Frank Bruni: "Born Round"

[David A. Goldfarb]

The New York Times magazine is publishing a big chunk of food critic, Frank Bruni's memoir of food due out in about a month or so. There is a preview, including the full text of the Sunday Magazine piece here--

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/19/magazine...&pagewanted=all

I haven't finished reading it, but there is an audio slide show that he narrates, if you're curious about what he sounds like. I was particularly struck by the way that he is one of those people who is completely recognizable from his baby pictures.

[feedmec00kies]

The New York Times magazine is publishing a big chunk of food critic, Frank Bruni's memoir of food due out in about a month or so.  There is a preview, including the full text of the Sunday Magazine piece here--

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/19/magazine...&pagewanted=all

I haven't finished reading it, but there is an audio slide show that he narrates, if you're curious about what he sounds like.  I was particularly struck by the way that he is one of those people who is completely recognizable from his baby pictures.

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I didn't check the audio slide show, but I read the whole article earlier today. It's pretty crazy that someone who's had such a history of disordered eating became a food critic. He's kind of mentioned things in non-review articles before about concern with his weight, but I had no idea it's been a life-long thing.

My interest is definitely piqued. I think I'll be picking up the book when it comes out.

[David A. Goldfarb]

I finished the article, and it is curious that he has such a history of eating issues. It makes his most recent career seem like some sort of grand overcompensation or maybe self-testing.

[TAPrice]

In this review of Table 8, it looks like Frank Bruni is going out much as he came in: obsessed with restaurant bathrooms:

In its opening weeks, it rewarded anyone who went to the bathroom with a glass of sparkling wine.

At least that’s what happened the first time I dined there, when my companions and I noticed bubbly for the taking in a chamber beside the sinks.

What to make of this? Freud surely would have had one answer. We had another: diners were being congratulated for actually managing to reach this remote, ill-marked destination, a Herculean feat involving an instinctive left here, a speculative right there, a hunch, a leap of faith, a descent into the underworld and a fearless crossing of the river Styx.

Now that we know about his history of eating disorders, is it too facile to think that his focus on bathrooms when talking about food might arise from these psychological issues?

Edited July 29, 2009 by TAPrice (log)

[David A. Goldfarb]

I'd give him that one. I would guess that, even in New York, fewer than 10% of all restaurants offer a free glass of sparkling wine in the bathroom.

[TAPrice]

I'd give him that one.  I would guess that, even in New York, fewer than 10% of all restaurants offer a free glass of sparkling wine in the bathroom.

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It's true. A glass of red is more common.

I just remember much talk about his odd fixation on restaurants in the early reviews.