Fall Preview 2003

Fall Restaurant Openings

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COOKING THE BOOKS

This fall, five favorite foodies reveal their secrets—and offer tips on how to get out of doing the dishes.

The Balthazar Cookbook
By Keith McNally, et al (Clarkson Potter; October)
The Dish: When you’re not up for the sensory stimulation of a bustling brasserie—or yet another Anna Wintour sighting—whip up steak-frites and duck shepherd’s pie in the privacy of your own home.
Saucy Quote: “In building Balthazar, as much time and effort went into the details . . . as on the grander aspects of the decor. We felt the same way about the French Fries.”

East of Paris
By David Bouley and Mario Lohninger (Ecco; November)
The Dish: The Tribecan titan’s first cookbook pays homage to the Austrian gestalt that inspired his restaurant, the Danube, and its modern, lightened-up, seasonal take on an old-world cuisine.
Saucy Quote: “A fresh beet, still with its greens attached, is tender and sweet, almost more like a fruit than a vegetable. It’s not . . . tough or dry, like a potato. It’s beautiful.”

Tom Valenti’s Soups, Stews, and One-pot Meals
(Scribner; October)
The Dish: At home, the chef-owner of Ouest and ’Cesca is a self-described “one-pot kind of guy” (read: lazy) who loves big, bold, complexly layered flavors but hates to do the dishes.
Saucy Quote: “I can’t talk about beef cheeks without thinking about my friend and fellow chef-in-arms Mario Batali. We have nicknames for each other based on our favorite cuts of meat. He calls me Shanks. I call him Beef Cheeks.”

Mastering Simplicity: A Life in the Kitchen
By Christian Delouvrier (Wiley; September)
The Dish: The master French chef with two restaurants in the works (see above) recounts a fascinating life in food, from Paris kitchen commis to four stars at Lespinasse.
Saucy Quote: “She watched me accompany Louis to the barn. . . . Louis milked the cow right into my bowl and I slurped down the frothy, warm and so delicious cow juice.”

American Desserts
By Wayne Harley Brachman (Clarkson Potter; November)
The Dish: A survey of sweets, from the first Thanksgiving’s whortleberry pudding to a primer on crisps and crumbles, cobblers, buckles, slumps, and grunts.
Saucy Quote: “There are two types of brownies: the crumbly cake style and the chocolaty, rich and chewy fudge style. I imagine that someone, somewhere prefers a cakelike brownie, but I have yet to meet him.”