Grand Forks: A History of American Dining in 128 Reviews

In 2012, a restaurant review by newspaper reporter Marilyn Hagerty went viral. Hagerty has written, glowingly, about the new Olive Garden that had opened in the town of Grand Forks, North Dakota. Facebookers and others thought the review hilarious as it praised the chain restaurant so highly, and they repeatedly made fun of her for treating Olive Garden like it was a five-star restaurant. The late food expert Anthony Bourdain joined the fray, but he soon realized that Hagerty, with her Grand Forks column Eatbeat was writing about the food in her small community, doing a service to the citizens there. He met and was enamored of Hagerty, finding that she was not some addle-brained yokel, but rather a woman who had been a reporter for decades and had traveled the world. Bourdain and Hagerty became friends, and he published this book, Grand Forks: A History of American Dining in 120 Reviews. It seems odd that anyone would want to read reviews of restaurants—many of them they have never heard of nor will ever go to. But Hagerty’s reviews are filled with charm and insight into a community’s restaurateurs and that community’s eating preferences and habits. Her reports cover not only the finer dining establishments of Grand Forks but also the local McDonald’s, Applebees, Red Lobster, etc. because these are places that her readers will likely eat at and perhaps want to know more before going there. She fills her reviews, which she maintains are not reviews but simply reporting, with her own likes and dislikes and prejudices. She tolerates paper napkins if they are sturdy; she hates a server to come to a table multiple times to check on the diners; and she particularly hates empty plates removed before all at the table have finished eating, claiming that makes all the diners self-conscious as the tardier among them continues to finish. Her writings are breezy and fun with very few criticisms, and those are only gentle and offered as constructive. Hagerty’s mission is to inform local readers, not to destroy local businesses. I use the present tense here deliberately, for Hagerty is still reporting at age 95. She is a hearty soul who knows what she likes, plus she strives to give her readers knowledge to make their culinary decisions.

There's a refreshing terseness to Marilyn's writing about food that is balanced by expanded flavor text about the locals. She pays as much attention to the decor around her as the food in front of her. In a few instances she steps beyond constructive criticism, which, pardon the pun, is her bread and butter, and delves into the realm of dictating changes that she feels would better the establishment. She does so in a way that harkens back to restaurants that have left a favorable impression on her, but she seldom name drops the other establishments.My favorite thing about this collection is the post review footnotes. After the last appearance of the restaurant in the reviews, a note, which is written by an editor or possibly Anthony Bourdain, indicates the fate of the restaurant. Most are short culinary obituaries, some indicate the franchise has rapidly expanded, and a few indicate the effect a natural disaster has on a community. This group of one line fates patterns itself into a mosaic highlighting the history of food in the region and many similarly sized communities across the nation. A fascinating read.Sadly, I wish this book was available 15 years ago when I was stationed in Grand Forks, I would have made great effort to visit many of these places that are now lost to history.

Part of the appeal to me is that I was stationed at Grand Forks Air Force Base in the 60's and remember the town the way it was then, before the internet, national chains of fast food, and weekly food trends.As the author points out she was a reporter, not a critic, so she was almost always satisfied with her meals, limiting criticism to 'pluses and minuses' along with comments about decor, servers dress and attitudes, and how easy to read the menu is. Especially unique in food writing is that she describes the price of every meal and always identifies by name her dining companions. At the end of each chapter describing a single eatery with the date of original publication is a comment about whether the place is still operating or has succumbed to the end of business. Fun to read a few chapters at a time.

While this book offers an enduring image of what restaurant critics were like in the halcyon days before we entered the backstabbing world of modern restaurant criticism there are some critical flaws with this book.Hagerty is first and foremost a small town journalist for a small local restaurant. Out of necessity this results in her having limited options and choices in terms of restaurants to review. This means that her reviews are often repetitive and tend to be a little dull. This also results in a good many restaurants such as McDonalds being reviewed where a normal restaurant reviewer would normally ignore this type of restaurant unless they receive bad service.The most positive aspect of this book is that Hagerty offers a glimpse of a world when cooking was still regional .. (for example in her Midwestern town there was a large Scandinavian population and local restaurants served Scandinavian foods) and chain restaurants were still few and far between. This is important when seeking to understand food culture because how American's eat is not found in a Chili's or Applebee's.. it is found in the local diners and restaurants.The most important thing is that Hagerty never presents herself as a gourmet cook, or a foodie. She is simply a retired middle class American woman who likes to eat.. preferably good food but she is willing to give any restaurant a first and sometimes even a second chance.Overall this book is recommended for people interested in food culture and history.

Marilyn Hagerty ist Kolumnistin bei einer Lokalzeitung in der tiefsten US-Provinz, dem "Grand Forks Herald", für den sie seit 1957 schreibt. Bis 2012 hatte niemand außerhalb von North Dakota, wo sie lebt und arbeitet, je von ihr gehört. Bis sie einen positiven Beitrag über die Restaurantkette "Olive Garden" schrieb, die amerikanisches italienisches Essen serviert.Mit viel Hautain Denain fiel das Internet über sie her. Leute, die es eigentlich besser wissen müssten, haben darüber gespottet, weil man das natürlich nicht gut und lecker finden darf. Sie wurde erbarmungslos durch den Kakao gezogen und abgesetzt. Willkommen im Zeitalter der sozialen Medien und des Internets.Der amerikanische Koch, Bestsellerautor und Reisesendungen-Macher Anthony Bourdain bemerkte dies und war damit nicht einverstanden, er setzte sich für sie ein und bot ihr an, mit ihm ein Buch aus ihren Kolumnen zu verfassen. Dieses Buch ist das Ergebnis davon. Ihr Schreibstil ist freundlich und positiv, sie macht niemanden nieder, wie so viele Restaurantkritiker meinen, sie sollten es tun. Es geht nicht um Haute-Cuisine- oder Fine-Dining-Restaurants, sondern um normale Lokale in der amerikanischen Provinz, in denen der Durchschnittsamerikaner essen geht. Diners, wie man sie aus Filmen kennt, bei denen eine Kellnerin mit Bienenstockfrisur, rosa Kleid und weißer Schürze Ihnen kostenlos (Laschen) Kaffee nachschenkt und den Pfirsichkuchen empfiehlt. Kurzum, das wahre Amerika, das zum Beispiel auch Bill Bryson in seinen Reisebüchern beschreibt.Das Buch und die Beschreibungen ihrer Essenserfahrungen sind herzerwärmend, ob man nun selbst in diese Restaurants essen möchte oder nicht.