Customer Reviews

New York Cooks: 100 Recipes from the City's Best Chefs

5 star:		(3)
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3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
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I got the first 'New York Cooks' years ago: loveitloveitloveit! Use it all the time. I knew this book was different, yet still looked forward to it: how can you go wrong with really good chefs writing out their recipes? This is how: the book is dedicated more to the chefs than to the recipes. Over 90 pages of this 220 page book are pictures and mini-bios of the chefs, and the forward seems redundant(don't we all know NY's culinary 'place'?). An additional 20+ pages are photos: some of food, some 'ambience' shots. The authors are clearly delighted with their city, these chefs, and with food in general, but their focus on the chefs/the chefs' personalities is a 'chef as rock star/celebrity' thing. If you don't know about/haven't heard of these chefs you may be bored; if you do know about them you probably don't need so much information/adulation. You may also have the attitude many home cooks share: so?
Few of the recipes were 'new' -- many of them can be found in other, better organized, books. (The book is divided into 7 sections, each section representing a food 'style':New American, French, Classic American...each section is then divided by several chefs, giving the chef 'bio' and a set of recipes under quotes from the chef. Each recipe set could be a 'menu', but may include several set pieces that are seen as a whole, not individual food items, making it hard design your own menu from the recipes.) The authors state that some of the recipes are 'complicated' and may call for 'exotic' ingredients. They believe that the end result is 'worth' the complexity -- I don't. I'm from San Francisco, so don't lack for specialty ingredients. I found some of the items to be just plain 'precious'(the 'next big thing' not yet discovered by most).
Overall, the book was a disappointment -- maybe I've been reading recipes/cooking too long to share the authors' awe at chefs and their oeuvre.

I bought this book because it featured some of my favorite restaurants and chefs and couldn't be happier. The chef profiles really gave me an insight as to why they do what they do and the sidebars about their favorite foods, ingredients, utensils, etc. were fun to read. I even went out and bought Old Bay Seasoning on the recommendation of Mikey Price from Market Table.
As for the recipes, I've had great luck so far...while some definitely take some effort, like the Blackfish with Spaghetti Squash from Gramercy Tavern, the results are pretty spectacular. And others, like the Smothered Pork Chops are really easy. I also like the look of the book: it's a nice large shape and the photos are gorgeous.
All in all, a good book to add to the kitchen shelf.

New York Cooks is a superb collection of recipes from all of my favorite restaurants in New York.... and a lot more that I want to try. It is written in a terrific style that is fun to read as well as to learn great recipes from today's best chefs. The perfect book for "chefs" of all levels.

NEW YORK COOKS: 100 RECIPES FROM THE CITY'S BEST CHEFS is a 'must' for any cookbook collection strong in American regional cuisine in general and New York fare in particular. It provides some hundred dishes grouped by ethnic influence or style, it presents dishes presented by chefs who consider them some of their favorite dishes, and it includes many photos and biographical surveys of the chefs, who are profiled as much as their creations. Don't expect a completely new, innovative collection - many of the dishes can be found in other cookbooks; but do expect a superior level of explanation and detail on the New York culinary scene.

I love New York, and I love to bake, and maybe that's why this book didn't satisfy--it's about COOKING, and I prefer BAKING, a more scientific endeavor. Still, it's a beautiful book, just not something I would be reaching for every day. And since I have limited shelf space, this one is not a keeper for me. You may feel differently.