Ep. 2280 Mike Madaio | Book Club with Richard Hough

Welcome to Book Club and Episode 2280 of the Italian Wine Podcast with Richard Hough. Today Richard is in conversation with Mike Madaio to discuss his book, “A History of Philadelphia Sandwiches: Steaks, Hoagies, Iconic Eateries & More”. 

Mike Madaio: “As I’ve come along in my career as a food and wine writer, I think that so many of the most compelling stories are human stories, so when I interview an Italian wine maker to talk about his or her wine I want to understand who that person is, what motivates them, what struggles they’ve had. All those things make the story more compelling than just saying ‘here’s a wine that tastes like this or here’s a sandwich that tastes like that’, so I’m glad that came across.”

On the bookshelf:

The books discussed in today’s show include:

• Lost Mount Penn: Wineries, Railroads and Resorts of Reading by Mike Madaio
• Becoming Chianti Classico: A Wine Region's Fight for Authenticity by Mike Madaio
• Chianti Classico: The Search for Tuscany's Noblest Wine by Bill Nesto
• The Crocodile by Maurizio De Giovanni
• The Path to Power: The Years of Lyndon Johnson by Robert Caro

See also:

For a deep dive into how the £8bn a year British sandwich industry transformed the way Brits eat lunch, see “How the sandwich consumed Britain” at:

https://www.theguardian.com/news/2017/nov/24/how-the-sandwich-consumed-britain

For more on the the Pomodoro® Technique that Mike uses when writing, see: https://www.pomodorotechnique.com/welcome/

More about today’s guest:

Mike Madaio’s wine and food writing has appeared in publications such as Wine Enthusiast, Edible Philly, and VinePair, and he has achieved Italian Wine Ambassador certification from the Vinitaly International Academy.

He has written two culinary history books, "Lost Mount Penn" and "A History of Philadelphia Sandwiches," and two wine-related monographs, "Becoming Chianti Classico" and "Mysterious Origins of the Italian Wine Formerly Known as Tocai". Find more of Mike’s writing at LifeatTable.com, or follow him on social media.

Connect:

Website: https://lifeattable.com 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lifeattable/

More about the host Richard Hough:

Richard Hough is the editor, translator and project curator behind Wine Democracy and Vine and Prejudice. He has also published several books about life in Verona, chronicling the city’s history, culture and daily life, not forgetting, of course, its wine! With a long-standing passion for whisky and beer, he’s a relative newcomer to the world of wine and is now desperately trying to make up for lost time! He is the host of Book Club on the Italian Wine Podcast.

Connect:

Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/rickhough.bsky.social 

Instagram: www.instagram.com/ricksnotesfromverona 

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rickhough/

Coming soon:

Next month’s guest is Susan Keevil and we’ll be discussing her book “On Tuscany”.

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Until next time, Cin Cin!