Last week an article in Publisher’s Weekly revealed that indie-press powerhouse McSweeney’s is launching a new line of cookbooks. The yet-to-be named imprint sprang from the San Francisco Panorama (McSweeney’s phenomenal one-off newspaper, which Alison covered here). Co-publisher Chris Ying was encouraged by the response to the food section of the paper, and wanted to “make something that appeals not only to foodies, but to readers who appreciate good writing and art in general.” You’re probably familiar by now with this, or this, or this, or this, or this, so you probably know that whatever these dudes put their minds to turns out pretty damn good.
The first title is Mission Street Food: Recipes and Ideas from an Improbable Restaurant by Anthony Myint and Karen Leibowitz, who founded the popular pop-up restaurant. The book will be a blend of recipes and narrative writing that gives a background on the project and the philanthropical component of Mission Street.
I’m particularly excited about their new collaboration with David Chang (of Momofuku fame), Lucky Peach. Each issue of the journal, which will have a print and iPad component, will focus on a particular dish (think Lapham’s Quarterly for food people). The first, unsurprisingly, will take on Chang’s staple—ramen. The New York Times Diner’s Journal got the skinny on what the app will look like:
The ramen app will include a tour of a ramen factory in Japan; an interview with Allan Benton, the Tennessee smokehouse master whose bacon is used in the broth; a consultation with Harvard food scientists about Mr. Chang’s efforts to make a pork-based variant of dashi; a talk by Harold McGee (green-screened into outer space) on hot broth’s effects on noodles; and a scrollable time line tracing the rise of ramen in Japan over the last century. There will also be appearances by Wylie Dufresne, Charlie Rose and Anthony Bourdain, and plenty of cooking demonstrations.
His collaborator on the project is Peter Meehan, a co-author of the “Momofuku” cookbook and a former $25 and Under columnist for The New York Times.
What’s the over/under on how long it takes for Andy Ricker’s fish-oil wings get the McSweeney’s treatment?
Despite their occasional preciousness, I will forever love McSweeney’s for publishing “Icelander”, which was the best novel I’ve ever read on Southwest Airlines.