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Recipe for happiness: Bonnie Slotnick Cookbooks, NYC
By Ann | May 19, 2009
The more curmudgeonly among us would call an entire store devoted to cookbooks a recipe for bankruptcy, but to me it’s sheer happiness. As you might have guessed from reading this blog, I LOVE cookbooks. As an extension of this love, I ADORE cookbook stores. Too bad they’re so scarce. I’ve already filled you in on one of my favorites, Books for Cooks in London (in case you missed it, see post here), but I’m happy to report that I’ve found another, Bonnie Slotnick Cookbooks in New York’s West Village.
Here, cookbooks new, old, out-of-print and antiquarian are wedged together in a happy jumble. The owner, Bonnie Slotnick, is a true devotee of the recipe, collecting housekeeping manuals and baking books, 1950s-era cooking magazines, vintage cookware, aprons and greeting cards, along with a special section dedicated to etiquette.
Movie buffs, take note: these books (photo above) were used on the set of Julie and Julia, the new Nora Ephron movie starring Meryl Streep as Julia Child, which debuts August 7 (according to the internets).
I picked up this second-hand Elizabeth David paperback (photo above), a worthy guide to some of France’s regional cuisines.
The Little House on the Prairie books contain some of my favorite food scenes ever (especially Farmer Boy – does anyone else remember the scene with Almanzo’s popcorn and glass of creamy milk?). Filled with recipes like “crackling cornbread,” “apples and onions,” and “stewed jack rabbit and dumplings,” The Little House Cookbook captured my attention immediately, though I ultimately decided not to buy it. Imagine my surprise and happiness when friends brought it as a gift to me in Paris! I can’t wait to create dishes like “blackbird pie”… “Blackbirds are still a nuisance to farmers, but only one member of this large group of birds may be freely hunted throughout the United States,” says the recipe. “This is the starling, a twentieth-century European immigrant that is despised by townspeople as well for its noisy, dirty massing habits. Starlings cannot be bought; they must be hunted.” Get out the shotgun, Pa, I’ve got a hankerin’ for blackbird pie!
Bonnie Slotnick Cookbooks
163 W. 10th Street
New York, NY 10014
(212) 989-8962
Open 1pm-7pm “most” days; call ahead
Topics: Cooking the Books |
4 Responses to “Recipe for happiness: Bonnie Slotnick Cookbooks, NYC”
Comments
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May 20th, 2009 at 5:38 am
What were the etiquette books like? Were they antique also? A discriminating diplomat never turns his nose up at a good etiquette book.
May 20th, 2009 at 9:08 am
Bonnie’s store is a treasure–it’s all too easy easy to burn an hour there browsing and chatting with the proprietor herself. Can’t wait to read the post after you try your hand at stewed jackrabbit and dumplings . . .
May 20th, 2009 at 12:26 pm
I’m sure there must be one or two cookbook stores in Paris…
December 20th, 2009 at 9:44 pm
Bonnie became a “phone friend” a few years ago. Eventually, when I told her I’d love her advice on a planned online cookbook shop I was putting together, she was delighted, and stepped forward with helpful hints. The fact that we’ve also been editors helped, and she convinced me to give my site a personal tone, yet use standard bookseller descriptions, and “not to list flaws that aren’t there,” as in, “no rips, no grease stains,” but simply characterize the book as VG+ “It makes your customers see you as a professional.” She liked my enthusiastic descriptions, and hoped I’d feel the same way after “listing 500 more books.” She was even a very early repeat customer. What else can I say? I think she’s tops!
Bill Holland