Classic City Cooking

Anthony Bourdain’s World Travel: An Irreverent Guide is a bitter sweet release given the icons untimely passing. Set for release in April, we have not read it yet but expect a must eat list in true Tony voice. Promised by write ups and his long time assistant and co-writer, Laurie Woolever, are his stories and picks of some of the most fascinating places he visited, according to him. As we always made sure to mention, if not obvious, all of Anthony’s shows and books were about experience, not food. Sure, food was his co-protagonist, but his use of that common interest allowed him to share experiences from cultures many of use will never touch first hand. This truth married with his snarky, yet caring, prose drew us in and…kept us “hungry for more”. The pages promise a travel guide in Tony’s own words dropping essential advice on how to get around, where to stay and, what to avoid and of course what to eat. Augmenting the guide are essays by friends, colleagues, and family shedding further light on the location and Anthony’s experience. Illustrations by Wesley Allsbrook carry that frenetic, punk rock story vibe visually through the book. Pre-orders are now available.

From destruction comes the new. There’s lots of ways to say that, some more poetic than others. There’s even more ways to see that. Hurricane Katrina was heavy on the former before even a trace of the later was anywhere in sight. During the aftermath, rebuilding and rebirthing, The Times-Picayune became a post-hurricane swapping spot for recipes that were washed away. Marcelle Bienvenu decided to take 250 of these salvaged gems and create Cooking Up a Storm: Recipes Lost and Found. Not only does this book champion one of the greatest cuisines on the planet but it chronicles one of the most devastating events to hit the United States through the stories of the recipes creators.

Questlove has lots of jobs as he self confesses in an article I was recently reading about the musician turned, Tonight Show band leader turned writer (amongst 15 other jobs). His long running, highly acclaimed, Food Salons have always been on our radar as grandfathers of the underground supperclub movement. Appearances on Bourdain’s show and a journey into a fried chicken joint restaurant proves that of his 15+ jobs food sits close to the center. With Something to Food About, Questlove explores the very thing that drove us to use the kitchen for our art, creativity. Through the interviews of 10 chefs he explores how cooking fuels creativity and relates to their world vision. In his own words. ” Food is fuel. Food is culture. Food is history. And food is food for thought.” On the heals of the incredible Netflix series a Chef’s Table, this exploration of food as a vehicle to express creativity gets even more love. This time ?uestlove.