MY BOOK
In my new book Dining Out, I explore how gay restaurants, coffee shops, diners and unconventional eateries have charted queer placemaking and changed the modern LGBTQ civil rights movement for the better.
Using archival material, original reporting and interviews, and first-person accounts, I take readers to Automats, lesbian coffee houses, sports bars, drag brunches, James Beard-winning restaurants and my own beloved 24-hour diners. It’s a culinary tour full of joy, sex, sorrow, activism and nostalgia.
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IN THE PRESS
The New York Times (Review): In Two New Books, the Chef Definitely Recommends Something Gay
Grub Street: Erik Piepenburg Used to Man-hunt at Veselka
Los Angeles Times: Yup, it’s gay food. But what does that mean? Two new books tell all
Washington Post: Quiche, drag brunch and sit-ins: How food informs queer identity
Cultured: The Number of Gay Restaurants in the U.S. Is Dwindling. What Can We Learn From the Ones That Survive?
New York Public Library: A Conversation With Erik Piepenburg, Florent Morellet and Telly Justice
It's Been a Minute: Why Queer Third Spaces Matter
It's Been a Minute (NPR): In search of a safe place to cry...
Financial Times: What is ‘queer food’ and why does it matter?
The Brian Lehrer Show (WNYC): The Gay Restaurants That Nurtured LGBTQ Americans
Food With Mark Bittman: Gay restaurants and why they're so important
Civil Eats: How Gay Restaurants Became Comfort Spaces
Scenes from the Palm Springs Book Fest
Amateur Gourmet: Talking "Fried Green Tomatoes" with Erik Piepenburg
ABC 7 (Los Angeles): Author Erik Piepenburg reveals history of LGBTQ+ restaurants in his new book 'Dining Out'
Every Bite Podcast (Australia): Eating in, coming out — Cooking up liberation
Philly’s Gay Restaurants Have Always Been About More Than Food
Cap Times (Madison, Wisc.): How ‘Dynasty’ helped Erik Piepenburg define gay restaurants
Atlanta Journal-Constitution: ‘Dining Out’ explores how gay restaurants shaped culture in Atlanta and beyond
Rough Draft Atlanta: 'Dining Out' explores gay restaurants of the past and present
Hot Takes & Deep Dives Podcast: History of Gay Restaurants with Erik Piepenburg
Bon Appétit: Two New Books Explore Why Food Is Gayer Than You Think
Eater: Defining the Queer Food Movement
The Guardian: Diner dates and bathhouse chili: the colorful, defiant history of America’s gay restaurants
Sighs & Whispers: Dining Out at America's Gay Restaurants
Sound of Ideas (Cleveland): Interview with Erik Piepenburg
Cleveland.com: ‘Dining Out’ explores history of gay restaurants
Chicago Review of Books: Diners and Debauchery: A Study of Gay Restaurants in 'Dining Out'
Lavender Magazine: Thanks for the Memories: Summer/Fall 2025 Queer Reading List
Voice of San Diego: How San Diego’s Gay Restaurants Unite a Community
USA Today: Celebrate Pride Month with one of these 10 new books
The Oberlin Review: NYT Journalist Explores Gay Restaurants, Resistance in New Book
Red Hook Star Revue: Gay restaurants were never just about the food
Charlotte Observer: The best books we read in 2025, and why they were so lit
Queerty: 18 LGBTQ+ books hitting shelves in summer 2025
Los Angeles Blade (Review): Two new books on dining out LGBTQ-style
GayCities: How journalist Erik Piepenburg is preserving gay-restaurant history with ‘Dining Out’
Slate's Outward Podcast: America’s Gay Restaurants with Erik Piepenburg
This Is TASTE Podcast: Telling Queer Food Stories with John Birdsall & Erik Piepenburg
This Way Out Radio: Erik Piepenburg's 'Dining Out'
Gay City News: A new wave of books celebrating queer spaces
Gayety: A Deliciously Diverse Roundup of Queer Books You Need on Your Shelf this Pride Season
Sewers of Paris Podcast: A Restaurant, a Cabaret, and a Hustler Bar
Xtra: Queer third places are making a comeback
Electric Lit: The Most Anticipated Queer Books for Summer 2025
San Francisco Bay Times: Erik Piepenburg’s New Book 'Dining Out'
He Said Dallas: Queer Cuisine Chronicles: A Taste of LGBTQ+ History in ‘Dining Out’
Washington Post: 8 LGBTQ+-friendly restaurants in D.C. to visit during WorldPride
Washington Blade: Bookstores Full of LGBTQ-themed New Releases
Publishers Weekly: Queering the Menu
WNYC: The Legacy of 'The Texas Chainsaw Massacre' at 50
Stanford Magazine: The Stuff of Screams
CBC: Why Aren't People Wearing Headphones in Public?
Food & Wine: How Vegetarian Restaurants Became Intertwined with the LGBTQ+ Movement
Eater: Queering the Room
W: The Year Horror Went Highbrow
The New York Times: A Far-Out Movie for Your Holiday Party
WNYC: How a Doll Became a Queer Icon in 'MEGAN'
KCRW: What ‘It’s a Sin,’ ‘Pose,’ and other Shows Taught the World About AIDS
WNYC: From Barbed-Wire Kisses to New Queer Cinema
Times Talks: Laverne Cox
Times Talks: Simon Doonan
Times Talks: Penn & Teller