Customer Reviews

Eat Me: The Food and Philosophy of Kenny Shopsin

5 star:		(35)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is the first cook book I've ever read where I sat down and read it cover to cover first. The musings in this book is worth every page and makes for an engaging read. The book arrived at my house on Thursday and I basically spent all weekend trying out a bunch of the recipes. So far: Patsy's Cashew Chicken (a new household favorite but mixed hoisin sauce, water and soy sauce instead though), Slutty Pancakes, Glazed Pancakes, Tahini Dressing, Coconut rice (never thought leftover rice can taste so good), Crepes (amazing approach and he's right, no one can tell the difference). The recipes are elegantly simple and does not require a culinary degree nor a translator when you go shopping for the ingredients. In fact, most of the stuff is probably already in your pantry. Kenny Shopsin has a distinctive point of view and will leave you wanting to visit NYC just so you can eat at his restaurant and hear his philosophy in person. Be careful you don't get thrown out though...

Eat Me and Kenny Shopsin's take on the world are definitely not for everyone, just as his restaurant was not for everyone. One reader I spoke with found Kenny's attitude closed-minded and offensive; I had an easier time being amused at the raucous tales and strong personality, but I could see the person's point. It'll definitely be a reader-dependent thing.

Kenny tells tales of everything from his kids' childhoods to famous customers to the sexual nature of some foods. His stories of the friendships he's made and the business agreements he's come to had me laughing out loud.

The recipes are equally fantastic, and even that reader I know who didn't like Kenny's attitude loved the food. Kenny liked to keep as many dishes on the menu as possible, while keeping his kitchen as simple as possible and making every dish when it was ordered--rather than making a handful of things ahead and keeping them under heat lamps. He achieved this by constructing many variations upon themes from simple components. When fresh ingredients achieve the best results, he uses them. When a purchased mix or product will do just as well, he isn't shy to say so.

I have to agree that he's found an amazing balance between speed, ease, and taste. I frankly wasn't sure about an egg recipe called the Fellini, made with tomato, garlic bread, and ricotta, but it blew me away when we made it. Alchemy! His suggestions for making stock seemed odd (a blend of traditional stock-making methods and including some of a commercial concentrate), yet it really does produce an end result that's better than either of those methods alone. His cream of tomato soup, made with marinara sauce as a base(!) is to die for, and easy enough to knock out on a busy work night!

If you're easily offended, avoid the commentary and stories. If you can't stand strong language, avoid the book altogether. But if you're looking for a hilarious memoir and/or a wonderful cookbook of easy, delicious foods, Eat Me is a fantastic investment!

The title says it all.

Kenny Shopsin is profane, hard on customers, full of big ideas that are as important to him as anything he'll put on your plate.

If your idea of a restaurant is a place where "the customer is always right," do yourself a favor and stop reading right here.

But if you like a combative good time, an original mind and some amazingly simple recipes for home-cooked classics, you might inch a bit closer to the screen and pay close attention to this unusual cookbook.

First, the facts: Shopsin's is a New York institution. Kenny Shopsin and his late wife Eve started it as a Greenwich Village market before turning it --- without much in the way of redecoration --- into a 40-seat restaurant. It's now moved to the Essex Street Market, in a more pristine space with just 20 seats, more constrained hours and a menu trimmed from its former 900 items.

Now for some consumer warnings...

Kenny Shopsin on Customer Relations
Sometimes my mind works a bit too fast, and I come to the conclusion of a relationship with customers faster than they get there. The abruptness of my understanding the essence of what's happening is really upsetting to them and makes them vindictive and angry.

Kennedy Shopsin on Publicity
[to a New York magazine photographer who asked to take his picture] Get [REDACTED] out of here! What? [REDACTED] [Sound effect: Shopsin slamming the door.]

Kenny Shopsin on his huge menu, revised daily
I spent almost $3,000 on toner in the last three months.

Kenny Shopsin on what makes his restaurant special
The brilliance of my restaurant is my ability to control my clientele. The thing that makes my restaurant special is my relationships and interactions with my customers --- and the way they relate and interact with one another. With the wrong people here, those interactions don't happen, so...I probably axe at least one party every day --- and usually more than that.

Kenny Shopsin on what's in it for you
Once we've established a rapport, my customers and I are absolute equals in my restaurant. But I guess I shouldn't expect newcomers to understand this. In all fairness, they're right and I'm the [REDACTED], because my way is hardly the traditional you-give-me-the-money-I-give-you-a-bagel. I want more from them. I want a relationship.

But you get the idea. Underneath the crusty exterior beats a loving hippie heart. And a totally committed owner --- there is no other cook. And were you to order, say, one of the 300 soups, Shopsin would make it right then and there. No steam table here... ever.

So don't be fooled by the signs that say, in so many words, GO AWAY. Play by the key rule: No two people at one table can order the same thing. [It bores Kenny.] Do remember that a waitress once poured soup over the head of an annoying customer --- and that Kenny took her side. And, finally, do know you can make his food at home.

This food is international home cooking. Even the eggs and the pancakes can be had in surprising combinations. But it's the soups where Shopsin really shines. Chicken Tortilla Avocado. Brazilian Chicken Garlic Rice. And then chili, made punchier with coffee. An egg, rice and bean mixture called Blisters on My Sisters. A simple Bolognese, tricked up with chili.

Three of his five children work with Kenny. The book was designed by Kenny's daughter Tamara and photographed by Kenny's son-in-law, Jason Fulford. So it's no surprise that, six days a week, Kenny Shopsin wakes up eager to see his kids, engage his customers and, as an aside, cook.

Kenny Shopsin is, in short, a very happy man. Between the recipes and the philosophy, his very useful book can make you happy. You don't think so? To quote the maestro: [REDACTED].

This was a great read, and has workable, enjoyable recipes as well. That's pretty much all I want from a cookbook.

Effective translation from one art form to another is a high wire act of the greatest difficulty - readers may agree for example that the film director faces an uphill battle to craft an effective cinematic experience from even the most masterfully written novel.

Those who have had direct experience of the unique restaurant and social environment described in this book will, I am sure, be able to confirm to a wider public that the author, his collaborator and illustrator have created a grand success in making Shopsin's live and breathe realistically and delightfully within the covers of this work. This is a success fully as memorable and arresting as film director Henri-Georges Clousot's "The Mystery of Picasso" which did the same in sharing and preserving the leading Twentieth Century artist's mercurial character and irrepressible creativity.

Enfolded copiously among the many recipes are anecdotes, philosophical ruminations, and historical comments on the legendary Greenwich Village of a previous generation -- many of which are presented in a deceptively casual, even profane manner. These amount to a second book nestled within a diverse collection of recipes.

The illustration and design work on this book are labors of love by Kenny Shopin's daughter, Tamara Shopsin -- an artist of increasingly wide reputation in her own right.

A cookbook reviewer should be pleased to report that such a publication does a good job at showing the reader how to prepare good food. This presentation far exceeds that worthy result: it provides a window on how to be a genuine human being on one's own terms.

This is a great book. It is one of the few cookbooks I've read through page by page. I enjoy his stories and his matter of fact attitude.

The recipes are interesting and his shortcuts are a crack up. Do yourself a favor and buy it. You will enjoy it.

I am almost finished with this book and I have to tell anyone who is interested in it that you shouldn't hesitate to buy it--not just for the recipes, which so far look quite tasty and VERY doable--but for the philosophy and wit that it contains. I have never met Kenny Shopsin or eaten at his place but I have gained a ton of respect for him and been VERY entertained in the process.

I'm a long-time customer of Shopsin's. This book is very special to me. For those who eat at Shopsin's, it's a little piece of the restaurant to have in your home, and to those who have never been there, it's a window into that that world. The cookbook part of it is wonderful. I've cooked a bunch of recipes so far -- they're easy and they turn out great. Kenny also has some very helpful advice on how to stock your kitchen in ways that whenever you need to make dinner, you can grab a few items and whip up something quick. I'm one of those people who buys stuff for one recipe, then the excess eventually goes bad, and then my freezer, fridge and pantry lay empty for months while I do take out. This has helped end that! Thank you Kenny! I think anybody will dig this book -- if you don't believe me, leaf through a copy in your local bookstore and you'll be hooked.

I think the book has a lot of good "diner recipes" and I definitely like the story part of the book more than the actual recipes. You can tell that Kenny ,even with his tough exterior, is nice man who loves his family and cooking.
I am 19 and going to culinary school in a few months... I'm just trying to read as much as I possibly can about food, and this was Not a waste of time!

Back when I was a kid that was the response to the title of this book that we would use on the playground....today, I'd happily say it to Mr. Kenny Shopsin if I had the chance, and I'd hope he would whip out virtually any item from the six page menu illustrated in this amazing compendium of recipes. Until this afternoon I'd never read a cookbook before, except for The Anarchist Cookbook when I was in grade school. Eat Me was sitting on the counter at the bookstore I was working at and as I picked it up and started perusing it I found that not only could I not put it down until I was finished, I immediately wanted to buy a bus ticket for NYC and, with a wad of twenties in my pocket, I felt the need to visit Kenny's eatery and dig-in for a few days and worship in his cathedral of cuisine. I want to start with the Chicken-Fried Hamburger and then work my way through breakfast, lunch and dinner and swear to Mr. Shopsin that I will never arrive in a party of five! He is a GOD and my new favorite author! I hope there is a sequel and until then, I plan to read this tome again and actually try a few of the recipes, even though I've never really cooked anything more complicated than a batch of Hamburger Helper. I also really liked the photos of odd gumball machines and other accoutrements peppered throughout the book. It gets my highest recommendation and I truly hope to meet the author someday...ideally at his establishment with him giving me his all approving eye as he prepares the best Loco Moco ever! Bon Appetit MF, indeed!