A love letter to the history, traditions and culinaria of one of the richest and most complex regions of Italy. -- Stanley Tucci
Part travel guide, part cook's memoir, this charming little book delivers a true taste of a quirky, elusive city. -- Barbara Fairchild, writer, educator, and former editor-in-chief of Bon Appetit
I trust Marlena completely when it comes to anything to do with delicious, smile inducing foods and food cultures. But when it comes to Campagna, to Naples, to all the vibrant goodness of Southern Italy, she's my go-to gal. I know it's best to saddle up (preferably on a water buffalo) and get ready for the gastronomic ride of my life. This book ought to come with bread, to sop up the extra goodness sloshing over the sides. -- Clark Wolf, restaurant consultant, TV/radio personality, columnist, and avid blogger
Traipsing through the foodways of Naples with the legendary Marlena Spieler is pure joy. Is there anyone more enthusiastic, more willing to immerse herself in the mystery and magic of such a place? In her writing I can smell the pizza in the wood oven, hear the sauce bubbling like a riot, and taste the melons that have, as she says, 'made a pact with the sun'. Her writing is as juicy as they are, and as satisfying. -- Tia Keenan, author of The Art of the Cheese Plate and cheese columnist for The Wall Street Journal
Naples and its region in all its vivacita and deliciousness come to life in Marlena Spieler's fascinating, perceptive, and utterly charming tribute to Campania, a place, a spectacle, a state of mind she has embraced with tenderness and clarity. The result is a warm, learned, and engaging guide to local history, habits, customs, lore, food, and psyche, the most comprehensive by far written in English. Not only is the author a lively storyteller with, it seems, a Neapolitan soul, but also a masterful cook with a virtual native understanding of how to reproduce genuine Italian cooking for the English-speaking reader. This is a loving, knowledgable and rare sort of food book, marvelous to read and a joy to cook from. -- Julia della Croce, Italian food expert, author, and blogger (https://afoodobsessionblog.wordpress.com/)
Food writer Spieler passionately extols the food and culinary traditions of Naples. With its looming volcano of Vesuvius, overcrowding, and history of organized crime, the gritty city of Naples is often ignored in favor of touristy Tuscany and Rome. Yet Naples gave the world pizza, marinara sauce, and zeppole, Spieler writes, and she begins with an early history of the city, from the Greeks in the seventh century BCE (who named the city Neapolis, or new city) to Italy's unification in 1860 under Giuseppe Garibaldi (many of his soldiers from the north had never tasted pasta). Spieler includes chapters on pasta and pizza, festivals and celebrations, the fruit and vegetables that flourish in volcanic soil, and how to eat like a Neapolitan. The heart of the book, though, is the city's deeply embedded food culture, which Spieler explains is deeply intertwined with the penny-frugal but taste-rich habits of the poor: there are pages on the abundant San Marzano plum tomato (fragrant, fleshy... and bright skin that peels off easily) and also plenty about pasta, such as linguine alle vongole, one of the most iconic dishes. Her enthusiasm and knowledge will likely inspire travelers to Italy to add a stop on their trip. * Publishers Weekly *
