THIS WEEK
TWO WESTCHESTER TRATTORIAS
RANK WITH NEW YORK'S BEST
By John Mariani NEW YORK CORNER
THE PRESS CLUB GRILL
By John Mariani
GOING AFTER HARRY LIME
CHAPTER 27
By John Mariani
NOTES FROM THE WINE CELLAR
NEW MEXICAN SPIRITS GO UPSCALE
FOR THOSE WILLING TO PAY TOP DOLLAR By John Mariani
❖❖❖
TWO
WESTCHESTER TRATTORIAS
RANK WITH NEW YORK'S BEST
By John Mariani
Goat's
cheese-stuffed ravioli at Augustine's Salumeria
Not for the first time will I argue
that the best Italian restaurants are more
often than not run by individuals who put
their names and reputations on the line
every day and night they’re open. The menus
are their own, their purveyors work with
them, their staff has longevity and their
presence in the kitchen and dining room is
as dependable as the consistency of the
food. Such trattorias are still a rarity
outside New York City, but in Westchester
County—immediately north of the Bronx
line—there are two admirable examples whose
owners are doing the kind of food that
distinguishes them from those that play it
safe with menus that rarely diverge from old
standbys. It is the array of nightly specials
that are clearly where the chef’s heart and
soul lie. Add to that a sincere interest in
every guest in premises of modest size, and
you come as close as possible to trattorias in
Italy.
LA BOCCA RISTORANTE
8 Church Street
White Plains NY914 948-3281
While
restaurants have had a disturbing tendency in
White Plains to come and go, La Bocca, under
the care of Calabrian-born chef /owner Tony
Spiritoso (right), has been quietly
successful for seventeen years now, and for
many years before that at Spiritoso in
Yonkers.You can always tell a restaurant’s
clientele is overwhelmingly regulars, for
everyone in the room seems to know Tony and he
loves nothing better than to tell you the
night’s specials, which is the way to go. The name of the place derives from
Rome’s La Bocca
Bella Verità,a
marble image of an open-mouth pagan god who,
if you stick your hand in and tell a lie, will
bite you. The two rooms, one, with a 60-seat
wine cellar décor, for private parties, and
the other with bar, seating 80, are
endearingly rustic, with archways and brick
columns, white tablecloths and Venetian
carnival masks.
The menu
is quite long, but I like to go with
Spiritoso’s six nightly specials. It’s a fine
idea to start off with a platter of his Sapori d’ Italia selections ($18) of meats and
cheeses to go with the abundance of breads
presented, along with an excellent wine list
that contains some of Spiritoso’s own favorite
Calabrese bottlings. The antipasti also
include polenta
alla bolognese ($18), which is unusual
anywhere. For the time being there might be
summer’s zucchini flowers stuffed with ricotta
($16) or the moist and sweet eggplant atop
olive-oiled bruschetta (left), which is
also a bed for tomato and Parmigiano slices
($12). Our table
shared four sumptuous house-made pastas (and
took some home), including fettuccine with
morel mushrooms, slivers of prosciutto and
cherry tomatoes all quickly stewed together
($29) and rigatoni with a robust,
out-of-the-ordinary goat’s meat ragù ($34). I
usually don’t order ravioli stuffed with
lobster meat because the frozen meat is
usually so dry and
tasteless, but Spiritoso coaxes full flavor
from his lobster, with a tender big ravioli in
a creamy tomato sauce ($25). Malfadine
is a perfect summer’s pasta of wild fennel
and shrimp ($29). Go easy,
because the main courses are very good, not
least a grilled rack of lamb with fingering
potatoes and broccoli di rabe ($41) and superb
swordfish—another item you rarely see on
Italian menus—with black olives, green beans
and roasted potatoes ($38). Only chickenalla
scarpariello was somewhat disappointing,
not browned enough and needing more seasoning
and herbs ($31). In season, Spiritoso may well decide to
prepare whole roast pig, rabbit, quail,
venison or boar. A Bar Menu offers individual
size pizzas, panini, and selections from the
salumeria. If uninspired, the desserts ($9-$11)
are quite good, including a cannoli, Italian
cheesecake and chocolate pistachio cake. Novelty is not what Spiritoso is after.
Consistency coupled with rigorous attention to
tradition and detail is. And he’s repaid by
having a loyal clientele who recognize him for
just those qualities.
Open for lunch and dinner
daily.
AUGUSTINE'S SALUMERIA 213 Halstead Avenue
Mamaroneck NY
914-315-6541
Just one year ago Marc
Taxiera and Breanne Myers opened this cozy,
two-room trattoria across from the Mamaroneck
train station, doing a reverse commute from their
home in New York. Within months the Michelin
Guide included it as a “Bib Gourmand,”
indicating (without a star) a restaurant with good
food and moderate prices. Since then, the wait for
a Friday or Saturday reservation can exceed a
month. Fortunately,
lunch
and weeknights are pretty easy times to snag a
table and to truly relax, especially if good
weather allows the front windows to open. Chef Taxiera, formerly of the Russian Tea
Room, is deadly serious about Augustine’s being a
place for self-expression (the name comes from his
grandfather), hence, adding “salumeria” to its
name because of the salamis, sausages and cheese
made fresh daily, all of which are a great way to
start a meal. At lunch there are a number of generous
Italian-style sandwiches available, like
slow-roasted Italian beef ($20) and “Italian
Festival style” of grilled sausage and peppers
($18). You might even begin with a platter of
fried potatoes smothered with Parmigiano
fonduta and bits of bacon ($10).Taxiera
and Myers, who are married, shop the local markets
as well as Union Square Market, so right now, as a
delightful starter, they are doing zucchini
flowers stuffed with goat’s cheese ricotta and
graced with a Calabrian chile aïoli ($20). But the real stand-outs
are the unusual pastas in very hearty sauces, like
the paccheri
macaroni, rich with slow-roasted
pork, tomato, soffrito, chili and crispy garlic
($27) and the mafalda with
stewed beef, red wine,
tomato and whipped goat’s cheese ricotta ($28).
The Puglian ear-shaped pasta orecchiette
($27) is equally sumptuous, bulked up with that
house-made sausage, spring onions, peas and a
lovely green spring garlic pesto. You don’t often see a rabbit ragù on
New York menus, but here it teams wonderfully with
entwined gemelli
pasta tinged with cinnamon and curry ($27). Ripiena ($28)
is the pasta of the day, and recently it was a
dazzling amalgam of tender pyramid-shaped ravioli
filled with goat’s cheese ricotta and lemon zest,
tossed in
garlic scape butter with summer’s sweet asparagus. Main courses are, wisely, simpler—fish of
the day, pork chop with sweet potatoes ($34); lamb
t-bones with pomegranate molasses ($40), along
with a farro
risotto ($30) made with Tuscan cavolo nero,
mushrooms and tomato. You might think the kitchen would go easy
with desserts, but the exceptionally rich
chocolate tart topped with a candy bar ($15) was
enjoyed by three of us down to its last crumb.
se, not just for stocking many unfamiliar wines
but offering so many good choices under $50. Brianne, who
has been General Manager at
BLT Steak and Loring Place, is always on premises,
not missing a beat at the bar or overseeing the
dining room, although she needn’t fret over a very
well trained, amiable staff.
Open for lunch
Wed.-Fri., dinner Tues.-Sun.; brunch Sat &
Sun.
❖❖❖
NEW YORK CORNER
THE
PRESS CLUB GRILL
1262 Broadway
646-838-9020
New
York has never lacked for first-rate restaurants
within hotels—admirable new additions include
Sweetbriar in the Park South Hotel, Le Cou Cou
in 11 Howard, Duomo 51 in The Doubletree,
Lindens in the Arlo, El Quijote in the
Chelsea—and now it’s got another in the Herald
Square area, within the Beaux Arts-style
Martinique Hotel, opened in 1897 and recently
completely refurbished. The
Press Club Grill takes its name from the
neighborhood being an historic nexus for the Times,
the Herald and the Tribune
and its atmosphere hearkens back to the late
‘50s and ‘60s with a menu that lists what used
to be called (not admirably) “continental
cuisine.” In chef Franklin Becker’s hands, it
becomes a welcome return of once favorite dishes
like Waldorf Salad, chicken Kiev and cherries
jubilee. Becker,
Stephen Loffredo (former owner of Zoë) and Torah
Matsuoka of the Hospitality Dept. have taken two
floors of the Martinique and kept to the retro
theme in the most modern way, largely dependent on
excellent lighting. The downstairs dining room and
bar do have the cast of restaurants of mid-century
New York, with big roomy booths
and a mural of famous New Yorkers (right).
Would that they maintained the tradition of once
ubiquitous white tablecloths that would tamp down
the noise, added to by music that guests must talk
over. The upper dining area is a handsome
space with walls hung with every important
personage of the bygone era, while the private
dining room (above) is sophisticated with a
slight air of secrecy about it. I’ve followed Becker’s career for two
decades now, and he shows himself to be one of
those consummate, experienced chefs whose command
of technique means he can create or re-create with
engaging discernment. He also likes to have some
fun, so that a dish like jumbo shrimp cocktail
($29) is more than you assume: the shrimp poached
in a court bouillon, split and filled with
cocktail sauce and freshly grated horseradish. “Buffalo
carrots” ($16) is a twist on Buffalo chicken
wings. Becker says he wanted to put a vegetarian
option on the menu, so he uses roasted carrots
instead, with celeriac and hot sauce-Maytag Blue
dressing.
“Springtime in New York” ($22) is a bright new
idea, combining mushroom sable with
a black truffle buttermilk dressing. “Mama’s
Chicken Soup” ($16) has a charming back story: At
one time Becker’s mother was ill and he became
cook in the family, crafting a chicken and matzoh
ball soup Mama would eat with gusto and gratitude.
So will you. This is one of the most deeply
flavorful versions of this Jewish-American staple
I’ve ever had, with ethereally light floating
matzoh balls, parsnips and a little dill. But before you even get to the appetizers,
enjoy the rye sourdough bread ($8), a bocce
ball-size loaf with a perfect balance of crunchy
crust and moist, airy inside, which you slather
with the house-made butter with cultured salt cut
like tȇte de moines cheese in flowery spirals. Crab Rangoon is one of those old Trader
Vic’s-style pu-pu platter stand-bys shaped like a
wonton that Becker transforms with jumbo lump
crabmeat, rich scallion cream cheese filled inside
with a pastry brick dough shell that has been
lightly fried and served with a gel version of
sweet and sour sauce ($36). So, too, ravioli
stroganoff, a riff on the 19th century beef and
sour cream dish named after a hugely rich
aristocratic merchant family in Russia. Becker
makes it into a pasta dish resembling pelmeni
dumplings with a juicy short rib filling ($28). There are, of course, various beef cuts
available, and I ordered the hanger steak with
terrific frites ($39), which was quite a bargain
compared with the NY strip ($69). Sea scallops of
pristine freshness were enhanced by woodsy morels,
sweet peas and a spring onion consommé ($42). I am not sure beef Wellington is a dish
that needs redemption from the buffet lines of
long-gone continental banquet rooms. Named after
Britain’s famous Duke of Wellington but of
uncertain source and not even mentioned until the
20th century in any cookbook, it was a big
show-off dish of beef filet layered with a duxelle
of mushrooms or pâté, wrapped in puff pastry and
served with a red wine or Madeira sauce. Becker’s
is as good as any I’ve ever had, with the addition
of prosciutto, but, as usual, the beef was a bit
steamy, the mushrooms added little and the pastry
wrap, while buttery and crisp, seemed an
unnecessary stretch. I’m a pushover for old-fashioned gooey
desserts, so I was very happy with Sam Mason's
Bananas Foster crème brûlée with brown butter, rum
and caramel ($16). I was skeptical, though, of
cherries jubilee for two ($28), that pyrotechnic
display of brandied cherries served over vanilla
ice cream, a dish created by Auguste Escoffier for
the 1897Diamond
Jubilee for Queen Victoria. Becker makes it even
more fun by presenting a huge cherry confection
shell that is melted, causing a softening flow ofvanilla-miso
ice cream with toasted almonds, a witty tour de
force to end a sumptuous dinner with a grand
flourish. Last but not least in my book of nostalgic
foods is Max Green'screditable
egg cream, that New York blend of U-bet chocolate
syrup, cold milk and seltzer, a frothy confection
I drank every year of my boyhood, and now, like my
boyhood, has vanished like the corner candy stores
that made them. The
wine list, by wine director Luke Boland, is
excellent in two respects: First, it is extensive
and well selected; second, it has a remarkable
number of bottles under $100, even below $70, at a
modest mark-up; even a trophy wine like Domaine
Leflaive Chevalier-Montrachet Grand Cru 2020, on
the list at $2,500, is actually less than
you might pay at a wine store or on-line. The
cocktails by beverage director Green all have
punning names like “Page Turner” and “Hush Money”
and a good dose of bitters. Ironically,
neither Becker nor Loffredo, much less most of
theirclientele,
was even around in the Mad Men era, so their menu
seems fresh and novel against a backdrop that is
swank in a sentimental way some of us still miss.
Open for breakfast,
lunch and dinner daily.
❖❖❖
GOING AFTER
HARRY LIME
By John
Mariani
To read previous
chapters of GOING AFTER HARRY LIME go
to thearchive
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
David left the hotel after inquiring
where he’d find a drug store. “You mean a
pharmacy?” asked the concierge, who said there
was a Boots just a few doors down on Brompton
Road. “They seem to be on every block. Comes in
handy when you’re a concierge and a guest needs
his pills.” David remembered seeing a lot of white and
blue Boots storefronts during his time in London.
He entered to find Boots to look a lot like a CVS
in New York, with the pharmacy to the rear. David
waited for an elderly woman to get her
prescription, then ask question after question
about it, which he also recognized as typical of
all pharmacies everywhere.
Finally, a pharmacist with a
Central Asian accent, maybe Indian or Pakistani,
asked David how she could be of help. “I’m trying to find
out about this drug a friend of mine asked me to
get for him,” said David. “You don’t have his prescription?” she
asked. “Sorry, no. Actually he lives in Moscow,
ran out and can’t seem to get these pills any
more, so he asked if I could buy some for him in
London.” “Well, if they’re on prescription, I can’t
sell you any.It would have to be written by a British
physician, but let me have a look.” David had written down the name Philby had
given him, EmeeniFed and HgaRX.The
pharmacist squinted and said, “I don’t recognize
the name of the drug, but sometimes they are given
different names in different countries. Let me
check my files. Please wait a moment.” David looked around the store, marveling as
always at the number of cosmetic and hair products
a pharmacy carries. It had been a long time since
he’d seen a soda fountain in a drugstore. He also
noticed it did not sell cigarettes, never
available in a pharmacy in England. “I’m sorry to keep you waiting,” said the
pharmacist, returning with a slip of paper in her
hand. “I checked my directories and couldn’t find
anything by this name or cross-referenced to
another name. Are you sure this is the correct
spelling?Do
you know what kind of drug this might be for?” David shook his head. “The name HgaRX, however, is the name of a
major Hungarian pharmaceutical company. I checked
where it’s headquartered and found this
information. Would you like me to contact them and
see if they make this EmeeniFed?” “Could you do that? That would be great.
How long would that take?” She looked at her watch. “I’m a bit busy
now, but by tomorrow morning I can have an answer.
Can you tell me how I can reach you? My name is
Ms. Singh.” David gave her the name and room number of
his hotel and his cell phone number.He
thanked her and left the store, next to which was
an electronics retailer. In the window he saw
several pocket recorders for sale. Brand names he
knew. He went in, spoke with a
salesman and walked out with a new Olympus Digital
recorder, which he believed was the brand Katie
had. Not knowing if Katie was still asleep, he
went back to his room to await her call, anxious
as a schoolboy eager to give his girlfriend a
gift. Jet lag was kicking in on him now, so he
lay down on his bed and started thinking of what
might lie ahead for Katie and him. Ever since
leaving Philby’s apartment he’d been juggling over
the question of who was telling the truth or what
part of it was deliberate dis-information of a
kind he had to sift through as a detective. David found it most effective
to assume that everyone in a case was telling
multiple lies for self-protection, with the truth
sometimes popping out between the ambiguous alibis
and convenient memory lapses.Among
the New York gangsters David had dealt with he
found an extraordinary ineptitude in fabricating
stories, unless they had been concocted by their
lawyers. The true parts always sounded more
believable. Even then, the guys being interrogated
had a hard time sticking to those stories,
embellishing them to the point where they sounded
completely phony and tripping themselves up by
forgetting what they’d just said five minutes
before.It
was always better either to shut up completely and
cite the Miranda Act or to come right out and tell
cops what they wanted to hear, which usually had a
grain of truth to it. But questioning people like Philby, Lentov
and Southey was very different. These men were
trained to lie and to do it very convincingly,
even under torture, which they alleviated by
telling the interrogators enough true information
to stop the torture, giving them time to check out
the stories and names that the spy was given the
leeway to reveal.A good interrogator did not want to risk a
possible source by bringing him to death’s door or
drugging him into delirium, when he would say
anything, most of it useless. In the moments before David dropped off to
sleep, he tried to go back over what Southey had
told him about Lentov, and what Lentov had told
him about Philby.Southey had called Lentov, what? A pig?
Scum? But why was he so helpful in arranging the
meeting with Lentov? And why did Lentov called Southey “my
friend” more than once. Just being sarcastic? And
what did he say about Philby having an endgame?
David didn’t struggle to stay awake. He drifted
off, hoping his subconscious would do some of the
work for him. He fell into a dream of a drugstore
soda fountain in his old neighborhood in the
Bronx. At five o’clock his phone rang. “David, hey, it’s me,” said Katie. “God, I
slept like a log. I can’t believe what time it
is.” “Yeah, I fell into a deep sleep, too,” said
David, looking at his watch. “So’d you find out anything about those
pills?” “Not really. Let me tell you about it over
dinner, okay? An hour from now?” Still foggy,
David had to remind himself he was not still in
Moscow, being bugged. “That’s fine, we can go back to that Indian
place if you like.” “Suits me. See you in the lobby at six.” David took a shower and put on clean
clothes, tossing his jacket over his arm.He met
Katie downstairs, right on time. She was wearing
the burgundy color turtleneck he liked, with black
gabardine slacks. A little lipstick. Looked like a
college girl. Clean as a whistle, with that shiny
hair of hers. They walked to the restaurant, got the same
table as last time, and ordered quickly, including
two Indian beers. “So,” said Katie eagerly. “Tell me what you
found out.” “Well,” said David, taking out the scrap of
paper he’d written the drug name on, “the
pharmacist tried to be very helpful but she never
heard of the drug. She did recognize that the word
‘HgaRX’ was the name of a big drug company in
Hungary, and she was kind enough to say she’d call
them in the morning to see if they made a drug
called EmeeniFed. Said she’d let us know first
thing in the morning.” “Hm, that’s weird. Why would Philby give us
the name of a drug that doesn’t exist?” “The pharmacist said it might be under a
different name in another country, but she
couldn’t find it in her directories. We’ll know
tomorrow.” “Well, till then,” she said, “I guess we
just enjoy dinner and see what happens. And if
nothing does, we might be on the next plane back
to New York.”
NEW MEXICAN SPIRITS GO UPSCALE
FOR THOSE WILLING TO PAY TOP DOLLAR
By John
Mariani
Salma Hayek
Let’s face it: Were
it not for the margarita cocktail, tequila might
still be regarded as the stuff Mexican cantinas
served in western movies where gringos like John
Wayne and Joel McCrea knew enough to ask for
“the good stuff.” These days tequila, along with
its brash cousin mezcal, are ringing up $8
billion in sales of 30 million nine-liter cases,
with U.S. consumers drinking up eight
million—José Cuervo is the top seller. Of that
only a fraction is “sipping tequila,” meaning it
escapes getting blended with Triple Sec, lime
and cracked ice. But that category is where the competition
has gotten fierce, with bottles selling for more
than $100 for top tequila labels and not much less
for mezcal. The difference between the twospirits
is that both are made from the agave plant, but
tequila must use only 100% blue agave. It is not
true that mezcals are by taste smoky, which many
mezcal connoisseurs sniff at as being a gimmick
for the American consumer who likes to think of
mezcal as a more macho spirit. Today mezcal is
made in more than 20 states of Mexico under strict
regulations. And if you find a worm in the mezcal,
it’s still another gimmick. I’ve been tasting a lot of tequila and
mezcal lately that is not meant (solely) for the
margarita blender. Here are some I found of most
interest.
DEL MAGUEY VIDA®
PUEBLA MEZCAL ($40)—This is a
single-village mezcal produced in San Luis del
Rio, Oaxaca, located in Axocopan. Visual artist
Ron Cooper, who’s lived in Mexico for 25 years,
founded Del Maguy to make artisanal mezcals in an
array whose master distillers proudly appear on
the brand’s website. Paciano Cruz Nolasco is the
man behind Vida, which is bottled at 40% alcohol.
The village of Puebla is printed on the bottle, as
are the other villages. It has fine floral bouquet
and peppery finish.
CALIROSA
REPOSADO TEQUILA ($60)—The
distinction of Calirosa, evident in its name, is
that the tequila is aged for nine months in red
wine barrels that impart a rose color. The Real
family has been making their spirits for 80 years,
and, with Adam Levine
and Behati Prinsloo as partners, Calirosa
launched in 2021. The reposado
(aged for nine months; $69), an añejo
(three years; $75) and a Cinco Anos
Extra (five years; $200). Each successive
bottling adds nuance and leathery notes, making
them true sipping tequilas that would get lost in
a cocktail.
CENOTE
BLANCO ($43)—Cenotes
(“sacred wells” to the Aztecs) are natural
subterranean holes formed by the collapse of
limestone bedrock that filters the water used in
this aqua blue-colored tequila. It spends only
three weeks in American oak barrels but acquires
pleasing citrus notes. It is a very good tequila
for margaritas, though its iterations as reposado
($50) and añejo
($60)
make more sense on the rocks or served neat.
AMARÁS
MEZCAL ($22)—Santiago Suarez and
Luis Niño de Rivera founded the company in 2010 as
the world’s first carbon-neutral mezcal company,
planting 10 agaves harvested from three mezcal
regions: Oaxaca, Guerrero and Durango.
Additionally, 20% of the net sale of each bottle
is allocated to the development of internal
initiatives associated with social and
environmental responsibility. It is made from agave
cupreata in the Rio Balsas Basin. They make
several kinds, including a verde ($35),
reposado ($49),
an Espadin
($40), a Cenizo
($60) and tobala
($148).
TEQUILA
KOMOS—Former sommelier Richard
Betts began making tequila ten years ago in
conjunction with the not-for-profit Komos
Foundation, which repurposes byproduct waste from
tequila production and turns it into adobe bricks
given to the community to build housing, schools
and hospitals. The bottles are handmade vitrified
porcelain, also recycled, in four varieties: Añejo
Cristalino, aged for 12 months in French Oak
($100); Reposado
Rosa ($106), aged in French oak red wine
barrels; Añejo
Reserva ($180), aged for a year; Extra Añejo ($360),
aged
for three years in both French white wine barrels
and classic bourbon barrels. Before bottling the
tequila is aerated to soften the spirit.
CHINACO—Guillermo
González Diaz Lombardo created Chinaco,
(“warrior”), a nickname for his
great-great-grandfather who was the president of
Mexico in1880-1884. Guillermo’s son Germán became
manager of the estate, not in Jalisco but
Tamaulipas (his father died in 1996). Initially
just for some friends, he set out to create a
special reserve never intended to be sold. That
idea didn’t last long and, under the new name
“Tears of Llorona” (named after a ghost story his
father told him) it became the first premium
tequila sold in the U.S. as of 1983. Today the
company makes a blanco
($42); reposado,
aged 12 months ($42); añjeo
($80), 35 months; and a Limited Edition ($700),
made from one-third of the last batch and
two-thirds of the finest from two decades, with
only 600 bottles sold and only in Mexico and the
U.S.
❖❖❖
NO NEED TO SHOUT
"Everybody Please Shut Up About Ramps"
by Amy McCarthy, Eater.com (5/2/23)
❖❖❖
Any of John Mariani's
books below may be ordered from amazon.com.
The Hound in Heaven
(21st Century Lion Books) is a novella, and
for anyone who loves dogs, Christmas, romance,
inspiration, even the supernatural, I hope you'll find
this to be a treasured favorite. The story
concerns how, after a New England teacher, his wife and
their two daughters adopt a stray puppy found in their
barn in northern Maine, their lives seem full of promise.
But when tragedy strikes, their wonderful dog Lazarus and
the spirit of Christmas are the only things that may bring
his master back from the edge of despair.
“What a huge surprise turn this story took! I was
completely stunned! I truly enjoyed this book and its
message.” – Actress Ali MacGraw
“He had me at Page One. The amount of heart, human insight,
soul searching, and deft literary strength that John Mariani
pours into this airtight novella is vertigo-inducing.
Perhaps ‘wow’ would be the best comment.” – James
Dalessandro, author of Bohemian
Heart and 1906.
“John Mariani’s Hound in
Heaven starts with a well-painted portrayal of an
American family, along with the requisite dog. A surprise
event flips the action of the novel and captures us for a
voyage leading to a hopeful and heart-warming message. A
page turning, one sitting read, it’s the perfect antidote
for the winter and promotion of holiday celebration.” – Ann
Pearlman, author of The
Christmas Cookie Club and A Gift for my Sister.
“John Mariani’s concise, achingly beautiful novella pulls a
literary rabbit out of a hat – a mash-up of the cosmic and
the intimate, the tragic and the heart-warming – a Christmas
tale for all ages, and all faiths. Read it to your children,
read it to yourself… but read it. Early and often. Highly
recommended.” – Jay Bonansinga, New York Times bestselling
author of Pinkerton’s War,
The Sinking of The Eastland, and The Walking Dead: The Road To
Woodbury.
“Amazing things happen when you open your heart to an
animal. The Hound in
Heaven delivers a powerful story of healing that
is forged in the spiritual relationship between a man and
his best friend. The book brings a message of hope that can
enrich our images of family, love, and loss.” – Dr. Barbara
Royal, author of The
Royal Treatment.
Modesty forbids me to praise my own new book, but
let me proudly say that it is an extensive
revision of the 4th edition that appeared more
than a decade ago, before locavores, molecular
cuisine, modernist cuisine, the Food Network and
so much more, now included. Word origins have been
completely updated, as have per capita consumption
and production stats. Most important, for the
first time since publication in the 1980s, the
book includes more than 100 biographies of
Americans who have changed the way we cook, eat
and drink -- from Fannie Farmer and Julia Child to
Robert Mondavi and Thomas Keller.
"This book is amazing! It has entries for
everything from `abalone' to `zwieback,' plus more
than 500 recipes for classic American dishes and
drinks."--Devra First, The Boston Globe.
"Much needed in any kitchen library."--Bon Appetit.
Now in Paperback,
too--How Italian Food Conquered the
World (Palgrave Macmillan) has won top prize from the
Gourmand
World Cookbook Awards. It is
a rollicking history of the food culture of
Italy and its ravenous embrace in the 21st
century by the entire world. From ancient Rome
to la dolce
vita of post-war Italy, from Italian
immigrant cooks to celebrity chefs, from
pizzerias to high-class ristoranti,
this chronicle of a culinary diaspora is as
much about the world's changing tastes,
prejudices, and dietary fads as about
our obsessions with culinary fashion and
style.--John Mariani
"Eating Italian will
never be the same after reading
John Mariani's entertaining and
savory gastronomical history of
the cuisine of Italy and how it
won over appetites worldwide. . .
. This book is such a tasteful
narrative that it will literally
make you hungry for Italian food
and arouse your appetite for
gastronomical history."--Don
Oldenburg, USA Today.
"Italian
restaurants--some good, some glitzy--far
outnumber their French rivals. Many of
these establishments are zestfully described
in How Italian Food Conquered the World, an
entertaining and fact-filled chronicle by
food-and-wine correspondent John F.
Mariani."--Aram Bakshian Jr., Wall Street
Journal.
"Mariani
admirably dishes out the story of
Italy’s remarkable global ascent
to virtual culinary
hegemony....Like a chef gladly
divulging a cherished family
recipe, Mariani’s book reveals the
secret sauce about how Italy’s
cuisine put gusto in gusto!"--David
Lincoln Ross,
thedailybeast.com
"Equal parts
history, sociology, gastronomy, and just
plain fun, How Italian Food Conquered the
World tells the captivating and delicious
story of the (let's face it) everybody's
favorite cuisine with clarity, verve and
more than one surprise."--Colman Andrews,
editorial director of The Daily
Meal.com.
"A fantastic and fascinating
read, covering everything from the influence
of Venice's spice trade to the impact of
Italian immigrants in America and the
evolution of alta cucina. This book will
serve as a terrific resource to anyone
interested in the real story of Italian
food."--Mary Ann Esposito, host of PBS-TV's
Ciao
Italia.
"John Mariani has written the
definitive history of how Italians won their
way into our hearts, minds, and
stomachs. It's a story of pleasure over
pomp and taste over technique."--Danny Meyer,
owner of NYC restaurants Union Square
Cafe, The Modern, and Maialino.
MARIANI'S VIRTUAL GOURMET
NEWSLETTER is published weekly. Publisher: John Mariani. Editor: Walter Bagley. Contributing Writers: Christopher
Mariani, Misha Mariani, John A. Curtas, Gerry Dawes, Geoff Kalish.
Contributing
Photographer: Galina Dargery. Technical
Advisor: Gerry
McLoughlin.