The Zuni Cafe Cookbook: A Compendium of Recipes and Cooking Lessons from San Francisco's Beloved Restaurant

Page after page is loaded with information, a tip and guideline for everyday cooking on each page. The recipes require little else than a bit of enterprise and a willingness to work for your meal.

And let me tell you, it's worth it. The book is a wealth of imformation. Judy Rodgers holds nothing back. She does not simply give you the way she prepares her oysters, but rather a story on her first oyster, an explanation on how, where, and when to pick them, a thorough run-through of oyster classification, the way to shuck them, and a simple method of serving. Five pages. Seven pages on her theory and stories behind duck confit. Fifty-seven pages on introductory cooking technique and theory.

Judy Rodgers focuses on simple (some may disagree with me about that) French, Italian, and Mediteranean food with a light-handed California touch. "This book gives the cook and the reader two accessible temptations: to read from cover to cover, and to cook from cover to cover." Too true.

The recipes are wonderfully hearty and simple. "Mock Porcetta" (a simple herby pork roast) is great for any small dinner party. "Zuni Salt-Cured Anchovies" are a fun but not extreme break from what most would consider ordinary and a great jump-off point to begin experimentation. "Beef Carpaccio and Four Ways to Serve It" is an elegantly fresh way to start off a small dinner party, and likewise, so is "Rosemary-Grilled Chicken Livers and Bacon With Balsamic-Onion Marmalade Toasts." "Asparagus and Rice Soup with Pancetta and Black Pepper," her ricotta gnocchi, her CHAPTER on eggs. They are all wonderful. This is a lovely book.

But I do have a few small complaints. Though this may seem frivolous, I was vexed by the deficit of photos, an element I find to be nearly imperitive in a fun cookbook. As well, some of her views on food, such as her not being crazy about rich desserts sadly carries out in the number of like recipes.

Though some might say that this book is not for the faint-hearted chef, I would say that it is such a chef's fault and not the author's. This book welcomes anyone who is willing to cross away from just "conviency cooking" for boring sustenance. Zuni Cafe Cookbook transcends that idea. It is a great cookbook. So well worth the ONLY 25 DOLLARS.


one of the best cookbooks I've ever had   April 2, 2003
 9 out of 13 found this review helpful

I've made several recipes from this cookbook and find it to be one of the consistently best cookbooks I've ever used. The recipes are very easy, well described, and turn out delicious. Every time I try a new recipe, I am so pleased with the results that I'm excited to try another one. No other cookbook is like that.


Worth it for the chicken recipe alone   March 21, 2003
 22 out of 23 found this review helpful

This is simply one of the best gourmet cookbooks I have bought in years. It isn't for everyone - if you don't LIKE cooking, if you don't enjoy spending an hour or two in the kitchen and then having guests ooo and ah over what you serve them - then this isn't for you. But I LOVE it. I have cooked the Zuni Chicken with Bread Salad for several audiences and there hasn't been a one that hasn't loved it. The instuctions are complete and chatty, with reasons given for doing things one way or another. One of the best cookbooks around, if you like to cook. Worth buying for the Zuni Chicken recipe alone.


Wonderful reading and cooking   January 14, 2003
 38 out of 41 found this review helpful

Zuni is one of the classic California cuisine restaurants in San Francisco, to my mind the main one. This book is a great encapsulation of it. I'm reviewing it because some of the other reviewers struck me as unclear on the concept. Firstly, it is A RESTAURANT'S COOKBOOK. One reviewer wrote a bad review because (s)he didn't like that kind of cookbook. The style of the restaurant's food suffuses the book. To me, that's wonderful; I have enough general cooking books already. Secondly, the amount of effort required for recipes is, as a result of the first point, a bit higher than for some books, but it's less work and the recipes are less precious than in, say, Chez Panisse Cooking (which I never use for that reason). The drool-inducing pictures are worth half the book's price; just seeing gougeres with bacon and arugula made me want to get in the kitchen.


Wonderful book, fantastic recipes   January 13, 2003
 14 out of 14 found this review helpful

This book has taken over my nightstand, I read it before going to bed almost every night. The writing is compulsively readable, affectionate and entertaining. The recipes are, for the most part, fantastic. I made the Roast Chicken with Bread Salad this weekend, and have never had guests rave more loudly. Yes, it was a little more complicated than other roast chicken recipes (I didn't salt in advance, and the chicken was gorgeous anyway), and the bread salad was a little fussy (I also cut some corners here with no real drawbacks to the salad), but the results were absolutly worth it for a special dinner evening. The Onion Soup with Poached Egg was a study in simplicity and flavor. I can't wait to try every recipe in the book. I highly recommend this book.