"A survey of Portland's food cart scene"--

“Profiles many of our most popular purveyors on wheels, and includes . . . recipes so cart-ivores can recreate their favorite dishes at home.” —Mid-County Memo Portlanders have always had a taste for fresh local foods served up with a lack of pretense. So it’s no surprise that food carts have emerged as a popular way to showcase a variety of flavors to hungry locals. While the business is a competitive one, the most unique and culturally diverse food trucks are able to thrive. From new spins on old classics—like the meatball sub and the spinach salad—to innovative creations like the Sriracha Mix-a-Lot and Peppered Peanut Popcorn Brittle, food carts have established a presence as culinary gems in a city brimming with creative dining options. Join Tiffany Harelik, author of the Trailer Food Diaries Cookbook series, as she returns to Portland to celebrate this growing food revolution.

"Jenkins and Smith, who once belonged to rival L.A. gangs, became friends and started a catering business marketed solely on Instagram. Media outlets took notice, as did Snoop Dogg and Martha Stewart, paving the way for their debut cookbook" – Publishers Weekly When two former members of Los Angeles' most nefarious rival gangs decided to unite under one oven, they had no idea that they would be creating an empire. Trap Kitchen is more than just a cookbook. It's a glimpse into the meals that have now become famous in the LA streets thanks to the series of pop-up restaurants that continue to bloom throughout the area. Celebrities and residents alike flock to the locations for soulful meals, but it's more than that. Having lost friends and family to violence, we learn how the masterminds behind Trap Kitchen sought to change the paths they were on, using cooking as their driving force. While other cookbooks may boast a level of urban-skewed appeal in their realness, this cookbook also delves into the stories of why they became involved in cooking in the first place. It's both a heartfelt and stomach-filling experience to learn how two men changed their stars by seeking out peace and good food for themselves and their community.

Portlanders have got it made. Not only is the city filled with nearly countless breweries, brewpubs, bottle shops and homebrew supply venues, but also the people who created the community are nothing short of fascinating. Saddle up to the bar and get to know the stories of the men and women brewing some of the country's most exciting beer and cider, from the origin of Ecliptic Brewing to a personal account of a beer truck driver. When you are looking for an adventure outside the city limits, try out one of the seven beer road trips to other Northwest towns (with a designated driver, of course). Join author Steven Shomler for a hop through Brewvana.

With food-truck fever sweeping the nation, intrepid journalist Heather Shouse launched a coast-to-coast exploration of street food. In Food Trucks, she gives readers a page-by-page compass for finding the best movable feasts in America. From decades-old pushcarts manned by tradition-towing immigrants to massive, gleaming mobile kitchens run by culinary prodigies, she identifies more than 100 chowhound pit-stops that are the very best of the best. Serving up everything from slow-smoked barbecue ribs to escargot puffs, with virtually every corner of the globe represented in brilliant detail for authentic eats, Food Trucks presents portable and affordable detour-worthy dishes and puts to rest the notion that memorable meals can only be experienced in lofty towers of haute cuisine. The secrets behind the vibrant flavors found in Vietnamese banh mi sandwiches, Hungarian paprikash, lacy French crepes, and global mash-ups like Mex-Korean kimchi quesadillas are delivered via more than 45 recipes, contributed by the truck chefs themselves. Behind-the-scenes profiles paint a deeper portrait of the talent behind the trend, offering insight into just what spawned the current mobile-food concept and just what kind of cook chooses the taco-truck life over the traditional brick-and-mortar restauranteur route. Vivid photography delivers tantalizing vignettes of street food life, as it ebbs and flows with the changing demographics from city to city. Organized geographically, Food Trucks doubles as a road trip must-have, a travel companion for discovering memorable meals on minimal budgets and a snapshot of a culinary craze just waiting to be devoured.

The New York Times Bestselling Book--Great gift for Foodies “The best, funniest, most revealing inside look at the restaurant biz since Anthony Bourdain’s Kitchen Confidential.” —Jay McInerney With a foreword by Mario Batali Joe Bastianich is unquestionably one of the most successful restaurateurs in America—if not the world. So how did a nice Italian boy from Queens turn his passion for food and wine into an empire? In Restaurant Man, Joe charts a remarkable journey that first began in his parents’ neighborhood eatery. Along the way, he shares fascinating stories about his establishments and his superstar chef partners—his mother, Lidia Bastianich, and Mario Batali. Ever since Anthony Bourdain whet literary palates with Kitchen Confidential, restaurant memoirs have been mainstays of the bestseller lists. Serving up equal parts rock ’n’ roll and hard-ass business reality, Restaurant Man is a compelling ragu-to-riches chronicle that foodies and aspiring restauranteurs alike will be hankering to read.