Mark Doyle Meyer's avatar

As They Were is on hold at Tecumseh. Looks like a good read in prep of my winter trip to France..

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Jason Beer's avatar

That's great, Mark! I hope you enjoy it - the book that is. We are going this fall, so I will want to get together and compare notes from our trips. I also read David Coggins (the older one) book Paris in Winter about his family's trips to the city each winter for several years. It is part journal and part watercolor sketchbook. I enjoyed it, though I don't think the library carries it.

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Matt Kelley's avatar

This is terrific, Jason. Thank you. I didn't know about M.F.K. at all, and this essay has been enlightening and illuminating. I'm particularly struck by her level of expertise—to be able to write with such acumen about food and drink gives her great power to then apply that insight, specificity and depth as metaphors for this life that we're all leading. As a generalist, I really envy that. I'll look forward to digging in and learning more.

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Jason Beer's avatar

Thanks so much, Matt! Appreciate you reading and letting me know. Glad to have made the introduction. Food writing is such a rewarding genre when done well. It quickly gets into language, culture, history, geography, and eventually, love and life. And often with beautiful drawings, pictures, etc. Thinking of Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat, as well as Bourdain of course, Phil Rosenthal's show Somebody Feed Phil is great. I've heard AJ Liebling is another one.

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