INSTANT NATIONAL BESTSELLER  *  A thrilling novel of the senses and a coming-of-age tale, following a small-town girl into the electrifying world of New York City and the education of an entire life at one of the crucial exclusive restaurants in Manhattan.  Perfect for readers of Kitchen Confidential and Blood, Bones and Butter. 

Twenty-two, and knowing nobody, Tess leaves home to begin her adult life in New York City. Thus begins a year that may be both enchanting and punishing, in a low-level job at “the most productive restaurant in New York City.” Grueling hours and a steep culinary learning curve awaken her to the wonderful thing about oysters, the finest Champagnes, the appellations of Burgundy. On the same time, she opens herself to friendships—and love—set against the backdrop of dive bars and late nights.  As her appetites sharpen—for food and wine, but also for knowledge, experience, and belonging—Tess is drawn into a darkly alluring love triangle so that they can prove to be her most exhilarating and painful lesson of all. 
 
Stephanie Danler deftly conjures the nonstop and purely adrenalized world of the restaurant—conversations interrupted, phrases overheard, and suggestions below the surface. Evoking the infinite possibility of being young in New York with heart-stopping accuracy, Sweetbitter is in the end in regards to the power of what remains after disillusionment, and the wisdom that comes from experience, sweet and bitter.