Eating History: Andrew Smith at the Kansas City Public Library

​Prolific author and lecturer Andrew F. Smith, who was in town earlier this year to talk about his book Hamburger: A Global History, returns to Kansas City tomorrow to talk up his new book, Eating America: Thirty Turning Points in the Making of American Cuisine. Smith speaks at the Plaza Branch of the Kansas City Public Library Thursday, November 12 at 6:30 p.m. (reservations are encouraged), discussing several of the essays in the new book, which traces “the major moments” that shaped the way Americans eat now. (You can see a sample of Smith speaking on the subject here).

Smith’s book touches on that first Thanksgiving dinner; the first real American restaurant — New York City’s Delmonico’s (“Places that served food and drink prior to this,” Smith tells me, “were mostly taverns”); the industrialization of American farms, the beginning of food processing in America; the distribution of food and, of course, the grocery stores: from A&P to Wal-Mart.

Smith has been writing about culinary history for three decades and has already completed a book on one of his favorite subjects: the role food played in winning the Civil War, for publication in 2011.

He’s also a fan of our town. “I really like Kansas City and love eating there,” he says. “Of course, when I’ve already done the barbecue tour, so when people offer to take me out to dinner, I’m up for anything!”