Solid work, if a tad stuffy.
Restaurant critic Shaw, founder and publisher of Fat-Guy.com and eGullet.com, reveals secrets about commercial restaurants, including how to get a good table.
Shaw began his career as a lawyer, but he was always a food lover at heart, and he eventually found his place in his rightful field of employ. Now, as a restaurant columnist (Elle, Saveur, etc.), he has even more entree into his favorite places, and here he shares his trade secrets. Hanging out with the reservationist (yes, he assures the reader, it is a word), assisting in the kitchen of Manhattan’s renowned Gramercy Tavern and counting the number of eggs used on a Sunday at the Tavern on the Green, Shaw darts into those exalted places that most foodies only conjecture about, and he soaks up the atmosphere for hours and days at a time. Possibly his best practical advice is on how to get a table at a hot restaurant—being persistent and becoming a regular are two of the top methods—and his revelations about the reservation software and how closely it tracks the diner will ensure that readers will never be no-shows again. Shaw's philosophy, in a nutshell, is that regulars get the best service; therefore, people who enjoy dining out should find restaurants they love and go to them repeatedly. The author also visits the suppliers—the fishmongers, cheese makers and humane veal farmers—who cater to the best kitchens. The grueling nature of restaurant work may best be illustrated by the hours it involves: the fish market is hopping at 2 a.m., roughly the time most waiters are finally able to go out to dinner themselves, and so on. An unabashed restaurant fan, Shaw places himself in contrast with Ruth Reichl and Mimi Sheraton (who reviewed anonymously), saying that reviewers and restaurants should have a cozier relationship.
Solid work, if a tad stuffy.Pub Date: Aug. 16, 2005
ISBN: 0-06-073780-8
Page Count: 240
Publisher: HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2005
This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)
Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996
ISBN: 0-15-100227-4
Page Count: 136
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An extravaganza in Bemelmans' inimitable vein, but written almost dead pan, with sly, amusing, sometimes biting undertones, breaking through. For Bemelmans was "the man who came to cocktails". And his hostess was Lady Mendl (Elsie de Wolfe), arbiter of American decorating taste over a generation. Lady Mendl was an incredible person,- self-made in proper American tradition on the one hand, for she had been haunted by the poverty of her childhood, and the years of struggle up from its ugliness,- until she became synonymous with the exotic, exquisite, worshipper at beauty's whrine. Bemelmans draws a portrait in extremes, through apt descriptions, through hilarious anecdote, through surprisingly sympathetic and understanding bits of appreciation. The scene shifts from Hollywood to the home she loved the best in Versailles. One meets in passing a vast roster of famous figures of the international and artistic set. And always one feels Bemelmans, slightly offstage, observing, recording, commenting, illustrated.
Pub Date: Feb. 23, 1955
ISBN: 0670717797
Page Count: -
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1955
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