Beautiful descriptions of food, and I learned a lot about the development of an American food identity in the 20th century as well as Beard himself and his queer identity.

Written more like a fictional novelization than a biography, which is distracting.  The audiobook didn't contain access to his sources, which left me wondering how much was imagined by the author (especially since Beard's friend was supposed to destroy any remaining evidence of his queer life after his death). Not sure if I would have finished this if I weren't reading it as an audiobook.

Author also mentions things in passing or refers back to them without having previously mentioned them in the text. Glosses over some (deeply problematic) things that need to be better unpacked, but instead are just stated. Since Beard is touted as such an influential figure in American cooking, I was hoping the epilogue would provide more of an analysis of his complicated legacy.

Descriptions of the food are vivid; author also does a good job at demonstrated the interconnectedness of the food world at this time.