Customer Reviews

Isabel's Cantina: Bold Latin Flavors from the New California Kitchen

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I haven't been able to get this excited about a cookbook in years! The recipes are simple and the food is wonderful. I have tried many of them and already have several favorites, such as the Jicama, Cucumber and Radish Salad, the Avocado Salsa Cruda and the Roasted Chile Verde Sauce. The instructions are clear and concise, the tips are wonderful and the flavors are delightfully light, refreshing tasty and healthy. The full color photos are gorgeous!

We love Isabel's food, we eat in her restaurants all the time! Now that we have her cookbook we can make her simple and tasty recipes when entertaining and cooking at home. We're also excited to have recipes that will help us stay fit and healthy! YUM!!

I was introduced to Isabel's wonderful food in my favorite restaurant in Ashland, Oregon (Shakespeare Festival town). This is a collection of her best creations--and some very practical and easy food prep ideas. This book is a favorite gift to friends who are serious and not-so-serious cooks. And, the design and layout of the book invites you to check out every page.

I found this book to be extremely informative and I love the pictures and the layout. The recipes are easy to follow and most of all different. The food and the sauces are so tasty and look so appetizing. The tips are also extremely helpful. I would highly recommend this book and look forward to seeing more of this type of cookbook. Thank you.

The recipes are very easy to follow. Isabel takes traditional latin and asian flavors and combines them. There's everything from mexican soups that are total comfort food to seared ahi wonton with avocado salsa cruda. The coconut french toast is awesome. It's my husband's favorite!

I haven't cooked a lot of Latin American food but this cookbook was the perfect place to start. It combines all the standard recipes with easy to follow directions. I liked how the recipes all came together well and the background behind each of them as explained by the author. The best recipes I've tried are the Cumin Panko Chicken and the Pina Colada Pancakes. I can't wait to cook through this whole cookbook.

After eating at the Cantina for years, it was wonderful to finally be able to experience the food at home. Excellent recipes, photos and presentation. I highly recommend this book.

My husband and I ate in Isabel's restaurant in San Diego weekly when we lived in San Diego for four years. We just moved to Chicago and I can't explain my joy when I found out she not only had a cookbook, but one with many of my favorite dishes from the restaurant in it! It is one of the things I miss most about San Diego--luckily, I can still enjoy this great food when I make it in my own home!

Ate at her restaurant and had to get the book as the food was wonderful. The photos and the recipes are
great. We tried them at home and they are unique and great tasting.

The only reason I give this book 4 stars instead of 5 is that if you were not a cook, it would be hard to follow the recipes, as they leave out things that you'd know as a cook to do, but wouldn't if you were a novice. Nonetheless, this is a great book with great photos.

I first encountered Isabel's cooking at her Dragonfly restaurant in Ashland Oregon a couple of years ago. As director of the Center of Excellence in Nutritional Genomics it is important for me to look the part so I ordered the grilled chicken lettuce wrap thinking that it would be low-cal, healthy but tasteless. Boy was I surprised and my family and I have been regulars every since. I was delighted find that many of Isabel's great dishes are now available in "Isabel's Cantina: Bold Latin Flavors." I purchased her book recently and I wasn't disappointed. Isabel has managed to capture in this well written and beautifully illustrated book, the very best of the "fusion" cuisine. Drawing on her multicultural experiences in the LA area, Isabel blends international flavors and ingredients into dishes that are both delicious and fun, not to mention healthy. Her recipes are certainly at the forefront of current food trends that place greater emphasis on flavor and a healthier balance between protein and vegetable. Is Isabel's Cantina: Bold Latin Flavors the new cuisine for the global village? Is Ms. Cruz the new female "Bobby Flay" of the West Coast? I don't know but her style and recipes have put the excitement back into fusion cooking.