SAN FRANCISCO

There has never been a history of San Francisco cuisine that covers two centuries of our raucous restaurants, floorboard-squeaking saloons, and self-righteous food movements, until now. Erica Peters' book covers the gamut of San Francisco's food history, and makes me proud to call myself a San Francisco native. Peters navigates San Francisco's storied food scene as no other author ever has.
— Celia Sack, Omnivore Books on Food


In the rigorously researched San Francisco: A Food Biography, Erica J. Peters shows how food is culture, as lived day to day. From the native inhabitants to the missionaries to waves of immigrants: “In California, the epicureans are not the favored few, but the great democracy.” The fixation on local ingredients, the diversity of restaurants, the prejudices --- this book overflows with goodies that will surprise and delight.
— Sheila Himmel, San Francisco Bay Area food journalist


For anyone curious about how San Francisco’s foods and restaurants became world-recognized icons of American regional cuisine, this book is a terrific place to begin.
— Marion Nestle, professor of Nutrition, Food Studies, and Public Health, New York University; author of What to Eat


Erica Peters takes us on a delightful culinary tour through San Francisco by mapping the city and the larger Bay Area through the flavors, aromas, and histories of its food cultures. This is not merely voyeuristic tourism but a serious and seriously pleasurable encounter with the many people who have made San Francisco home over the past several centuries and whose food traditions have turned the City into a diverse culinary scene that has in turn shaped California cuisine and culinary traditions around the world. This delectable journey is just as satisfying as being able to sample San Francisco's culinary bounties in person.
— Melissa L. Caldwell, professor of Anthropology, Co-Director of the UC Multi-Campus Research Program on Studies of Food and the Body, University of California, Santa Cruz