The Art of Eating In

November 23, 2009
Though it covers the same time frame as Erway's “Not Eating in New York” blog, this isn't a repurposing of her posts—rather, it's a memoir with recipes, a rapidly growing genre. The premise is simple: adding up the money's she spent on repeatedly eating out for lunch and ordering takeout for dinner, the 20-something Brooklynite decides she'll start preparing all her meals at home, and sticks with it for two years. (All that saved money comes in handy when her boyfriend breaks up with her and she has to find her own apartment, but then there's a new dilemma; as her mother points out: what do you do for dates when you can't go out for dinner?) Erway is up for just about any food-related adventure, whether it's making inroads into New York's underground supper club scene, pulling discarded food out of trash bags, or testing the power of menudo (a Mexican stew) to cure hangovers. And the recipes—ranging from a simple asparagus salad to chipotle cornbread stuffing and a soy-sesame filet mignon with wasabi mashed potatoes—will have readers racing to their stoves.

December 1, 2009
A New York City food blogger chronicles her time as a culinary shut-in.

Erway had her epiphany while eating a greasy hamburger. Like many New Yorkers, she rarely cooked at home, instead indulging in the countless restaurants her adopted hometown offered. However, while New York is arguably the epicurean capital of the world, many of the eateries serve little more than expensive greasy hamburgers. Erway decided that both her stomach—and her wallet—needed a break. Her solution was to go on a complete restaurant fast and document the process—the discoveries, the recipes and the restrictions—on her blog, noteatingoutinny.com. During the course of her two-year experiment, she cooked her way through three apartments, one relationship and an attempt at dating. She also spawned several award-winning dishes, immersed herself in New York's foodie underground and managed to cook tripe. Most remarkable, however, is not the fact that she made it that long without eating out—she often took premade food with her in case of emergencies. Rather, it's how appealing and simple the author makes it seem. She makes whipping up a batch of homemade basil ice cream seem as easy as microwave pizza. She turns foraging in New York parks into an adventure. And she makes every success, including her prize-winning no-knead bread recipe, into readers' victory as well, including recipes for her favorite dishes at the end of each chapter. All of this is presented in a light, girl-next-door manner; the author gleefully mixes and sauts through life, making you want to grab a spoon and help.

Like a great dinner party, Erway's memoir is full of fabulous food and engaging conversation.

(COPYRIGHT (2009) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)

December 14, 2009
New York City resident Erway quit eating out for two years and started a blog about her search for big-city sustenance through other methods. Drawing on her own middle-class, ethnically mixed background, she established manageable guidelines and began her project by experimenting with traditional middle-American basics like bread making and home entertaining. She eventually discovered more urban-radical means of food finding, such as “freeganism” (the consumption of thrown-out food), and rediscovered oldies but goodies, like city park foraging for wild edibles. As might be expected from repurposed blog posts, there’s a quaint, even somewhat historical feel to material about phenomena like the underground supper club “movement,” and the worn foodie-blogger-memoir groove weighs unnecessarily on the book’s light tone. But delectables include savory meal descriptions, abundant recipes, and inspired bits such as her environmental-cost comparison between the same meal purchased as takeout versus prepared at home.