A16: Food + Wine
by Kate Leahy, Nate Appleman, Shelley Lindgren
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Book Reviews of A16: Food + Wine
Book Review: If the restaurant is half as good as this book...
Summary: 5 Stars
..then I believe it would be one of my best dining experiences.
I not only collect cookbooks, but I actively use them. This is a fantastic cookbook that focuses on the Campania region in Southern Italy, and for me, it's in the same vein of excellence as Anne Willan: From My Chateau Kitchen. Probably because of several factors present in each book; the love of culinary arts is obvious and there are narratives that explain, teach or entertain. They both highlight the cooking style of a region and success with the recipes is achievable.
I like the organization of the A16 better, with the chapters on Antipasti, Pizza, Zuppa, Seafood all the way to Gelato. The book is the size and weight of a college textbook, with nice paper stock and photography as good as it gets. Other reviews have mentioned the wine section, which is substantial and gave me new wines to try that I hadn't heard of or tried before. I am fortunate to have a wine store (The Wine House) that carries many of the suggestions. I guess that it's no accident they are listed in the resources section at the end of the book. But I digress.
What carries a cookbook for me is more than being an instructional manual, but the how's and why's and history of a cuisine. In most any country, cooking is part of the cultural foundation, and while that may not be necessary to know, for me, it adds something. In that, A16 delivers. The section on Naples and pizza was just perfect for me. From what I read, I'll never look at a mass market pizza the same way again. Nor will I buy crushed canned tomatoes again either, instead, I'll opt for the canned whole tomatoes and crush them myself. Little gems like these are throughout the book.
Make no mistake, ingredients are at the forefront of A16's cooking and depending upon where you live, some might be a challenge to find. If that is the case, the resources section at the end of the book I mentioned will be helpful in finding some of the more esoteric items. However, even the simple items like salt and flour are given their due, and types and proper uses are given. The attention to detail and the obvious love of cooking are what make this book excellent and why it will find its way into homes and bookshelves of cooks everywhere.
If you love cooking and cookbooks, you'll love this book, more so if you love Italian cuisine and wine. For yourself or for others, this is a nice gift for all but the novice cook.
Book Review: Fantastic book from a fantastic restaurant
Summary: 5 Stars
A16 is a gem of a restaurant in San Francisco which takes its name from the highway that cuts across the ankle of Italy's boot, through Campania and Puglia, and, not surprisingly, places its focus on the food and wines of this region.
This book is part cookbook and part textbook, beautifully written and with stunning photographs of Italy, the restaurant and some of the cooking methods. The section on the regional wines is amazing.
Most of the recipes rely on the ingredients to take center stage. Therefore, anyone following the recipes MUST seek out the highest quality ingredients possible. If you try the burrata antipasto, you will never know how truly heavenly it if you use supermarket burrata, which is grainy in texture and not worth eating. It is definitely worth finding a cheese shop that either carries, or will order, burrata imported from southern Italy or made domestically by the Gioia Cheese Co. in South El Monte, CA. The book includes recipes for making some of the more difficult-to-find ingredients at home where possible.
Great cookbook, great restaurant.
Book Review: For me, not useful
Summary: 2 Stars
Usually, I have a lot to say in a cook book review. Not this time.
I've owned this book for well over a year. Of course, when I first received it, I read it cover-to-cover to mark recipes I wanted to try. I didn't mark any--very unusual for me. The recipes didn't appeal to me, or weren't inspiring, or were too limiting, or were too specific in their ingredients and the ingredients were too hard to come by--unless I ordered them online. Same with the extensive information on wines--very impressive, but, for me, bottles hard to come by.
So, to this day, I haven't used the book. Not good; and that sure doesn't make me happy.
A16 may be a very pretty book and the restaurant may serve wonderful food, but as a cook book, well, I feel I've wasted my money and my shelf space.
Book Review: Beautiful photography and great food
Summary: 4 Stars
This book is really gorgeous. I actually have it out on my coffee table. The book is broken into two parts. The first section deals with wine and, to be honest, I've done little more than look at the pictures in this section. The second part is the recipe section. Directions are clear, and many of the ingredients are explained in detail. Some of the ingredients may be hard to find but the photos and descriptions make you curious enough to seek them out. I made the meatballs and marinara and they were absolutely wonderful.Book Review: Great book
Summary: 5 Stars
This is a class book, it's printing, binding, photogrphy are excellent. It is not meant for newby cooks, but has excellent recipes for those who truly appreciate cooking. The tripe recipe was the first one I tried, and it was excellent. The pizza section is fantastic (as are the pizzas at the restaurant), and Shelley's section on italian wines is a bible on the subject.