Ed Levine
Encyclopedia
Ed Levine is a New York-based food writer
and blog
ger, and a frequent New York Times contributor. His stories on iconic American foods
such as hot dogs, hamburgers, ice cream and cheesecake have appeared in many U.S. periodicals, including GQ, BusinessWeek
and the New York Times.
, and graduated from Fairfax High School in Los Angeles
in 1969. He attended Grinnell College
in Iowa with a BA in Music, and in 1985, earned his MBA from Columbia Business School
.
, Garry Trudeau
, Calvin Trillin
, Ruth Reichl
, Mario Batali
, and Roy Blount Jr. His most recent book, The Young Man and the Sea was published in May 2007, a collection of more than 100 seafood recipes and fisherman stories from Chef David Pasternack of New York's Esca. Levine has also written many food pieces for the New York Times.
In December 2006, he founded the food website Serious Eats, covering cultural trends within the food community, chef gossip, restaurant reviews and message dialogue among readers, involving blogs, video, social network, and community-created food content. Regular columnists on the site include Batali and cookbook author Dorie Greenspan. He is known by his colleagues and staff as the Serious Eats Overlord.
Serious Eats has been praised by PBS’s MediaShift as “the next generation of food media.” In 1997, Gourmet editor Ruth Reichl called Levine “the curator of New York's far-flung food museum” and “a missionary of the delicious…on a crusade to see that the people who make food get the recognition they deserve.”
) “New York Eats” for the Metro Channel. As a former radio producer, Levine created and hosted “Dish” for WNYC, New York’s NPR affiliate, which was twice nominated for James Beard Awards for Electronic Media.
and written about music for Rolling Stone
and the New York Times.
Food critic
The terms food critic, food writer, and restaurant critic can all be used to describe a writer who analyzes food or restaurants and then publishes the results of their findings. While these terms are not strictly synonymous they are often used interchangeably, at least in some circumstances...
and blog
Blog
A blog is a type of website or part of a website supposed to be updated with new content from time to time. Blogs are usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in...
ger, and a frequent New York Times contributor. His stories on iconic American foods
Cuisine of the United States
American cuisine is a style of food preparation originating from the United States of America. European colonization of the Americas yielded the introduction of a number of ingredients and cooking styles to the latter...
such as hot dogs, hamburgers, ice cream and cheesecake have appeared in many U.S. periodicals, including GQ, BusinessWeek
BusinessWeek
Bloomberg Businessweek, commonly and formerly known as BusinessWeek, is a weekly business magazine published by Bloomberg L.P. It is currently headquartered in New York City.- History :...
and the New York Times.
Education
Levine grew up in Cedarhurst, New YorkCedarhurst, New York
Cedarhurst is a village in Nassau County, on the South Shore of Long Island, New York, in the USA. The population was 6,592 at the 2010 United States Census. The village is named after a grove of trees that once stood at the post office....
, and graduated from Fairfax High School in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
in 1969. He attended Grinnell College
Grinnell College
Grinnell College is a private liberal arts college in Grinnell, Iowa, U.S. known for its strong tradition of social activism. It was founded in 1846, when a group of pioneer New England Congregationalists established the Trustees of Iowa College....
in Iowa with a BA in Music, and in 1985, earned his MBA from Columbia Business School
Columbia Business School
Columbia Business School is the business school of Columbia University in Manhattan, New York City. It was established in 1916 to provide business training and professional preparation for undergraduate and graduate Columbia University students...
.
Food criticism
Levine's first book New York Eats was a guide to New York City's best non-restaurant food. Published in 1992, Levine’s research stretched back to the 1970s. A follow-up, New York Eats (More), was published in 1997. In 2005, he commemorated pizza's centennial in America by consuming 1,000 slices of pizza for Pizza: A Slice of Heaven, which also includes cartoons, poems, and essays about pizza by writers and chefs, including Nora EphronNora Ephron
Nora Ephron is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, novelist, playwright, journalist, author, and blogger.She is best known for her romantic comedies and is a triple nominee for the Academy Award for Writing Original Screenplay; for Silkwood, When Harry Met Sally... and Sleepless in...
, Garry Trudeau
Garry Trudeau
Garretson Beekman "Garry" Trudeau is an American cartoonist, best known for the Doonesbury comic strip.-Background and education:...
, Calvin Trillin
Calvin Trillin
Calvin Marshall Trillin is an American journalist, humorist, food writer, poet, memoirist and novelist.-Biography:Trillin attended public schools in Kansas City and went on to Yale University, where he served as chairman of the Yale Daily News and was a member of Scroll and Key before graduating...
, Ruth Reichl
Ruth Reichl
Ruth Reichl - pronounced RYE-chil - is an American food writer, co-producer of PBS's Gourmet's Diary of a Foodie, culinary editor for the Modern Library, host of PBS's Gourmet's Adventures With Ruth, and the last editor-in-chief of the now shuttered Gourmet magazine...
, Mario Batali
Mario Batali
Mario Batali is an American chef, writer, restaurateur and media personality. In addition to his classical culinary training, he is an expert on the history and culture of Italian cuisine, including regional and local variations. Batali co-owns restaurants in New York City, Las Vegas, Los Angeles,...
, and Roy Blount Jr. His most recent book, The Young Man and the Sea was published in May 2007, a collection of more than 100 seafood recipes and fisherman stories from Chef David Pasternack of New York's Esca. Levine has also written many food pieces for the New York Times.
In December 2006, he founded the food website Serious Eats, covering cultural trends within the food community, chef gossip, restaurant reviews and message dialogue among readers, involving blogs, video, social network, and community-created food content. Regular columnists on the site include Batali and cookbook author Dorie Greenspan. He is known by his colleagues and staff as the Serious Eats Overlord.
Serious Eats has been praised by PBS’s MediaShift as “the next generation of food media.” In 1997, Gourmet editor Ruth Reichl called Levine “the curator of New York's far-flung food museum” and “a missionary of the delicious…on a crusade to see that the people who make food get the recognition they deserve.”
Television and radio
As a television personality, Levine is currently the co-host and consulting producer for “Reservations Required” on the Ultra HD Channel. He also created, co-produced and co-hosted (along with Vogue magazine food critic Jeffrey SteingartenJeffrey Steingarten
Jeffrey Steingarten is a leading food writer in the United States. He has been the food critic at Vogue magazine since 1989. His monthly columns in Vogue have earned him a National Magazine Award, and nearly a dozen James Beard Awards and nominations...
) “New York Eats” for the Metro Channel. As a former radio producer, Levine created and hosted “Dish” for WNYC, New York’s NPR affiliate, which was twice nominated for James Beard Awards for Electronic Media.
Music
Levine has also co-produced records for Dr. JohnDr. John
Malcolm John "Mac" Rebennack, Jr. , better known by the stage name Dr. John , is an American singer-songwriter, pianist and guitarist, whose music combines blues, pop, jazz as well as Zydeco, boogie woogie and rock and roll.Active as a session musician since the late 1950s, he came to wider...
and written about music for Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
and the New York Times.
Selected writings
- "Was Life Better When Bagels Were Smaller?" December 31, 2003
- "Lo, a New Age of Heroes" December 1, 2004
- "It's All in How the Dog Is Served" May 25, 2005
- "Soul for the Chicken Soup" February 22, 2006