I was looking for something to read, and saw this at the bottom of kitchen bookcase. I was immediately enthralled.
“Arthur Shwartz’s New York food” traces the history of food, in a fun if not particularly scholarly way, you may want to check out
As the leading edge of our melting pot, New York’s food culture was widely copied, and then itself absorbed other regional cooking. From soul food, to Bratwurst, steak houses to Southern cooking and all the major restaurants of their time, this is engaging and opinionated And as I turned the pages, I kept thinking, I did not know that.
Published in 2004, it may not easily available, but worth trying to find.