On my bookshelf

I have always been interested in the anthropology of food - the way our relationship with food can illustrate broader cultural themes, and, inversely, the ways in which societal shifts and fissures get reflected in the way we eat. Because it is so fundamentally universal, the topic of food proffers enormous potential for understanding the variety of the human experience. It only makes sense then, that the issues of our time - our collective triumphs and struggles - are being increasingly reflected in the works of some of our country's best food writers.

That's why I find the Best Food Writing anthology series to be one of the most intelligent collections of its kind. Year after year, editor Holly Hughes presents a trove of writing that is not just eloquent, but also intensely reflective of our times, and this year's Best Food Writing 2007 is no exception.

This year's selection includes works by Anthony Bourdain, Frank Bruni, and Barbara Kingsolver, as well lots by lesser-known folks, like the Washingtonian's very own Todd Kliman. Hughes divides them into thematic categories, such as Food Fights, The Meat of the Matter, and Why I Cook. In Food Fights, for example, Barry Estabrook turns a critical eye toward such issues as chefs' often disingenuous obsession with local ingredients in his essay "Local Heroes?" Perhaps most striking is a category Hughes labels "Fast Food," wherein three out of the four essays are about the authors' - all of them non-Hispanics - seeking out their respective cities' best taqueria. (The fourth essay examines the variety of monikers by which hot dogs are known to Rhode Islanders. The essay is called "Don't Call It a Hot Dog" - oops- and is written by Joe Yonan, formerly of the Boston Globe, who was recently named the WaPo's new food section editor.)

Filled with such smartly observed essays, this series reminds me all over again why I was drawn to writing about food in the first place, and what our relationship with food can teach us about ourselves and our culture. All in all, it's a literary feast.