Food Moments in Fiction

Characters have to eat too. Today is National Pizza Day so I thought I would give a plug for Fornino in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. This is where my romantic suspense hero in Beneath the Skin likes to eat. Aristides Stavros might be a famous artist, but he’s not much of a cook. It also proves a great place to escape to with his graffiti crew when an unexpected visitor gets too friendly.

“In hell, madam.” Ari extracted himself from her grasp, snatched up his jacket from the sofa, and raced for the stairs. “Gentlemen, hold up. We’re going out to dinner.” He took the steps two at a time. Spreading his arms, he herded the group back toward the door. “How about we get pizza at Fornino’s?”

Now my heroine gets a real treat. Her social worker friend makes pambacitos for their picnic in McCarren park

“I baked pambacitos for you. Mama’s recipe.” Daniela peeled away the foil wrapping and held out an orangey-red sandwich piled high with filling.

           Melissa took a big bite. The spicy heat of chorizo, beans, peppers, and sour cream filled her mouth. She swallowed and licked her lips. “Muy bueno.”

Detailing what foods are served and eaten and what restaurants characters patronize in novels is another way to give them character.  Food can be found in almost every novel. Here are some food moments from some books from different times and genres that I pulled randomly off my shelves.

J. D. Salinger’s Catcher in the Rye

Holden Caulfield’s “When I’m out somewhere, I generally just eat a swiss cheese sandwich and a malted milk. It isn’t much, but you get quite a lot of vitamins in the malted milk.”

Shakespeare’s King Henry IV  

Master Shallow’s preparations for a visitor: “Some pigeons, Davy, a couple of short-legged hens, a joint of mutton, and any pretty little tiny kickshaws, tell William cook.”

Nora Robert’s Dark Witch

Boyle McGrath’s food to calm a shaken woman: “pork chops in one skillet, chipped potatoes in the other.” served with a “thin gravy made from drippings, tossed some herbs in, then poured it over the chops.”

Lisa Marie Rice’s Dangerous Lover

Carolyn Lake’s meal for a soldier:  “Toasted homemade bread with butter and homemade orange marmalade and blackcurrant jelly. Scones. Buckwheat pancakes, a fluffy cheese omelet, bacon, wholewheat biscuits, link sausage, fruit salad.”

What do the foods these characters cook and eat tell you about their personalities?