• Buttermilk Graffiti

  • A Chef’s Journey to Discover America’s New Melting-Pot Cuisine
  • By: Edward Lee
  • Narrated by: David Shih
  • Length: 8 hrs and 53 mins
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars (59 ratings)

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Buttermilk Graffiti

By: Edward Lee
Narrated by: David Shih
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Publisher's summary

American food is the story of mash-ups. Immigrants arrive, cultures collide, and out of the push-pull come exciting new dishes and flavors. But for Edward Lee, who, like Anthony Bourdain or Gabrielle Hamilton, is as much a writer as he is a chef, that first surprising bite is just the beginning. What about the people behind the food? What about the traditions, the innovations, the memories?  

A natural-born storyteller, Lee decided to hit the road and spent two years uncovering fascinating narratives from every corner of the country. There's a Cambodian couple in Lowell, Massachusetts, and their efforts to re-create the flavors of their lost country. A Uyghur cafe in New York's Brighton Beach serves a noodle soup that seems so very familiar and yet so very exotic - one unexpected ingredient opens a window onto an entirely unique culture. A beignet from Cafe du Monde in New Orleans, as potent as Proust's madeleine, inspires a narrative that tunnels through time, back to the first Creole cooks, then forward to a Korean rice-flour hoedduck and a beignet dusted with matcha.  

Sixteen adventures, 16 vibrant new chapters in the great evolving story of American cuisine. And 40 recipes, created by Lee, that bring these new dishes into our own kitchens.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2018 Edward Lee (P)2018 Tantor

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What listeners say about Buttermilk Graffiti

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Foodies delight

If you have an adventurous pallet, you’ll love this book. Great story well read absolutely fabulous. 

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

A fascinating way to look at, explore and better understand “American” food

I love Edward Lee’s culinary voice and insight into what is American food. As a chef myself, I have a hard time “defining” what style of food I do. It’s refreshing to hear a longtime accomplished chef talk about blowing the box apart and just doing food.
I would definitely recommend this book,
To chefs and non chefs.
I did struggle with the narrator. While the words he was reading capture the passionate enthusiasm for cooking we see in Edward On season 3 of the mind of a chef, I don’t think he was the right voice for it. Sorry.
Despite the last paragraph I wrote, I do Highly recommend this book.

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2 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Everybody eats

What we need right now?
This is another way of connecting,
of understanding who we are we Americans As people.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Good listen for the aspiring food snob

I like the book in general. Lee did a great job at telling his story, but I think it would have been better had he narrated it himself.

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Eloquent, reflective, fun, and insightful

I was charmed (and sometimes annoyed) by Edward Lee on Top Chef, and I impulse purchased this book when I finished watching his season. I wasn't sure what to expect, but, wow, this book surprised and delighted. It is thoughtfully composed and beautifully written. Complex and rich with questions and reflections on food culture, power dynamics, meaning, identity, and more. Few answers are provided, but the ride is more than worth it. For what it's worth, I also liked the narrator. Highly recommend.

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The best of Food Writing

Edward Lee's writing is lyrical and disarming. This book is a must for teaching culture diversity in a country that is surrounded and built on diversity but staunchly denies it. Wonderful storytelling and fantastic performance.

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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Great book with terrible narrator

The narrator David Shih is incredibly bland and sounds like he is reading toilet installation instructions except for a horrible high pitched whistle with every "s." I am 10 minutes in and think the book is probably unlistenable.

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True story, true fun

The author takes a reader on a wonderful journey, even more enjoyable when adding mouth-watering recipes. Even sad events are enjoyable and give a sense of hope. And stories of all the people he met, the lives of many incredible and colorful characters along the way, are simply adorable, He includes smallest details that make all the difference in cuisines he tried. He seems to be as great an author as being a chef. Pleasure to listen to. Look forward to more!

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  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Unexpected Political Agenda

I enjoyed the historical information and also the stories about real people. I did not expect -or particularly enjoy- the political agenda. Expected more food and less soap box. That being said, Edward writes well and the narrator was an easy listen.

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