Edward Lee (5) (1972–)

Mecklenburg County, North Carolina chose Buttermilk Graffiti as a Community Read for March 2024 and has many events promoting this book. Edward Lee writes an interesting and educational book on the various hometown favorite recipes, but the font of the book ruins the book. Due to the lousy font, reading this book provided a terrible journey instead of a delightful voyage into different cultures. The recipes faded on the black background. The discussion in the book showed many areas of delicious recipes and cultural background, but the font and lack of dark lettering drove this reader to boredom and wishing the book to end. I felt that my eyesight suffered with this book, and I could not enjoy Edward Lee’s writing style and comments. Workman Publishing destroys a wonderful book.… (más)

Unintentionally a fitting read for the weekend I traveled to Lexington, KY for a family wedding given that Lee lives and works not too far away in Louisville. More travelogue than cookbook (though every chapter does have recipes from/related to his adventure), there's a lot of discussion about cultural identity through food (the throughline I still have 4 generations in after language has been lost), and the shifting landscape of cities (places with a lot of manufacturing always need labor and it comes in immigrant waves). Lee abhors the word "authentic", something I've started avoiding using as an adjective to discuss foods because what's truly authentic, especially if it's the cuisine of poor people trying to make do with available ingredients, or energetic young chefs trying to revive lost techniques?

Once again I have failed to make something from recipes before I returned it to the library so I can't verify how good they are, but they sounded great.… (más)

"Our food reflects who we are as a people"

What a beautiful way to sum up this book. I have been familiar with Edward Lee since watching him on Top Chef; I have read his cookbook "Smoke and Pickles." But this book--part recipe book, part expose of American regions, part memoir--gave me a greater respect for this man not only as a chef, but as a human being.

"There is good food to be discovered everywhere. All it takes is an adventurous palate and an inquisitive mind. You can link both to the foods that sit in your memories.....It can link two things together that you might not have thought belonged together (buttermilk and graffiti). It is an adventure worth taking. It is a dish worth tasting." (Lee, 2018, pg. 310)

I now want to go explore the hidden haunts in cities; I want to truly sample the cuisine of the culture. I want to go to Cafe Du Monde. I want to go to Louisville. And I want to keep the recipes of my heritage alive. Yet make them uniquely mine. I am a melting pot =)… (más)

Edward Lee's voice is so unpretentious that it's really quite refreshing. I love me some Anthony Bourdain or Thomas Keller, but I can't imagine feeling truly comfortable with them or that either of them would feel like I had anything of value to offer in conversation if I were invited to dinner. Lee, on the other hand, makes you feel like it's okay to experiment and it's okay to be proud of your culinary roots even if they are humble. I think Edward Lee truly welcomes anyone to his table, and he finds just as much value in nostalgia and history as he does technique. There are definitely recipes I have no interest in, but I still enjoyed reading about his enthusiasm for the ingredients and their background. Other recipes are so unusual that I am inspired to try something completely new. Overall, a really interesting cookbook and a pretty good read too.… (más)