
My Korean Deli
Risking It All for a Convenience Store
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed

Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Buy for $17.16
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Bronson Pinchot
-
By:
-
Ben Ryder Howe
About this listen
This sweet and funny tale of a preppy editor buying a Brooklyn deli with his Korean in-laws is about family, culture clash, and the quest for authentic experiences.
It starts with a gift. When Ben Ryder Howe’s wife, the daughter of Korean immigrants, decides to repay her parents’ self-sacrifice by buying them a store, Howe, an editor at the rarefied Paris Review, agrees to go along. Things soon become a lot more complicated.
After the business struggles, Howe finds himself living in the basement of his in-laws’ Staten Island home, commuting to the Paris Review offices in George Plimpton’s Upper East Side townhouse by day, and heading to Brooklyn to slice cold cuts and peddle lottery tickets by night.
My Korean Deli follows the store’s tumultuous life span, and along the way paints the portrait of an extremely unlikely partnership between characters with shoots across society, from the Brooklyn streets to Seoul to Puritan New England. Owning the deli becomes a transformative experience for everyone involved as they struggle to salvage the original gift—and the family—while sorting out issues of values, work, and identity.
©2010 Ben Ryder Howe (P)2011 Blackstone Audio, Inc.Listeners also enjoyed...
-
Yellowface
- A Novel
- By: R. F. Kuang
- Narrated by: Helen Laser
- Length: 8 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Authors June Hayward and Athena Liu were supposed to be twin rising stars: same year at Yale, same debut year in publishing. But Athena’s a cross-genre literary darling, and June didn’t even get a paperback release. Nobody wants stories about basic white girls, June thinks. So when June witnesses Athena’s death in a freak accident, she acts on impulse: she steals Athena’s just-finished masterpiece, an experimental novel about the unsung contributions of Chinese laborers to the British and French war efforts during World War I.
-
-
I've never hated a character harder
- By ashelyn downs on 07-26-23
By: R. F. Kuang
-
Wool
- The Silo Saga, Book 1
- By: Hugh Howey
- Narrated by: Edoardo Ballerini
- Length: 15 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The world outside has grown toxic, the view of it limited, talk of it forbidden. The remnants of humanity live underground in a single silo. But there are always those who hope, who dream. These are the dangerous people, the residents who infect others with their optimism. Their punishment is simple. They are given the very thing they want: They are allowed to go outside.
-
-
THIS is a strong female character
- By Alex on 03-23-23
By: Hugh Howey
-
Unexpected
- The Backstory of Finding Elizabeth Smart and Growing Up in the Culture of an American Religion
- By: Chris Thomas
- Narrated by: Chris Thomas, Elizabeth Smart
- Length: 9 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Chris Thomas is not yet 30 years old when he finds himself managing the immense pressure, eccentric personalities, and extenuating circumstances of an international story, where one small misstep could adversely impact the search for a missing teenager and the reputation of her family. Now, 20 years later, Thomas takes listeners behind the scenes, providing new details, perspectives, and commentary on finding Elizabeth Smart.
-
-
Self indulgent book about Chris. Nothing new about Elizabeth Smart
- By Perry R Schmid on 03-09-23
By: Chris Thomas
-
Shoe Dog
- A Memoir by the Creator of Nike
- By: Phil Knight
- Narrated by: Norbert Leo Butz, Phil Knight - introduction
- Length: 13 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this candid and riveting memoir, for the first time ever, Nike founder and CEO Phil Knight shares the inside story of the company's early days as an intrepid start-up and its evolution into one of the world's most iconic, game-changing, and profitable brands.
-
-
Just read it. (or listen, whatever)
- By Dan D on 07-07-16
By: Phil Knight
-
Happy-Go-Lucky
- By: David Sedaris
- Narrated by: David Sedaris
- Length: 7 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Back when restaurant menus were still printed on paper, and wearing a mask—or not—was a decision made mostly on Halloween, David Sedaris spent his time doing normal things. As Happy-Go-Lucky opens, he is learning to shoot guns with his sister, visiting muddy flea markets in Serbia, buying gummy worms to feed to ants, and telling his nonagenarian father wheelchair jokes. But then the pandemic hits, and like so many others, he’s stuck in lockdown, unable to tour and read for audiences, the part of his work he loves most.
-
-
Great except for an audio glitch
- By Rynnkins on 06-01-22
By: David Sedaris
-
The Apology of Socrates: Adapted for the Contemporary Reader
- By: Plato, James Harris
- Narrated by: Michael T Downey
- Length: 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Apology of Socrates, by Plato, is the dialogue that presents the speech of legal self-defense, which Socrates presented at his trial for impiety and corruption, in 399 BC. Specifically, The Apology of Socrates is a defense against the charges of “corrupting the youth” and “not believing in the same gods as the city, but in other gods which are novel” to Athens.
-
-
👍🏻
- By Nomi on 12-22-17
By: Plato, and others
-
Yellowface
- A Novel
- By: R. F. Kuang
- Narrated by: Helen Laser
- Length: 8 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Authors June Hayward and Athena Liu were supposed to be twin rising stars: same year at Yale, same debut year in publishing. But Athena’s a cross-genre literary darling, and June didn’t even get a paperback release. Nobody wants stories about basic white girls, June thinks. So when June witnesses Athena’s death in a freak accident, she acts on impulse: she steals Athena’s just-finished masterpiece, an experimental novel about the unsung contributions of Chinese laborers to the British and French war efforts during World War I.
-
-
I've never hated a character harder
- By ashelyn downs on 07-26-23
By: R. F. Kuang
-
Wool
- The Silo Saga, Book 1
- By: Hugh Howey
- Narrated by: Edoardo Ballerini
- Length: 15 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The world outside has grown toxic, the view of it limited, talk of it forbidden. The remnants of humanity live underground in a single silo. But there are always those who hope, who dream. These are the dangerous people, the residents who infect others with their optimism. Their punishment is simple. They are given the very thing they want: They are allowed to go outside.
-
-
THIS is a strong female character
- By Alex on 03-23-23
By: Hugh Howey
-
Unexpected
- The Backstory of Finding Elizabeth Smart and Growing Up in the Culture of an American Religion
- By: Chris Thomas
- Narrated by: Chris Thomas, Elizabeth Smart
- Length: 9 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Chris Thomas is not yet 30 years old when he finds himself managing the immense pressure, eccentric personalities, and extenuating circumstances of an international story, where one small misstep could adversely impact the search for a missing teenager and the reputation of her family. Now, 20 years later, Thomas takes listeners behind the scenes, providing new details, perspectives, and commentary on finding Elizabeth Smart.
-
-
Self indulgent book about Chris. Nothing new about Elizabeth Smart
- By Perry R Schmid on 03-09-23
By: Chris Thomas
-
Shoe Dog
- A Memoir by the Creator of Nike
- By: Phil Knight
- Narrated by: Norbert Leo Butz, Phil Knight - introduction
- Length: 13 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this candid and riveting memoir, for the first time ever, Nike founder and CEO Phil Knight shares the inside story of the company's early days as an intrepid start-up and its evolution into one of the world's most iconic, game-changing, and profitable brands.
-
-
Just read it. (or listen, whatever)
- By Dan D on 07-07-16
By: Phil Knight
-
Happy-Go-Lucky
- By: David Sedaris
- Narrated by: David Sedaris
- Length: 7 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Back when restaurant menus were still printed on paper, and wearing a mask—or not—was a decision made mostly on Halloween, David Sedaris spent his time doing normal things. As Happy-Go-Lucky opens, he is learning to shoot guns with his sister, visiting muddy flea markets in Serbia, buying gummy worms to feed to ants, and telling his nonagenarian father wheelchair jokes. But then the pandemic hits, and like so many others, he’s stuck in lockdown, unable to tour and read for audiences, the part of his work he loves most.
-
-
Great except for an audio glitch
- By Rynnkins on 06-01-22
By: David Sedaris
-
The Apology of Socrates: Adapted for the Contemporary Reader
- By: Plato, James Harris
- Narrated by: Michael T Downey
- Length: 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Apology of Socrates, by Plato, is the dialogue that presents the speech of legal self-defense, which Socrates presented at his trial for impiety and corruption, in 399 BC. Specifically, The Apology of Socrates is a defense against the charges of “corrupting the youth” and “not believing in the same gods as the city, but in other gods which are novel” to Athens.
-
-
👍🏻
- By Nomi on 12-22-17
By: Plato, and others
-
Mansfield Park
- By: Jane Austen
- Narrated by: Alison Larkin
- Length: 17 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Award-winning Jane Austen narrator Alison Larkin is back with this hugely entertaining recording of Mansfield Park, followed by fascinating bonus material! Eleven-year-old Fanny Price is "adopted" by wealthy relatives and leaves her life of poverty in Portsmouth for a much better life at Mansfield Park. Mansfield Park is followed by opinions on the novel by Austen's family and friends, never before heard on audio.
-
-
Excellent narration
- By Diane S. on 05-14-18
By: Jane Austen
-
Stories I Only Tell My Friends
- An Autobiography
- By: Rob Lowe
- Narrated by: Rob Lowe
- Length: 9 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A teen idol at 15, an international icon and founder of the Brat Pack at 20, and one of Hollywood's top stars to this day, Rob Lowe chronicles his experiences. Never mean-spirited or salacious, Lowe delivers unexpected glimpses into his successes, disappointments, relationships, and one-of-a-kind encounters with people who shaped our world over the last 25 years. These stories are as entertaining as they are unforgettable.
-
-
Great Book and Great Story
- By Natalie J. Belle MD on 04-30-11
By: Rob Lowe
-
Let's Explore Diabetes with Owls
- By: David Sedaris
- Narrated by: David Sedaris
- Length: 6 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From the unique perspective of David Sedaris comes a new collection of essays taking his listeners on a bizarre and stimulating world tour. From the perils of French dentistry to the eating habits of the Australian kookaburra, from the squat-style toilets of Beijing to the particular wilderness of a North Carolina Costco, we learn about the absurdity and delight of a curious traveler's experiences.
-
-
Devout Fan Disappointed
- By FanB14 on 05-07-13
By: David Sedaris
-
When You Are Engulfed in Flames
- By: David Sedaris
- Narrated by: David Sedaris
- Length: 9 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Once again, David Sedaris brings together a collection of essays so uproariously funny and profoundly moving that his legions of fans will fall for him all over again. He tests the limits of love when Hugh lances a boil from his backside, and pushes the boundaries of laziness when, finding the water shut off in his house in Normandy, he looks to the water in a vase of fresh cut flowers to fill the coffee machine.
-
-
Don't Start with this One
- By Elvie on 04-28-16
By: David Sedaris
-
The Corrections
- A Novel
- By: Jonathan Franzen
- Narrated by: George Guidall
- Length: 21 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Corrections is a grandly entertaining novel for the new century--a comic, tragic masterpiece about a family breaking down in an age of easy fixes. After almost 50 years as a wife and mother, Enid Lambert is ready to have some fun. Unfortunately, her husband, Alfred, is losing his sanity to Parkinson's disease, and their children have long since flown the family nest to the catastrophes of their own lives. Enid has set her heart on an elusive goal: bringing her family together for one last Christmas at home.
-
-
"Grandly Entertaining"? Really?
- By Georgia Burns on 10-08-13
By: Jonathan Franzen
-
Flight Behavior
- By: Barbara Kingsolver
- Narrated by: Barbara Kingsolver
- Length: 16 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Dellarobia Turnbow is a restless farm wife who gave up her own plans when she accidentally became pregnant at 17. Now, after a decade of domestic disharmony on a failing farm, she encounters a shocking sight: a silent, forested valley filled with what looks like a lake of fire. She can only understand it as a cautionary miracle, but it sparks a raft of other explanations from scientists, religious leaders, and the media.
-
-
A poignant literary work of art.
- By criswithcurls on 02-08-13
-
The Gold Coast
- By: Nelson DeMille
- Narrated by: Christian Rummel, Nelson DeMille
- Length: 21 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Welcome to the fabled Gold Coast, that stretch on the North Shore of Long Island that once held the greatest concentration of wealth and power in America. Here two men are destined for an explosive collision: John Sutter, Wall Street lawyer, holding fast to a fading aristocratic legacy; and Frank Bellarosa, the Mafia don who seizes his piece of the staid and unprepared Gold Coast like a latter-day barbarian chief and draws Sutter and his regally beautiful wife, Susan, into his violent world.
-
-
Unexpectedly Great!
- By Jack C on 11-14-08
By: Nelson DeMille
-
Love Life
- By: Rob Lowe
- Narrated by: Rob Lowe
- Length: 7 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Love Life serves up another delicious selection of intimate stories and observations from Rob Lowe's life, told with humor, warmth, and brutal honesty. After writing his acclaimed debut effort, Lowe felt he had more stories to share and many more friends to introduce. The result is a touching memoir about the business and craft of acting, the pitfalls of success, family, love, and much more.
-
-
Open, Honest, Sentimental... not quite as Intimate
- By Kelly on 01-07-16
By: Rob Lowe
-
Nickel and Dimed
- On (Not) Getting By in America
- By: Barbara Ehrenreich
- Narrated by: Cristine McMurdo-Wallis
- Length: 8 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This engrossing piece of undercover reportage has been a fixture on the New York Times best seller list since its publication. With nearly a million copies in print, Nickel and Dimed is a modern classic that deftly portrays the plight of America's working-class poor.
-
-
Good concept, but poor execution.
- By Marco Forcone on 08-24-04
-
Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald
- By: Therese Anne Fowler
- Narrated by: Jenna Lamia
- Length: 12 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When beautiful, reckless Southern belle Zelda Sayre meets F. Scott Fitzgerald at a country club dance in 1918, she is seventeen years old and he is a young army lieutenant stationed in Alabama. Before long, the "ungettable" Zelda has fallen for him despite his unsuitability: Scott isn't wealthy or prominent or even a Southerner, and keeps insisting, absurdly, that his writing will bring him both fortune and fame. Her father is deeply unimpressed.
-
-
Great! From the first page to the last.....
- By L.W. on 03-30-13
-
The Hollow
- By: Christopher Zaleski
- Narrated by: Anna Grace Conover
- Length: 7 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Teen prodigy Carol has always known she was different from the other kids, but when her talents turn supernatural; her life takes a disastrous turn. Despite her over achievements, Carol struggles with a neurosis she calls "The Hollow". Though she believes the hollow is her private cross to bear, there is a sneaking suspicion that she is being watched, studied from the shadows.
-
-
The Hollow
- By MEDY L on 12-19-17
-
I Still Dream About You
- A Novel
- By: Fannie Flagg
- Narrated by: Fannie Flagg
- Length: 10 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Meet Maggie Fortenberry, a still beautiful former Miss Alabama. To others, Maggie’s life seems practically perfect - she’s lovely, charming, and a successful real estate agent at Red Mountain Realty. Still, Maggie can’t help but wonder how she wound up in her present condition....
-
-
Flagging this audio
- By Meryl on 12-16-10
By: Fannie Flagg
Editorial reviews
Bronson Pinchot's narration of Ben Ryder Howe's snarky story of the pitfalls of small business ownership truly makes this offbeat memoir come alive. Not only does Pinchot do an incredible job with Howe's own sarcastic, funny voice, he also manages to provide ample spice to characters as diverse as Kay, Howe's sassy Korean mother-in-law; Dwayne, a quirky deli clerk with a penchant for strange weaponry; and George Plimpton, the famed eccentric literary personality.
When Howe's wife, Gab, sets out to buy a deli for her first-generation immigrant mother as a token of appreciation for her personal determination and sacrifice, things get a bit madcap. Because of this, My Korean Deli ends up being a light-hearted look at leading a peculiar kind of double life. After all, there's something delightful about a story that interweaves the purchase and operation of a family-run bodega in Brooklyn with a part-time editorship at The Paris Review, Howe's day job. After his boss, George Plimpton, warns him of the dangers of duel identity specifically that one side of his existence will always be threatening to swallow up the other, Howe begins to delve deeper into his own personal values. The book gets meta when he starts to examine different modes of achievement in American culture, pitting the puritanical over-thinking of the author's New England upbringing against the aggressive, DIY ethos of his wife's family. Ultimately, he mostly opts for the latter in life, dedicating himself to the immigrant-run deli and, in a more haute way, the slapdash but impressive Paris Review.
Howe finds a way to balance the big ideas with clever, laugh-out-loud anecdotes. Some of the more hilarious moments come as dispatches from the deli itself, as he is forced to get right with the rowdy regulars, navigate a massive corner-store supply outlet with his cheeky mother-in-law, or come to legal blows with various state regulatory agencies.
There are also more than a few poignant moments, including Plimpton's death, Kay's health issues, and the downward spiral of treasured employee and revered neighborhood character Dwayne. These serve to temper the mood and illustrate that, even in the deli, there are life lessons to be learned. Gina Pensiero
Critic reviews
If you could sum up My Korean Deli in three words, what would they be?
Multicultural literary entertainmentWhat other book might you compare My Korean Deli to and why?
No other book is like it.Which character – as performed by Bronson Pinchot – was your favorite?
DwayneWas there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?
Dwayne's deathAny additional comments?
Running a deli is harder than it looks. And I loved hearing about George Plimpton. Bronson Pinchot's rendering of the upper class New York accent was priceless.Don't quit your day job to run a deli
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I think that he misses out on what could be some very insightful commentary on Asian culture.
Sometimes Hilarious, Other Times Boring
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Entertaining
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Good palate cleanser
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Any additional comments?
A button-downed, dreamy New Englander marries a driven Korean woman, who feels duty-bound to buy a deli for her mother to manage and run. The husband is the narrator of this wonderful true account of culture clashes and heart meshings. It's also a fascinating inside glimpse of the microcosmic world of the ethnic-run deli---the place all of us New Yorkers depend upon in our various neighborhoods for newspapers, coffee, and snack cakes. There's a drama behind every single one of these convenience items. The narrator is phenomenal, capturing Korean, Black, Middle Eastern, and Boston Brahmin accents with seeming effortlessness. I absolutely loved this book.Funny, Heart-warming, Unusual Memoir
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
A slice of life
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Great Writing / Even Better Narration
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Where does My Korean Deli rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?
I listened to this one straight through. Although the author is introspective at times, he's funny about it and surrounded by perfectly cast extroverts. Loved the family, the stories from the Paris Review (the narrator does an incredible G. Plimpton) and customers. One of my favorites of the year.Laughed out loud.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
What a blast!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Is there anything you would change about this book?
The story sounded appealing, but it wasn't. I dont know if it was the narrator's snottiness or the story, butThis guy sounds like a jerk
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.