White Dog Cafe Cookbook: Multicultural Recipes and Tales of Adventure from Philadelphia's Revolutionary Restaurant (Paperback)

~ (Author), Kevin Von Klause (Author), Elizabeth Fitzgerald (Author), Mardee Haidin Regan (Author) "IT WAS PITCH-BLACK IN THE WALK-IN REFRIGERATOR AT RESTAURANTE FLORIDITA, once a favorite haunt of Hemingway's in Havana, Cuba, and now a sister restaurant to..." (more)
Key Phrases: nonreactive saucepan set, large sauté pan set, teaspoon nam pla, White Dog Cafe, New Mexican, Winter Herb Pesto (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Judy Wicks, the owner of Philadelphia's renowned White Dog Cafe, has a clear agenda. "I use food to lure innocent customers into social action," she says. Since 1973, her restaurant has been known as much for the themed evenings it hosts to raise awareness for various causes as for the food prepared by Chef Kevin Von Klause, a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America. As in her restaurant, promoting causes is important in this book. Stories about trips to Cuba and to Nicaragua prove that Wicks is no sunshine hippie, but rather a deeply committed entrepreneur. (The Cafe serves coffee from organically grown beans imported by a company started by a fellow traveler she invited on one of those Nicaraguan trips, and it has ongoing relationships with a number of "sister" restaurants around the world.)

The White Dog Cafe may be furnished with a funky hodgepodge of pieces added over the years as the place grew from a takeout shop to an establishment seating 200, but the recipes are carefully written and the food is broadly appealing. Chilled Roast Beef Tenderloin with Horseradish Crème Fraîche, French Mushroom Soup, and Sour Cream Coffee Cake are typical selections. They and the rest of the 200-plus dishes in this cookbook prove Wicks and Van Klause know how to serve up noncontroversial, popular food while promoting radical ideas. --Dana Jacobi

From Publishers Weekly

Wicks, a community activist, and von Klause, a chef, are partners in a 15-year-old Philadelphia restaurant known for its advocacy of organic foods and innovative food preparation. Here, they offer some 250 recipes. As is often the case with restaurant-based cookbooks, however, a significant number of dishes require considerable skill and time, e.g., Baked Shrimp and Pork Spring Rolls with Apricot-Pickled Ginger Dipping Sauce. The homemade pasta in Braised Wild Mushrooms Under Herb-Printed Pasta requires fresh herbs sandwiched between two thin sheets of dough. Chili-Rubbed Duck Breasts with Sun-Dried Cherry Glaze calls for one cup of Veal Demi-Glace, which can be prepared in advance but takes up to five hours to reduce. Some dishes, such as Watermelon and Shrimp Salad with Jalapeno-Lime Dressing, unite ingredients with startling invention. The authors shine with simpler meals such as Sauteed Chicken and Mushrooms in Marsala-Sage Sauce and Tarragon-Braised Lamb Shanks. Photos not seen by PW.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Running Press (March 5, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0762400072
• ISBN-13: 978-0762400072
• Product Dimensions: 9.8 x 7.8 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #734,474 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of my favorites, January 23, 2001

By	"patrickp" (East Lansing, MI USA) - See all my reviews

I own lots of cookbooks (over 200) and the White Dog Cafe cookbook is one of my favorites. I have tried about half of the book's recipes and have never been disappointed. The recipes are interesting, using ingredients that non-professionals can find easily. The techniques are easy and the food is very tasty. The food is also creative and can be made (even for the first time)without a household staff of 12! The White Dog Cafe's Black Bean Soup is the only version I really like and I have made it several times. The social philosophy of the authors is an added bonus.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great book for your kitchen shelf--you'll use it!, June 8, 2000

By	drdebs (CA United States) - See all my reviews

I use this Cook Book all the time when I want to prepare a special meal without much effort or fuss. The White Dog Cafe Cookbook has never failed me: all of the recipes I've tried yield yummy food with a bit of a kick.

The White Dog Cafe is a progressive and socially-responsible restaurant in Philadelphia. While I've never eaten there, the next time I'm out that way I'm going to give it a try because the recipes here are so excellent.

The Soups, Salads and Light Meals, Main Courses, and Desserts sections are the ones I use most often. The Soups are fantastic. I'm a real soup lover, and am always looking for new and (more exciting) soups to try. Our favorites are the Sweet Potato and Lemon Grass Soup with Peanut Pesto (a Vietnamese-inspired dish), the Curried Aplle Bisque, and the French Mushroom Soup. The salads are equally impressive, especially the Warm Mushroom Spinach Salad which always wins great praise at dinner parties. Many of the main courses require demi-glace (kind of a pain) but the Chicken and Mushrooms in Marsala-Sage Sauce is excellent, as is the Rosemary-Mustard London Broil with Wild Mushroom Glaze. In desserts the Apple-Cranberry Deep-dish Streusel Pie has become a Thanksgiving tradition, and the Milk Chocolate Cream Pie will please all chocolate lovers, kids, and kids at heart.

I don't think you will be disappointed if you buy this book, but will turn to it again and again.

19 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is one of my top 10 books... a must to have., April 18, 1998

By A Customer

Activist, cook, restaurateur, envisionist, and humanitarian are just a few words that could describe the founder and owner of Philadelphia's White Dog Café, which Conde Nast Traveler called one of fifty American restaurants worth the journey". Judy Wicks, who started the restaurant in 1983 joins with her partner/chef, Kevin Von Klause, to write the White Dog Café Cookbook published by Running Press.
I have to be honest, when I first received this book to review my mind wasn't enthusiastic. I had heard of the activism of the owners, and just thought this would be a book pushing their personal philosophies and ideas. In a way, I was right, but in many more I was way off. This book shows compassion and dedication. While I may not understand, right now, where they stand on issues, I do understand that they bring people together with food and not only locally or regionally but globally. The book is more than a cookbook or a journey through incredible lands (which I have to admit, I would love to go on one of their next trips) but it is a story and true and heartfelt book. My biggest problem with restaurateurs, chefs or TV personalities usually trying to write a book for the first time, is that they are put together without much thought or planning, they are publicity gimmicks by the publishers or agents and that the people aren't ready to put a book together. White Dog Café Cookbook has become one of the few exceptions.
For those of you that have followed my reviews, you will know that one of my pet peeves about cookbook writers, are the ones (or their editors or publishers) that do not lay their books out properly, and too many times have their readers turning the pages to finish recipes. This book has kept almost every one of them on one page. Each recipe also included a brief introduction. Many of the recipes offered "other ways to do it". And the few that offered hard to find ingredients gave you option for substitution. My only complaint on this book really was that many of the personal photographs throughout the book were a little to dark and the recipe names were long.
The recipes included Oysters Stewed in Thyme Cream with Thyme Croutons, Sherried Lobster and Shrimp Crepes, Basil-Dressed melon and Prosciutto with Black Pepper-Orange Mascarpone, Ratatouille Bisque, Desert Garden Gazpacho with Margarita-Scallop Seviche, Creamy Mussel Chowder with Sorrel, Spinach and Fennel Salad with Curried Pears and Gorgonzola, Toasted Brioche with Ham and Brie, Moroccan-Spiced Lamb Burger with Pepper Relish, Smoked Chicken in Rosemary Cream with Bow-Tie Pasta, Spicy Chevre-stuffed Chicken Breasts with Roasted Corn Salsa, Chilled Roast Beef Tenderloin with Horseradish Crème Fraiche, Center-Cut Pork Chops with Gorgonzola-Walnut Stuffing and Ruby Port Glaze, Caribbean Grilled Mahi Mahi with Tropical Fruit Salad, Tomato and Sweet Corn Risotto, White Cheddar and Red-skinned Potato Gratin, Roasted Vegetables Balsamico, Roasted Red Pepper and Shrimp Grits, Brioche French Toast with Apricot-Grand Marnier Sauce, Apple-Cranberry Deep-Dish Streusel Pie, White Chocolate-Raspberry Cheesecake, and Gingered Pear Chutney name just a few.
The book also tells stories, trips to Vietnam, Prison Gardens, Cuba and other locations in search of creating `sister' restaurants and spreading the social and activist word to better all of us. It is an interesting book with 250 recipes that will tempt your palate as well as satisfy your appetite, and will also open your eyes to new and wonderful tales and experience. I definitely recommend this book for your shelf.