Fog City Diner Cookbook (Hardcover)

~ (Author) "When we first opened up Fog City Diner, our plan was to have everything made in-house, including all the breads and rolls..." (more)
Key Phrases: lightly floured smooth surface, thoroughly emulsified, ketjap manis, Chocolate Sauce, Chinese Mustard, Fog City Diner (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

So, okay, Cindy Pawlcyn adds butter to her mashed potatoes before she adds the milk, which is all backwards according to those who have initiated intense experiments to resolve such issues. But so what? Her food (it's her name on the cover of the cookbook, even though any food coming out of a restaurant as popular and free-spirited as the original Fog City Diner in San Francisco is likely to be something of a group effort--kind of like the Manhattan Project) brightened palates back in 1985 when the diner opened, and it serves adventurous palates just as well today.

Remember when attaching "California" to food actually meant a thing or two? Fog City Diner Cookbook is something of a time capsule in that regard. You have seen similar-looking food on menus in your town. But that's now, and this book (and the food before it) came out back when it was news. What's interesting to note, however, is that Pawlcyn bases her dishes on sound culinary principles. She isn't throwing oddball ingredients together to grab attention or to appear to be clever, she's combining flavors and textures and cultural heritage to achieve specific effects, with new and powerful results. In other words, she shows restraint on the one hand, and knows what she's doing on the other.

For that first blush of that brash California "thang" with food, don't hesitate to hang your hat inside the Fog City Diner. The cookbook, that is. --Schuyler Ingle

From Publishers Weekly

On the front door of the Fog City Diner in San Francisco is a sign: "No Crybabies." And it means "anything goes--have a good time, and leave your problems elsewhere," writes Bill Higgins, a co-proprietor with Pawlcyn, and contributor of the introduction to this collection of the diner's recipes. Obviously, Fog City has many of the usuals--though they've been spruced up--and, less obviously, it practices the sort of sophistication in food that San Francisco is famous for. So the book serves up mashed potatoes, and duck stew; gingerbread, and sauteed prawns; chili dogs, and lobster gazpacho. This provocative little volume offers a welcome taste of old and new, American and fusion, and a vicarious trip to a metro area that doubles as culinary nirvana. One can nearly understand why people get into the business of serving food (and drink--Fog City is well known for its eclectic stock): pleasure, sheer license. Photos not seen by PW .
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 240 pages
• Publisher: Ten Speed Press (March 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0898159997
• ISBN-13: 978-0898159998
• Product Dimensions: 10.1 x 8.2 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #805,550 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The recipes work and are fun - a cookbook you will USE, June 3, 2000

By	Samuel Wang (Princeton, NJ USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Sad to say, I have never been to the Fog City Diner, so I cannot compare my outcomes with the originals. But, the book is great! Enough detail so that even I can get it right, and where necessary (i.e. pie crust) the measurements are PERFECT. The ceviche recipe is an especially excellent one (orange+lemon+lime juice marinade - who knew?). Hearty comfort food with a lot of spirit and panache.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good Diner Food Made Easy, April 13, 2006

By	L Smith "acozylover" (Macomb, MI) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

I like to browse different types of cookbooks, and to find recipes that I may not find anywhere else. This cookbook did not disappoint. Even though I have not visited the Fog City Diner, I have been to many diners in my day. I was surprised at the large variety of recipes available, and the eclectic ingredients included in the book.

Some of my favorite recipes include: Split Pea and Apple-Smoked Bacon Soup, Mushroom Toast, Cheesesteak Sandwich, Cobb Sandwich, Chicken Curry Pot Pie, Apple Dumplings, Vanilla Caramel Custard, Hot Toddy, and Seasoned Nuts.

Enjoy!

5.0 out of 5 stars A gem of a cookbook, June 15, 2009

By	W. Mate "I love books" (Beverly Hills, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This book would get the full five stars from me based on its inclusion of one of the single most fabulous recipes I've ever made - the Grilled Eggplant Sandwich with Fontina and Watercress. My, oh my, I salivate at the mere thought of it. It's a fantastic thing to eat, even if you decide to forgo making the buns from scratch! Just don't skip making the Tomato Chutney which is sheer magic combined with the smokiness of the eggplant, the creamy, tang of the Fontina and the clean whiff of the watercress.

Cindy Pawlcyn is a most remarkable chef. I know people (yes, plural) who literally swoon at the mention of the Pork Chop served at Mustards, her wonderful restaurant in Napa Valley. (That Pork Chop must certainly be one of the most legendary foods on the West Coast.) In any case, she is a master of combining and juxtaposing sometimes surprising ingredients to coax the most intense and exciting flavors out of food.

With this book, Pawlcyn elevates diner food to a gourmet art form and then some. I've not been disappointed with any of the recipes from this book. They are just plain fun. Although I don't usually like cookbooks that include skipping all over the pages to find the recipes within recipes, I have to make an exception with this book. The sub-recipes have been well-worth the trouble.

Needless to say, I also recommend the Mustards Cookbook - almost as highly as I recommend dining at the restaurant.