Paper Palate

When I travel, I often look for a regional cookbook as a souvenir. On my last trip to New York City I found two. One should be of interest to anyone who is interested in the food and history of New York. The other is a more personal remembrance of a time, a place and a restaurant.

The first is Arthur Schwartz’s New York City Food, published by Stewart, Tabori and Chang. Schwartz is a long-time food editor and writer based in New York and he has written a book full of local lore, color and flavors. Starting with a chapter on “what the Indians ate” and taking the readers along for a culinary jaunt through the centuries with stops for Delmonico’s, the Horn & Hardart automats, Sardi’s, the contributions of different immigrant groups, as well as the modern masters, the book gives a very readable history of the influences and development of what New Yorkers put on their plates.

The book has copious illustrations from historical and modern sources, including food and other photographs by Chris Callis. Schwartz’s book also features more than 100 recipes, many of them culinary legends. If you’ve ever yearned to make Lindy’s Cheesecake, The 21 Club’s Steak Diane or any number of the ethnic or contemporary classics New York restaurants are famed for, this is your book.

My second, more personal, cookbook souvenir is The 2nd Ave Deli Cookbook, Recipes and Memories from Abe Lebewohl’s Legendary Kitchen, published by Villard. This cookbook, written by Sharon Lebewohl, Abe’s daughter, and Rena Bulkin, captures the life and times of a very special Jewish deli in the East Village of New York.

The 2nd Ave was located at 10th Street and Second Avenue for roughly 50 years, serving overstuffed pastrami and corn beef sandwiches and memories for generations. The deli was just blocks away from my college dorm and came to be something like a home away from home for us, with waitresses old enough to be my grandmother always making sure I had enough to eat but that I didn’t order too much. The deli would also sell me raw meat when the markets were closed so I could make myself a hamburger after a late night of studying. The management even sent its poor deliverymen out in snowstorms to make deliveries to the students at the dorms and took checks. We were in awe.

The cookbook features 166 recipes, including all the old Jewish deli Eastern European favorites such as brisket, tzimmes, and stuffed cabbage; Israeli and Middle Eastern foods such as tabbouleh and falafel, and recipes sent in by Dustin Hoffman, Bobby Flay, Drew Nieporent and other famous food and other notables who were 2nd Ave fans.

Both these books capture a feeling for the importance New Yorkers have put on what they put into their mouths. They are interesting to read and are filled with the recipes to try to give us a taste of New York’s food past and present.

One note: Schwartz’s book is available at many online resources. The 2nd Avenue Deli book is a bit harder to find. I got my copy (as well as the Schwartz book) at New York’s famous Kitchen Arts and Letters cookbook store. For information on ordering from the store, check the store’s website for details.

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Photo Credits: Ecookbooks.com