“These essays . . . are concrete and eye-opening, touching on how food affects (and is affected by) migration, immigration, war, flight, history, and home.” —The New Yorker

Winner, IACP Award for Best Book of the Year in Food Matters

Named one of the Best Food Books of the Year by The New Yorker, Smithsonian, The Boston Globe, The Guardian, and more

Good food is the common ground shared by all of us, and immigration is fundamental to good food. In nineteen thoughtful and engaging essays and stories, You and I Eat the Same explores the ways in which cooking and eating connect us across cultural and political borders, making the case that we should think about cuisine as a collective human effort in which we all benefit from the movement of people, ingredients, and ideas. Don’t believe it? Read on to discover more about the subtle (and not so subtle) bonds created by the ways we eat.

Everybody Wraps Meat in Flatbread:

From tacos to dosas to pancakes, bundling meat in an edible wrapper is a global practice.

Fried Chicken Is Common Ground:

We all share the pleasure of eating crunchy fried birds. Shouldn’t we share the implications as well?

If It Does Well Here, It Belongs Here:

Chef René Redzepi champions the culinary value of leaving your comfort zone.

There Is No Such Thing as a Nonethnic Restaurant:

Exploring the American fascination with “ethnic” restaurants (and whether a nonethnic cuisine even exists).

Coffee Saves Lives:

Arthur Karuletwa recounts the remarkable path he took from Rwanda to Seattle and back again.