Two of HG’ favorite food/restaurant books are “Between Meals, An Appetite For Paris” by A.J. Liebling and “Blue Trout and Black Truffles” by Joseph Wechsberg. Both authors are deceased. Their books are compilations of articles the writers did for the New Yorker Magazine. Wechsberg’s book is a bit dated but still rewarding in detailing a cream and butter based cuisine that has virtually disappeared. Liebling will never be dated. He was a remarkable journalist who wrote about boxing, war, Paris, food, restaurants, colorful characters, Southern politics and Broadway low life. He never wrote an awkward sentence and everything he wrote had grace, humor and humanity. Some of the his books are, besides “Between Meals”: “The Sweet Science” (about boxing–Sports Illustrated hailed it as the best sports book ever written); “The Honest Rainmaker” (about the inimitable Col. John R. Stingo); “Earl of Louisiana” (about Gov. Earl Long of Louisiana); “The Road Back To Paris” (World War Two); “The Second City” (Chicago); “The Telephone Booth Indian” (Broadway low life). He also wrote, for the New Yorker, a continual series called “The Wayward Press,” a brilliant critique of American journalism. In all, he wrote 16 extraordinary books.
Liebling was the sourest, unhappiest looking man HG ever encountered. Overweight, rumpled, wearing thick lensed glasses, Liebling was not a pleasing sight. HG often saw him at New York’s Algonquin Hotel in the company of other New Yorker writers and editors. There was a lot of laughter but Liebling never smiled. HG once sighted Liebling at the bar of a Chinese restaurant. HG gave a waiter a note for Liebling: “May I buy you a drink in recognition of the great pleasure your writing has given me?” Liebling fixed HG with a truly nasty look and shook his head emphatically signifying: “No.” Born in 1904, he died in 1963. Doctors had warned him that his overeating was killing him. He ignored them. And died.
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