NOFA-NJ Book Club: Steak

Join Jon McConaughy and NOFA-NJ for a book club discussing topics at the core of the good food movement. The book club will meet on the second Tuesday of the month at Brick Farm Market, led by Jon and Robin McConaughy or a guest speaker. Free to the public, although donations are gratefully received. The upcoming schedule of books will be published shortly. Those who wish to purchase dinner at Brick Farm Market are requested to arrive at 6:30 pm before the program starts as the kitchen closes by 7 pm.

Synopsis of Steak: 

"Of all the meats, only one merits its own structure. There is no such place as a lamb house or a pork house, but even a small town can have a steak house." So begins Mark Schatzker's ultimate carnivorous quest. Fed up with one too many mediocre steaks, the intrepid journalist set out to track down, define, and eat the perfect specimen. His journey takes him to all the legendary sites of steak excellence-Texas, France, Scotland, Italy, Japan, Argentina, and Idaho's Pahsimeroi Valley-where he discovers the lunatic lengths steak lovers will go to consume the perfect cut. After contemplating the merits of Black Angus, Kobe, Chianina, and the prehistoric aurochs-a breed revived by the Nazis after four hundred years of extinction-Schatzker adopts his own heifer, fattens her on fruit, acorns, and Persian walnuts, and then grapples with ambivalence when this near-pet appears on his plate. 

Reminiscent of both Bill Bryson's and Bill Buford's writing, Steak is a warm, humorous, and wide-ranging read that introduces a wonderful new travel and food writer to the common table. ~ www.goodreads.com