Dinner in Rome A history of the world in one meal

Combining history, gastronomic know-how, and 50,000-plus restaurant meals, Norwegian food writer Viestad begins this armchair-traveling foodie history with a June dinner at his favorite Roman restaurant, La Carbonara in Campo de Fiori, going on to dissect elements of his meal in food-titled chapters. "Bread," for instance, covers the confusing local customs of ordering, an investigation of communion wafers (think matzo or unleavened bread), and one prime cause of the city's demise after 500 years (no access to Egyptian grain). "Pasta" refutes the Marco Polo myth, explaining that it wasn't an export from China after all, and that both Romans and Greeks enjoyed variants of lasagna. "Lemon Sorbet" brings with it a dissertation on the different kinds of lemons, Sicily's prime export, and the ever-increasing amounts of sugar consumed. Almost every page reveals a new factoid, all interwoven with the fabric of world cuisines. With a series of tributes from culinary superstars like Alice Waters, Daniel Boulud, Lidia Bastianich, and Eric Ripert to boot, Dinner in Rome a must-read, even for those not so fascinated by the foodie-verse.