Restaurant Books

This is an excellent book for deciding which part of Italy to visit if you want your trip to be food orientated. You have to remember that you can cross over from area to area though. You also have to remember that the book was written ten years ago and some places may no longer exist or be out of business. But it's so enthusiastic and although centered on food
offers other options as well, like classic towns to visit. It fills you with a joy for visiting Italy and I thoroughly recommend it while urging Mr Plotkin to please please update it.

His reviews, from what I have experienced, are right on. I would recommed this book to a foodie who is going to be travelling to Italy.

I planned my last trip to Italy around this book. Fred in one hand, an atlas of Italy in another. His insights into regional food kept us true to the places we visited (Liguria, Tuscany, Umbria, along the Adriatic coast, and Emiglia Romana), and served as a magical gustatory compass. We had five of our top-ten-EVER meals on that trip, with very few splurges. We're going to France in three weeks and have lamented over and over that this book doesn't have a French counterpart. If only he had a Francophile twin!

If I had only one book to take with me when travelling in Italy, this would be it! Fred Plotkin's taste is impeccable. He's not a snob, and although not adverse to the occasional expensive restaurant, he generally leads you elsewhere: to the local trattorias that serve up sublimated versions of the local, home-cooked cuisine. His adjunct entries (food stores, markets, etc.) are also wonderful and fascinating. Some of the entries are out of date, but this is still essential for any food-loving traveller (and why go to Italy if you're not?).

I have used this book extensively during two trips to Italy, which covered approximately 45 days. This book is invaluable if you want to experience Italy like a "real" Italian.

The author does a nice job explaining the various types of eating establishments (ristoranti, trattoria, osteria, enoteca, tavola calda, etc.) and how what you can expect in those establishments is different. The author also does a fabulous job of listing the various names for food stores and what they sell. This is extremely helpful if your Italian is weak or nonexistent. Also helpful for the first time visitor to Italy is the discussion of how to purchase something in a food shop. Most Americans are unfamiliar with the concept of paying first at the cashier, and then taking the ticket to the person who will prep your food. But in a gelateria or pizza shop this is just how it is done. Also nice, is how the author explains the table charge (or cover charge), what it is for, and that is optional since many locals will stand at the bar to eat.

Regional specialties are covered in this book in reasonable detail. This is very helpful for getting into the spirit of a place and enjoying what is native to their geography. The Italians are very big on this notion and are fiercely loyal to their own products. If you want to fit in like an Italian, it is helpful to know how what you order in Firenze is different from Roma, or Venezia.

I have found the authors recommendations on restaurants to be right on target. Many of the restaurants he recommends I had been in prior to purchasing this book and found that I agreed with his selections.

I highly recommend this book for anyone that loves food, and wants to enjoy the best that Italy has to offer.

I've been a life long diet junky and most of this information in the book was stuff I already knew but not in the pattern it was in. I'm going to give it a shot and hope for the best.

What I liked about this book:

- The introductory chapter about the food types (carbs, fats, proteins) and how they are used in our bodies
- The eight weeks plan to "Crack the Fat-Loss Code" - this thing actually works.
- Sample Meal Plans
- The idea of not having any "disallowed" foods

What I did not like about this book:

- The program seems to be rather restrictive and probably difficult to follow in the long run. And this is the problem with most diets programs.

So although the program seems to work for me at the moment I am not sure about how long it will last. I think that the readers of "Crack the Fat-Loss Code" will benefit from the Body Maintenance Manual - a great self-help guide to long and healthy living with a great emphasis on proper nutrition and long term lifestyle change.

If you're a logical, discilined person, this is a lifestyle for you! In 8-weeks, I dropped 11 pounds, 7% of my body fat and nearly 14 inches. No exercise really, just through manipulating my diet -- and I didn't feel deprived. Wendy has worked in to her plan 2 days where you get to indulge in all of your favorite things. AND YOU STILL DROP THE WEIGHT! Get this book, and if you can, get to her Nutrition Boot Camp classes in the Orlando area. She will help you with the skills to take control of your health in this age of a frighteningly depleted food chain. Good luck!

IMHO...I did not find this book to be helpful and do not recommend it. It is not comprehensive enough and I was left with many questions after reading it several times. I tried the plan for 6 days but just couldn't make it to the 7th day of the 1st week. Maybe because I'm down to my "last 10 lbs" but I didn't really lose anything, either (about 1 lb). I did try emailing Wendy Chant's customer service team through her website with one of my questions but all I got was the auto-reply saying they received my email and would be in touch soon. That was over a week ago. It's good premise that MAYBE works but it's not very thoroughly explained and there are no resources for you to turn to for clarification/guidance.

Crack the Fat-Loss Code is based on the theory that our bodies "evolved" to resist starvation by holding on to fat. The author, Wendy Chant, explains that we can overcome our inherent natural cycles that control the storing and burning of calories by boosting our metabolism. This is done by alternating what she calls carb-up, carb-down, and baseline days. The author prescribes 5 to 6 meals per day and subscribes to a currently in-vogue theory that your "body's thermostat" will "shut off" if you don't eat 5 or 6 times throughout the day. She believes that without frequent eating you will slow down your "metabolic rate and thyroid function." This frequent eating prevents your body from going into "survival mode" and "sends a red alert to your hormones to store more fat as a preventive measure". The book controls the balance of protein, fat, and carb intake in a way that "tricks" your body into thinking it is not on a diet. While I don't believe the frequent-feeding theory, I do believe if you follow the author's dietary guidelines, which control the intake of sugars and carbohydrates, you should lose weight and feel better.

The books contents include:
Foreword
Introduction: You Can Transform Your Body, Mind, and Spirit
Part 1Why Your Body Won't Lose Fat
1. Your Body: the Ultimate Survivor
2. Not All Food Are Created Equal: How Your Body Uses Fuel
Part 2 Crack The Fat-Loss Code
3. Efficient Fat Loss And Optimal Health: Five Keys to Success (muscle, level blood sugar, create energy deficit, produce heat, energy stores)
4. Eight Weeks to Cracking the Code and Breaking Your Plateau: Two Months to a Brand-New You
5. Cycle 1: Carb-Deplete Cycle, Week 1
6. Cycle 2: Macro-Patterning Cycle, Weeks 2-4
7. Cycle 3: Accelerated Fat-Loss Cycle, Weeks 5-6
8. Cycle 4: Maintenance Cycle, Weeks 7-8
Part 3 Living Forever Fit
9. Forever Fit: Restarting the Cycle
10 Sample Meal Plans: Your Eight-Week Planner
11. Charting Your Success: Sample Log Sheets
12. ForeverFit Eating: More of Wendy's "Mmm Good" Recipes
Appendix A: Body Fat Calculator
Appendix B: Metric Conversion Chart
Index

The plan does not eliminate food groups and includes cheat days to help with the monotony. In fact, there are no foods that you must totally eliminate. The idea is to allow blood sugar to "level out" before pumping in more sugars and carbohydrates. The author also shares motivational testimonials and photos of others who have had success to keep you going. Once you learn the rules, the book's methods are not hard to follow. If you are looking for a clever approach to weight loss and don't mind eating six times a day, this book is worth reading and should give you results. For an alternative approach I also recommend THE 3:00 PM SECRET: Live Slim and Strong, Live Your Dreams

After reading Tony's non-fiction works, I was quite interested in giving this a try, albeit with some trepidation (as a former bookseller, I've seen a lot of 'celebrity fiction' that was about as tasty as that 3-week old milk I don't have in the refrigerator.)

I had a feeling, however, that this would work out. I wasn't surprised to find myself entertained from the very first page. Bourdain's senses sight and hearing are as well-honed as his chef skills; his descriptions and dialogue rings completely true as he spins this tale of organized crime, the awesomeness that is New York, fine (and-not-so-much) cuisine, the joys and hardships of familial relationships, and the horrorshow of addiction (his description of scoring heroin via an amazingly efficiently-run system housed in an abandoned building teeming with low-lifes should be required reading for anyone considering experimenting with the hard stuff. And corporate CEOs.)

There's an obvious comparison to make here: if you enjoyed the way the writers of The Sopranos managed to balance these themes, you'll enjoy this book the way you enjoyed the best episodes of that show. Not to mention pick up a new skill or recipe or two.

I'm probably never going to have the opportunity to eat a meal prepared by Anthony Bourdain, but I'd be nearly as satisfied to get a new novel every couple of years. I hope he finds time to do more fiction writing. Soon.

I read this book after reading Anthony Bourdain's "Kitchen Confidential" autobiography. I wanted to see Bourdain's fictional styling and was quite impressed. "Bone In The Throat" is the story of Tommy, son of a mafia gangster and is struggles to stay disassociated with the mob while trying to advance his career as a professional chef. Bordain's style of writing is simple and reflects his own upbringing in New York. Although fictional, Bourdain's descriptions of what goes on behind the seens at a NYC restaurant closely reflects the descriptions of his experiences in "Kitchen Confidential." Although long and nearly 300 pages this book is a quick read and something you won't really want to put down. I highly suggest giving this book a read if you want to get sucked into the world of the mob, restaurants, drugs & sex.

I rate this 5 out of 5 stars. Get off your computer and go read it :)

This is a great fast read. I thought the plot and story was very interesting and easy to follow. Bourdain does a great job of describing the characters and really makes you care about them and what happens to them. If you get this and like it deffinately get the next book, Gone Bamboo!

Bourdain is an irresistible presence on TV, no doubt. But he is no storyteller when working in prose. This story was thinner than consommé and about as mentally nutritious. Enjoy the tv show with all it's exotic locales and characters because the author brings none of the titillation to this effort.

True, this would have been a fun, fast read. It would have been even faster, say, 50 pages shorter, if he just took out one word. I'm afraid that one word spoiled it for me. On occasion is one thing, three times in every sentence is another. I prefer well written English, not trash talk. Sorry.

New way of cooking for me. I have marked many receipes that we have enjoyed as a family. In fact have received no complaints so far. Looking forward to stretching myself into trying more. Thanks for making it easy to follow.

My daughter in law had this cookbook on her Christmas list along with some of the other Moosewood Inn cookbooks. When we went to their house to visit, I browsed through this particular one and found some really good recipes and decided to order one for myself. I wasn't disappointed in most of the ideas but some I know my husband wouldn't care for!

I'm not a vegetarian and normally my cookbooks languish unopened on my shelves, but this one has become a constant companion. The food is quick and easy to make, delicious, healthy, and creative. I've had so many requests for recipes after serving food from this cookbook.

After getting this book and having such great success with the meals, I felt compelled to write my first Amazon.com review ever.

My husband and I went to a cooking class in town with one of the Moosewood founders (can't remember his name...oops!). He prepared a few meals out of this book that were very tasty. I loved the freshness and international spin on the meals - Vietnamese noodles, variation on gado-gado, etc.

We got the book based on how impressed we were. My husband is already a cook, but me...well...all I can say is I'm good at doing the wash up after meals. However, I've made 6 recipes from this book that were all simple as promised and also delicious - even with me cooking! I really like the Lemony Couscous with Chickpeas, esp. for the summer. My husband even commented on how good the meals have been. That's something with my cooking (hey, I'm not knocking myself down - I'm just a realist.)

Someone wrote this was very basic, but the name is "Simple Suppers" - what do you expect? It really may be too basic for a seasoned chef, but for someone who needs a fast, fresh, delicious meal and has beginning - intermediate cooking abilities, I highly recommend it.

Simple Suppers is a perfect name for this book! I have found the recipes to be not only delicious, but remarkably easy to prepare. Not too many ingredients, not too much cooking time. The older (1970s)Moosewood cookbook calls for more oil/fat than I now use....but this Moosewood offering just fits my new cooking style. Vegetarian - except for the short section on fish. Gets wow reviews from my family too!

I just finished the book and although I was engaged in the story the first half of the book, the 2nd half really dragged. Maybe if you have had the great pleasure to dine at Alice's restaurant, perhaps the story would have kept your attention better than mine. It's interesting to learn about the evolution of fine dining in this country and the recent movement for slow food. Alice Waters is a hero for her work way beyond the walls of her restaurant. However, the writing was inconsistent.

...book about a woman and her restaurant - constantly on the verge of going broke in the early days but went on to become the most influential and inspirational person in the American restaurant business. A must for all foodies (although Alice doesn't like the word!)

This is living proof that if we would only eat what is fresh and in season, we would experience flavor and taste, and "better for you" foods, as the food is FRESHER---this remarkable chef has treated food with respect-no contrivance here. Read and eat!

alice waters is truly an inspiration because she lives life with a passion for making a difference - a rare commodity in today's world.

i'm not sure how i found out about chez panisse but a friend and i went to the bay area a couple of years ago for a culinary weekend and we started our tour at chez panisse's cafe. it remains as one of my most memorable meals ever - relatively simple yet the tastes and textures were absolutely sublime!

the food alone makes chez panisse one of the world's greatest restaurants. but when you add in her commitment to sustainability and social justice, alice waters get the big picture!

when i look at tv (i.e. the food network) and its easy-on-the-eyes celebrity chefs, i absolutely cringe because 99% of them can't hold a candle to alice waters, a real revolutionary who is still thinking outside the box 40 years later.

like alice waters, eric tucker - the mastermind behind the world-class vegan restaurant millenium in san francisco - is also an inspiration as well. not only for the incredibly inventive food he turns out consistently at millenium but for taking sustainability to a whole another level!

I enjoyed reading this because of the subject's devotion to fresh, local, sustainable food, but was disappointed in the writing. The book is mainly a compilation of quotes from Alice Waters and her friends and people she's worked with - there's no synthesis provided by the author, no insight. It seems on the surface to be giving an honest portrait of the woman and her restaurant, but I just felt that there was a lot left unrevealed and unanalyzed. Instead of giving a clear-eyed assessment, this book fit into the mold of every project Alice has embarked on: She handpicked her biographer and gave him full access to sources so that it feels like a community effort, but she also made sure the book only carried the tone she desired - the tone she envisioned it should have - and was too impatient to provide or allow any introspection.

CHEF'S NIGHT OUT authors Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page are hosts of a new show of the same name that is aired on TaxiVu in the backseats of New York City taxicabs. They interview top chefs about their favorite places to eat in the city, and provide insider tips on what to order when you're there and what else not to miss. This book tells where 100 top chefs across the U.S. like to eat on their nights off -- where Daniel Boulud eats in New York City, where Charlie Trotter eats in Chicago, where Nancy Silverton and Mark Peel eat in Los Angeles. I can't imagine a better book to guide me to great restaurants in San Francisco, Washington, DC, Detroit or New Orleans -- or any of the other dozens of cities covered. Even if I don't make it to all of these places, I still enjoy reading about them and learning more about how top chefs think about food and restaurants. Still, after reading CHEF'S NIGHT OUT, I'm planning a trip to New Orleans so I can check out Uglesich's (a favorite of everyone from Todd English to Anne Rosenzweig to Charlie Trotter)!!

"Dornenburg and Page have once again unearthed the secrets of the restaurant business and made every reader an insider." --PHYLLIS RICHMAN, THE WASHINGTON POST

"This book may be the ultimate insider's guide to eating out. A copy of Chef's Night Out will live in my carry-on to deip into while in transit and to feast from when I arrive." --LYNNE ROSSETTO KASPER, THE SPLENDID TABLE

"Chef's Night Out answers, beautifully, my favorite question for fellow chefs: Where do you like to eat, and why?" --MARIO BATALI, BABBO, ESCA AND LUPA

"An utterly engaging and comprehensive view of dining for pleasure. Chef's Night Out is a must for every discerning diner." --ALAIN DUCASSE, ALAIN DUCASSE (NYC AND PARIS)

"What a fantastic resource! These are the kinds of places where we get all our inspiration. We can hardly wait to start tasting!" --MARY SUE MILLIKEN AND SUSAN FENIGER, BORDER GRILL AND CIUDAD

"Everything they write reflects Karen and Andrew's passion for great food and their affection for the people who create and celebrate it. Where do chefs eat? Of course I want to know." --GAEL GREENE, NEW YORK MAGAZINE

"Chef's Night Out is my new reference book for dining out around the country. If you love eating out, get this book!" --CHARLIE TROTTER, CHARLIE TROTTER'S

"From San Francisco to Boston, Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page have created a must-have guide for the most discriminating palates." --MAYOR WILLIE L. BROWN JR., MAYOR OF SAN FRANCISCO

This book is a great resource for people looking for a great place to eat. Whether you are a business traveler or a casual "summer vacation with the family" traveler, this book will tell you all the best places in major cities across the country to enjoy a delicious meal. Who better to ask about good food than some of the best chefs in the nation. I've recommended this book to several people and they all have enjoyed it. Do yourself a favor and GET THIS BOOK! You won't regret it!

Chef's Night Out by Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page tells you where the best chefs across America like to eat and why. This simple idea packs a lot of information into it. It's not just a list of four-star restaurants. You also find out where they go for burgers and oysters and pizza and steak and in the process you find out what they think makes for a great burger and oyster and pizza and steak. It's an education just to read about why they like these places and the food they serve, even if I never make it to half these places (which are in cities from New York to Los Angeles, but also cities I never go to like Atlanta and Baltimore). There are also a lot of interesting articles on things like what kinds of wine to drink with different ethnic foods, which is worth the price of the book in itself. This book is a must for any professional chef who wants to know how the top 100 chefs think about food (and who they are).

And the purpose of this book is....Well, to be honest, I was not quite sure. Then two hours passed, and I was still reading it.

That was my first impression of Chef's Night Out, the latest publication from Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page, the same team that brought us Becoming a Chef, Culinary Artistry and Dining Out.

Chef's Night Out serves as a mouthpiece for over one hundred chefs, highlighting their favorite restaurants, what they eat, and why they eat there. The index of contributing chefs reads like a Who's Who of American cooking: Charlie Trotter, Daniel Boulud, Todd English, Rick Bayless and Francois Payard, to name but a few. The restaurant recommendations, however, range from upscale destinations like Nobu, Bobby Flay's choice for inventive Japanese cuisine, to downtown recommendations like Pho Bang, Jean-Georges Vongerichten's house of pleasure of simple Vietnamese food.

What makes the book really interesting is reading why the chefs like to eat at a certain restaurant -- understanding what a great chef thinks makes a great restaurant serves up an unusual learning experience. Additionally, there is a multitude of short educational essays throughout the book -- not all of which come from chefs. Stephen Beckta, sommelier of Cafe Boulud, writes an outstanding piece, unveiling his wine philosophies: Serving Wine to Industry Insiders, Wine and Food Pairing Guidelines, Matching Wines and World Cuisines, and Palate of the People, describing how a client's palate is often based on their geographic origins. His three-page article alone makes the book worth picking up.

So, if you are the kind of food lover who has the money to spare and loves to read easily-digestible short stories -- like Norman Van Aken's snippet on Cooking in Miami, Charlie Trotter's tips on creating a memorable dining experience, or just that Mario Batali likes well-done hot dogs from Gray's Papaya, then this is one for you.

--Jeremy Emmerson

Haven't read it yet, but looking forward to it, I love all the Cleo Cyle books.

I love this book so much, and I also enjoy the series very much. This is a wonderful mystery series, even though the main character was a not so good detective but she... I can't exactly describe it but just to know that it is good. I bought this book with the whole series (for the purpose of free shipping only), but then they were so good, I finished 6 books in 7 days, a record for my standard. It was worth every single penny. There was one part in this book "French Pressed" that I hope she didn't mean what I thought she means. And this is what I mean: "I wanted to kiss him. It took a few gulps of hot coffee to focus and remind my self that Mike's mouth occasionally did something other than that." page 242. If it was what I think it was then wow:). Oh and I forgot to mention Madame. I like her character the best. Though she was old but she is exotic. OK, imagine an 80 year-old woman says "OK, I'm game." and when it was necessarily, she said she was looking for her late husband with his old picture (to fool a PI who thought the picture was her ex-daughter-in-law's flame, juicy huh). Anyway I recommended this book, (should start the whole series), for those who enjoy mysteries and humor at the same time--for these are not as serious as Sherlock Holmes series.

I am very happy I purchased the entire Coffee series by Ms Coyle. I made the mistake of reading #4 first - but was soon totally engrossed by all the stories. This book was delightful and a wonderful read. Thank you Ms Coyle for your wit and humor.

WARNING! The review below this one tries to SPOIL this mystery for readers! Boo to her for trying to announce who the murderer is. I reported it to Amazon. (Also, she is wrong! The murderer is introduced far earlier than she claims! Ha! She didn't read very closely!)

I've enjoyed this cozy mystery series since its inception. French Pressed is a very good novel that both tells a standalone mystery and -- more important to those of us who have been following Claire since she took over managing the Greenwich Village coffeehouse -- moves the characters along in their own development.

This time the focus is on Claire's daughter, Joy, who has been working on her chef internship at a high-end Manhattan restaurant -- and working on a relationship with the married celebrity chef, too. As you learn in the first few pages, SOMEone has decided to eliminate another intern (and Joy's friend)... and the police are convinced that the murderer is Joy. Claire has to find the real culprit to save her daughter.

It works. The situations are plausible, the settings believeable (even the ones with which you and I might not be familiar, out in Brooklyn), and it's easy to keep turning the pages. And, unlike some mysteries in which the appealing-characters cast never seems to change, these people get along with their own lives. Madame has a new love interest; Esther the barrista is dating someone of whom Claire disapproves; there's movement going on in the background to interest us, not just the story in the spotlight. Which, I think, is one reason that I'd pick up anything by Cleo Coyle and walk right to the checkout counter.

Many cozy mysteries build in some love/relationship tension (which man will the protagonist end up with?), and this series is no exception. Some, however, drag out that "will she won't she" for far too long, making me want to shout, "Make up your mind already!" Happily, I can report that Claire's love relationship does finally get resolved.

I enjoyed this story. If you've been following along in the series, there's no reason to delay getting this next installment. If you're new to it... hmm, DO start at the beginning.

Sanders has captured the life in a small French village and its wonderful restaurant. My wife, best friends and I organized a trip to France around Sanders' book. It did not disappoint. La Rec was unbelievable. My friend and I could not figure out how the restaurant makes money at 30 Euros a person for a wonderful meal (five courses, including some of the most elegant dishes we had in France -- the Lobster bisque and ravioli are beyond description, for example). We took many of Sanders' other suggestions, including a lunch at the cooking school in a nearby village, and found the experience to be wonderful. The only downside to Sanders' work is that Les Arques has been bought up by northern Europeans, with virtually no French people living there.

I found a link to this book on the site of the B & B in Albas I was planning to visit during my trip to France last year. I bought & read the book and had to see for myself. Since my traveling companion & I were going to be in the area we e-mailed the owners of the B & B to make us a reservation.

It was the most marvelous meal I've ever had. Three hours long and there was no sense of time having passed. The owners were lovely and I have never seen a cleaner kitchen ever, anywhere. My only regret is that we didn't have time to see much of the village he writes about.

My dream is to go back & do it again. I'm so glad I read this book.

I started out prepared to like this book, after all, I love France, having visited it many times, and my Grandmother on my Mothers side was French. However, after only a few sentences, alarm bells started to go off. The more I read, the worse it got. Basically, -here are the problems. The authors appalling use of Grammar, the tortured sentences, the overuse of adjectives, the misplaced adverbs and verbs, the use of American slang, {as in "I wanted to get the "skinny" on the matter,-meaning the inside info.}The mixed use of Ameringlish, Franglais,and slang.
Just read it yourself, and you will see what I mean. Michael Sanders badly needs a} a good proof-reader, one who is literate as well as literary, and b}someone to edit his work and be prepared to slash many tortured sentences with a red pen.I gave up before I was even half-way through, as being a retired English teacher, it was too painful to read further. Sorry, but I cant recommend this book to anyone who is half-way literate.

I enjoyed this book for the most part, but found it poorly edited. The author mentions the same things over and over again in different parts of the book. When the same idea or scene is repeated, it is as though it is being mentioned for the first time. I found this highly annoying when I was reading the book.

A friend who lives in the Lot recommended this as essential reading prior to our recent trip to visit her. Although at first I feared that this book would be another cloying American-in-Europe travelogue, I happily found that Sanders presents a balanced and gracious treatment of a place that obviously captured his heart. He resists gushing encomiums and treats his subject matter with restraint and some degree of objectivity. Having said that, I should add that he also enthuses when he feels inclined to do so, and these sections generate a warm glow without excessive sugar-coating. The book hooked us, and after we arrived in the region, we undertook a two-hour drive through the backroads of the Lot to walk through the village, visit the museum, and, of course, lunch at La Recreation. It is always difficult to reconcile the experience of a place in the flesh with one's mental image from a book, but Sanders captured the magic of the place deftly. The lunch, by the way, was magnificent.

Although the books are fine, there was a mix-up with the order and delivery.
I wanted the two Moosewood books to be billed to me but shipped to my friend in Raleigh, North Carolina.
I realized that you had recorded TWO shipments, one set of books to me, and
a duplicate set to my friend. When I reported this, you mistakenly cancelled the North
Carolina shipment and sent the books to me. Moreover, the North Carolina
shipment would have been free of shipping charge, but the books mistakenly sent to
me had $4.98 in shipping charges. I took it upon myself to re-ship the books
to my friend in North Carolina and pay the second shipping charge.

The recipes are reliable and easy to follow.

Personal favorites: Butternut squash soup with sizzled sage, Jamaican tomato soup, Spicy carrot peanut soup, Black bean and chipotle soup, Tortilla soup, Corn chowder, Cream of mushroom, and Creamy herbed potato.

There's a large chapter on salads. Try the Asparagus and fennel pasta salad, Caesar salad, Chef salad a la Moosewood, Tomato flowers and the Tostada salad.

At the end of each page it will give menu ideas as to which salads go with which soups. Very helpful. Their salad dressings are very good but my all time favorite which I make once a week is the Moosewood house dressing. A delicious combination of canola oil, cider vinegar, honey, spinach leaves, basil leaves, dijon mustard, a little salt, fresh ground black pepper and buttermilk. All whirled together in a blender and tossed on fresh greens. It will keep in the fridge for about a week.

Very easy directions. Lovely.

Sure, there are two tiny chapters of recipes including seafood, which I never use, not being a seafood lover, and there are recipes that include clam juice or whatever, but I find that those are so easily substituted or simply left out that it doesn't make a difference. This is one of the cookbooks I use most on the fly, when I haven't thought out the menu in advance. Many of the recipes can be prepared without a dash to the store, with just stuff I have in the cupboards. There are many good pairing suggestions, and lots of the recipes go over well with my 4 and 2 year olds. We love the Baked Bean soup, Vegetable Pistou, Artichoke Avgolemono (this is a big hit with everone I've ever made it for), Classic Sichuan noodles, Persian Rice and Pistachio salad, Nepalese Egg salad, North African Roasted Cauliflower, I could go on. My kids favorite snack is the Baked seasoned tofu, we love the spiced paneer, and the shortening-free biscuits are great. This is a good cookbook to have.

Last spring I visited Ithaca, NY and had dinner at the Moosewood Restaurant. It was amazing! We went back for lunch the next day before heading home. Eating there was truly a life-changing experience for me. While there, I picked up this book - my first Moosewood book.

I have always been whole foods minded, but tended to make the same old things over and over. This cookbook really helped to open up my meal repertoire. In a year, I've made a few dozen recipes and so far they have all been winners - they have ranged from good to "holy cow!!!"

While I'm not a vegetarian, I'm a picky eater and generally don't eat much meat. I love this book because I can eat almost every recipe in it with no modification - this is a first for me! I am not into soy products, and unlike many vegetarian cookbooks, the recipes here aren't centered around soy or other meat-replacements. This is such a refreshing change!

Like another reviewer mentioned, most of the salads aren't what you would normally think of as salads, and can really stand on their own as entrees. There are dozens of different soups. Our favorite dishes are the Tibetan Lentil Soup, Balinese Rice Salad, and Orzo Pesto stuffed tomatoes.

This book is the best cookbook in my entire collection. NOT because the meals are easy to prepare or the ingredients easy to find -- because frequently these meals take some time and effort, and a little searching to make sure you have all of the ingredients.

But these recipes are absolutely fabulous, and all are well worth the time it takes to prepare them. They are all very unique, and the book is filled with combinations of ingredients I never would have thought to put together myself on a whim, like the Indian Fruit Salad or the Warm Potato Salad. When I was first beginning to learn how to cook, THIS is the cookbook that turned me into a good cook! AND these are all mostly vegetarian, very healthy meals.

Interspersed with the recipes are also little vignettes / ramblings on food, eating, cooking and meal preparation, as well as guides to putting together your own food without a recipe, like what salad greens go well together. If you're not in the mood to cook, you can still sit down and just READ this book, because the little sections are really delightful to chew on. Along the bottoms of pages are menu ideas, complete with page references to the other recipes, and at the end of the book is an extensive index.

If there was a 6 star rating, I would gladly give this book 6 stars! There is nothing like it.

We were given this cookbook from a vegetarian friend of ours for our wedding. We do eat meat occasionally but the bulk of our dinners (6 out of 7) are vegetarian which means I was looking forward to getting some inspiration from this cookbook and I did but, frankly, it took me some effort!
My main problem with this cookbook is that a great deal of these recipes do not really make meals but are rather side dishes or snacks - sometimes with quite extensive ingredient-lists which in turn is way too much effort for just a side-dish or a snack! Unfortunately, just making a bigger serving of a recipe does not do the trick. Like some other reviewers said some recipes tasted like there was something missing. One thing I liked though was that ingredient-wise I was sometimes forced to leave my comfort zone. The extensive glossary at the end of the book was very helpful. So I tried some new things and some of them have actually made it into my standard repertoire, others I will not use again.
Finally, all recipes had a very similar palate. They were either Indian- or Thai-inspired (but not quite the real thing) or were reminiscent of classic Mediterranean cuisine, there were absolutely no surprise twists.
That said, I think it is a solid cookbook but definitely not my favorite.

The Book came in good condition and on time. I am excited to start cooking these great recipes!

a vegetarian's dream - excellent recipes. not many pictures of finished dishes, but a wide variety of dishes and some vegan.

This is a wonderful cookbook that I return to over and over again, not because it is vegetarian, but because the recipes are so flavorful and a joy to prepare. Our family has particularly enjoyed the rich risottos that lend themselves to many variations. I have also given it as a gift to friends who enjoy vegetarian cooking. This is a favorite that always stays close at hand.

The first recipe I tried in this book was the Moosewood Muffins -- which I have now made over fifty times. Yes, they are that good! I actually wrote out the recipe and taped it on a kitchen cupboard so it would always be handy. You can vary it to include *anything*. Even graham crackers. Even three different types of nuts. It accomodates everything; that recipe is magic.

And all of the other recipes in this book are fabulous too. Like every Moosewood cookbook, there is a lot of variation; expect this book to take you everywhere from France, to Japan, and back to America for some vegetarian down home cookin'. The few fish recipes that are included are also excellent.

There are also menu suggestions, which make planning meals easy. And the recipes in this book are also more simple than The Moosewood Restaurant Daily Special or Moosewood Restaurant Celebrates -- though not quite as much as Moosewood Restaurant Simple Suppers, so it's a good middle ground.

If you like cooking, and you also love eating, and you want the food you serve to be healthy and delicious -- I highly recommend this book.