The Naughti Literati

My boyfriend is the head chef at Brick Lane so I can totally co-sign on the food being delicious. And spicy. He has mentioned that many Brits come there, there's even even a curry club of some sort that was there recently! LOL Raji, he is from Chennai too! If you were to go during lunch (they have a great buffet), he sometimes makes South Indian dishes for the buffet and has turned me on to a lot of them...I love bisibele bath, idlis, dosas and sambar, vada (the little doughnut-shaped ones?), and almost everything he makes at home too except for that yogurt rice. When we go out to eat, we like Saravaanas too. I want to check Devi out, I saw the new cookbook, American Masala, on Tuesday and Chef Saran was at B&N Chelsea last night signing copies but I didn't make it out. A friend of ours is at Tamarind, another at Chola and we plan to make it up there as well!

Speaking of John Thorne, I see that he has a new book coming out next month called Mouth Wide Open! I'm on my Sidekick so I can't hyperlink, but the info should be on Amazon (I'm looking at a catalog).

I've read some great reviews on The Last Chinese Chef and forgot to put that on my list! Another one that looks promising and could be added to the one above may be The Sharper Your Knife, The Less You Cry - it's about a woman moving to Paris to attend Le Cordon Bleu - sorta like a French The Making of a Chef. I'm definitely getting that tonight. I have an advance copy of Beyond Nose to Tail, which should be out this month if it isn't already. I got it in June and flipped through it, saw some recipes for Roast Half Pig's Head and Chicken and Ox Tongue Pie, then put it down cause I don't really get down like that. LOL Picking it up again I see there's a lot more other things I COULD make, like the salads, breads and desserts!

Got an advance copy of this the other day, I LOVE it! Of course, the essay writing is beautiful and the glossary is super-informative as well; taking the simplest definitions and giving them thorough explanations that show the care and consideration put into them. For example - Clean: Perhaps one of the most important adjectives for food and kitches and also one of the most important verbs as well. Clean flavors are always to be pursued, flavors that most purely represent the food being cooked; clean also denotes a harmony of flavor pairings. Stocks are said to be clean when they are relatively clear and fresh. Sauces are said to be clean when they have been properly cooked and strained and used, and not muddy, old, gluey, or off, as they can become if not cared for. Cleaning is among the most important activities in the kitchen. A common refrain among chefs is "always be cleaning". Keep your food clean, your stovetop clean, your work surfaces clean. The unusual and fascinating dynamics of cooking are such that cluttered or dirty surfaces work their correlative clutter into the food. Clean is also a state of mind and a description of a cook's abilities, as in the phrase "working clean" - which means a cook not only looks clean and is keeping his or her work surfaces clean and organized, but is also working efficiently, is in control, no wasted moves. ************************** I'm definitely getting a few copies for friends when it hits the shelves too!

How about John Lanchester's A Debt to Pleasure? I wouldn't displace any books here given the context of this thread, but I think it provides an answer to your question. ← Nice, I'll add that to my shopping list this weekend! Thanks!

Did anyone go to see her at Borders Columbus Circle on Tuesday night? I was going to, but there was NFW that I was gonna miss Junot Diaz at the Cervantes Insitute in midtown once I heard about that. I do hope to catch her elsewhere sometime, was hoping she'd at least be at the New Yorker Festival! If I see anymore upcoming events, I'll post.

Speaking of David Kamp, The United States of Arugula would be a fun, informative read to add to that list. I've picked up The Perfectionist many times, will have to check it out again! @ Mayhaw Man - I've seen Salt and Cod, Cod was on a display table at B&N just the other day. It made me think about one of my favorite places, A Salt & Battery in the Village. There used to be one in the East Village around the corner from my house and I was on a first name basis with those folks for a while. They shirts that said "In Cod We Trust" for sale. LOL Isn't he also the author of Choice Cuts, which seems to be a collection of his writings similar to The Nasty Bits? Next time I'm at the bookstore I'll look at those again too. As far as food in fiction, that's a good question! Like Water for Chocolate would be an obvious answer, though I'm drawing a blank on other titles. Suggestions?

BIG co-sign on Ruhlman. I have to check out The Outlaw Cook, thanks! I have all on the list except The Tummy Trilogy and The Physiology of Taste.

Bruni tore Gramercy Park's Wakiya out the FRAME today!!! My goodness. I gotta go read some more of your Turning the Tables: Asian dining thread, Fat Guy!

Marcus Samuelsson (Aquavit) has a GORGEOUS cookbook called The Soul of a New Cuisine that I bought last night. It's African cooking and I'm really looking forward to experimenting with it as the weather cools down and food gets heartier! I saw a scaled-down version of this in Starbucks along with some treats he created for them and it reminded me to pick this up. The photography is breathtaking, and actually, so is he. LOL

That's a good question and I think it really all depends on your personality. I'm an extrovert and don't mind being chatted up as long as the person knows their boundaries and that when I am ready to enjoy my solitude, they respect that. Otherwise, it's a good way to make new acquaintances/friends! When I was in Paris, this guy followed me out of the bistro and kept speaking French, even though I told him that I didn't understand a word he was saying! So finally, I pointed to myself and said, "MEEEEE - Bonsoir?!" and pointed in one direction, then pointed at him and said, "YOUUUUUU - AU REVOIR!!!" and pointed in the other. LMFAO! He got the hint and carried his derierre on up the street though!

I ask for a table. There's more room for my various reading materials, crosswords, side dishes, salad dressings...you get the idea. When I've sat at the bar inevitably some guy tried to pick me up. I save us both the trouble and get a table every time now. eta- shpelling correktshun ← HA! Soooo true. There's not much space at the bar and if it's busy then chances are you may be jostled around a bit, then have a bunch of noise on top of that. I WILL toss back a drink or two if I need to wait for a table though!

I keep mentioning this book I got the other night (posted in Food Literature section) cause it is sooooo good - The Gourmet Shops of New York! It would be easy to put one together a fun one from there, if someone wants to do that as the gorgeous fall weather approaches then I am totally game, I'd love to meet some of you! Otherwise, I haven't done any tours aside from wandering around in Soho and Little Italy from time to time. I take my boyfriend to Harlem for soul food (Spoonbread on 137th and Lenox is my fave), and he takes me to Jackson Heights and Journal Square. But he's a chef anyway so I eat Indian food all the time. I want to see more of the city in general cause I've been such a homebody lately, and the outer boroughs, especially Brooklyn and The Bronx. In the Time Out New York Kitchen Report 2007 issue, the chefs surveyed mentioned Jackson Heights being the best enclave of ethnic food, followed by Arthur Ave in The Bronx. I can't wait for The New Yorker Festival either!!!

I am a solo act...I feel exactly the same way! Love my boyfriend, friends, and fam but I enjoy my own quiet company best. LOL There's a new book I saw recently called Alone in the Kitchen With an Eggplant, and it's a compilation of essays, recipes for one, and other goodies about the art of dining alone. I flipped through it, maybe that is the book I'll take with me next time I need a table for one!

I met Laurent Tourondel back in June during the Book Expo at Javits, he has a cookbook coming out in October called BLT. I got an advance copy (paperback B&W, book will be published in full-color hardcover), and it's very nice! He was doing a cooking demo and made green pea risotto with duck pancetta. It was really nice but he was hard to understand at times. LOL I want to check out his new market, I've been to the spot on 57th though. Lately I've been stuck on Bobby Van's, probably because they have the huge filet topped with jumbo lump crab (my fave) the size of a enormous crabcake, topped with Hollandaise sauce. I'm feeling all tingly just THINKING about it! The one on 50th St is nice and not noisy at all, depending on when you go. I think I walk past Strip House on my way to The Strand? I'll check that out somtime!

Great thread! A lot of the shops mentioned are in that Gourmet Shops of New York book that I posted in the Food Literature section...I'm definitely checking out the places I see co-signed on here! The first place I'm heading is to Chinatown. I normally am only there long enough to hop on that bus to Philly, but I am going to get there early and wander around since I will be heading to see the fam on Friday! Thanks!

Ohhhhhhhh my GAWD, this book is amazing. I saw it in the display window while walking past B&N at Lincoln Center, came out with it in a bag 15 minutes later. Written by Susan Meisel and Nathalie Sann and published by Rizzoli, this book offers a breakdown of the best shops in the city by neighborhood with pictures that will have you drooling! It starts with Manhattan and its sections up to the Upper West Side, then goes on to The Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island. There are even recipes from some of the proprietors, then indexes by neighborhood, category and recipe! It's full-color, has HUNDREDS of beautiful photograps and is about 260 pages. I can't wait to trek around and explore some of the places in it that I wasn't aware of, starting with a pickle from Gus's on the Lower East Side. LOL Gourmet Shops of New York is definitely a must have for the locals and the folks that are planning a trip here. You can read it from cover to cover, make a list a mile long and have at 'em. Amazon reviewers also agree, nothing but 5 star reviews so far! Has anyone else seen or purchased this book? I did a search but didn't see anything come up that was recent. LUVS IT.

Sept. 3 & 10 issue on stands now...it doesn't get much better than this; it had me at David Sedaris though. Also in this issue are Calvin Trillin, John McPhee, Judith Thurman, Adam Gopnik with a piece on Extreme Localism (LOL), Nell Freudenberger, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (author of Purple Hibiscus and Half a Yellow Sun), Gary Shteyngart, Anthony Lane and Donald Antrim. New fiction by Lara Vapnyar. Some of this should be online as well! www.newyorker.com

Fantastic review! She has an interesting blog on her site, www.pheobedamrosch.com that is worth checking out as well.

Has anyone else seen this issue (Aug 16 - 22)? It is great, 40 of New York's top chef participate in an anonymous survey discussing top restaurants, worst restaurants overrated ones, upcoming chefs, their hangouts, what they love and hate about New York diners, etc and it is a terrific read. I'll be back to post some excerpts if no one has, you may still be able to grab a copy if you haven't done so yet!

LOL!!! I have to agree with you there. I was awed by the training process too, and liked the rules that she discussed. The best part of the love affair she detailed was the menu at the end! Look forward to hearing the reviewer's thoughts (I'll be happy to do a different one when a new book comes available).

Alright, alright. I own Skinny Cooks Can't Be Trusted by Mo'Nique (comedienne, actress, host of VH1's Charm School). I would lie and say that I got it as a gift, but I bought it because aside from the usual soul food recipes (many of which can be found in G. Garvin's book which is much better) , the writing is pretty funny. My favorite has to be the "morning-after" breakfast options: blueberry pancakes, home fries and 3-cheese scrambled eggs if the man was great in the sack, or a bowl of lumpy oatmeal (with fresh fruit) if he left a lot to be desired. That way you're still feeding him, but also giving him a hint that he has to come correct next time. Hahahah And I am shedding REAL TEARS over A Man, a Can and a Plan! I've seen that book before!

Recipes, too. I ran into the book at B&N today, or it ran into me. One way or the other, it came home with me. I am thrilled. ← The same thing happened to me, I was rounding a corner at B&N in Chelsea, and there it was on a display table. Couldn't leave without it - I am slowly reading it from cover to cover but haven't picked it up lately. I think I'll read some more of it tomorrow!

Hi! I'm new to the site, have been lurking for some time now. I love this board! I am a total bibliophile so I know that this is where I will be spending a lot of time. That is not what the book is about at ALL, it's actually very good. Phoebe has nothing but the utmost respect for Thomas Keller, Johnathan Benno and her former coworkers and that really is clear in the book - that little bit in the Daily News was taken from the end, where she does do a small amount of dishing but not just bad things either. I nabbed an advance copy of this at the Book Expo in June (I stalked the Harper Collins booth when I found out about it because of the extraordinary Per Se/TFL threads on HERE!) and will be back with a detailed review! It was a great read, the way the staff is trained is thorough (even waltz classes!), which shows in how people rave about the service - comes out in September and I highly recommend it. Review to come!