RaveThe New York Times Book ReviewWhat to make of food’s claim to queerness? John Birdsall, the author of a 2020 biography of James Beard, makes immensely satisfying strides in answering the question in his book’s title—What Is Queer Food?—and in the process shares an approach for future writers, cooks and scholars ... What Is Queer Food? puts the sensual and the sensory at the fore, and it pulsates with hunger for what’s possible when queer life and expression is examined through food.
RaveThe New York Times Book ReviewPiepenburg is most animated when fueled by nostalgia, such as in his chapters on 24-hour diners and the \'golden age\' of gay restaurants—a period he identifies as stretching from the late 1960s to the aughts—and when he ponders how to feel about dining at establishments not expressly meant for him. This invites an inevitable further question: How might lesbians or trans people capture the pleasure of their own establishments? Any topical survey will wrestle with the subjective nature of queer belonging, but in Dining Out, Piepenburg’s rigorous research and sensitive reporting are vital to the book’s impact ... Puts the sensual and the sensory at the fore, and it pulsates with hunger for what’s possible when queer life and expression is examined through food. And at a moment when queer and trans people are increasingly under attack, the subject of quiche again becomes a poignant call to action.
