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The Union Square Cafe Cookbook: 160 Favorite Recipes from New York's Acclaimed Restaurant
Union Square Cafe serves some of the most imaginative, interesting, and tasty food in America. The restaurant and its owners, Danny Meyer and chef Michael Romano, have been lauded for their outstanding food and superb service by Gourmet, Food & Wine, the New York Times, and the James Beard Foundation. Now its devoted fans from down the block and across the globe can savor the restaurant's marvelous dishes, trademark hospitality, and warm decor at home. Offered are recipes for 160 of Union Square Cafe's classic dishes, from appetizers, soups, and sandwiches to main courses, vegetables, and desserts. Hot Garlic Potato Chips, Porcini Gnocchi with Prosciutto and Parmigiano Cream, Grilled Marinated Fillet Mignon of Tuna, Herb-Roasted Chicken, Eggplant Mashed Potatoes, and Baked Banana Tart with Caramel and Macadamia Nuts are some of the all-time favorites included in this long-awaited collection. Union Square's recipes are easily mastered by home cooks. They call for ingredients that are widely available (mail-order sources are listed for those few that are not), employ familiar techniques, and take a reasonable amount of time to complete. Amateurs and pros alike will find the dishes here as accessible as they are irresistible. Beyond just providing recipes, The Union Square Cafe Cookbook inspires confidence in home cooks by sharing Michael Romano's tips for success. Readers learn that soaking baby onions in warm water makes them easier to peel (in the recipe for Sweet Peas with Escarole, Onions, and Mint); that the Corn and Tomatillo Salsa served with Polenta-Crusted Sea Bass also goes well with barbecued chicken or pork; that leftover Sautéed Spinach with Garlic makes a great sandwich filling; and that yesterday's sourdough bread should be kept for such soups and salads as Ribollita and Sourdough Panzanella. Danny Meyer's wine suggestions, inspired by the restaurant's remarkable cellar, accompany almost every recipe. The Union Square Cafe Cookbook does the rare job of capturing the bustling energy and ebullient enthusiasm of the restaurant itself and the spirited personalities—those of Danny and Michael—that drive it. Folks will still go out of their way to eat at Union Square Cafe, but this cookbook—filled with the restaurant's vitality, warm artwork, and tempting recipes—ensures that its pleasures are as close as your bookshelf.
352 pages, Hardcover
Published January 1, 1994
81 people are currently reading
172 people want to read
About the author
Danny Meyer
15 books24 followersConsidered by the New York Times to be "the greatest restaurateur Manhattan has ever seen," Danny Meyer is CEO of the Union Square Hospitality Group. His restaurants have won an unprecedented twenty-one James Beard Awards. His book, Setting the Table, was a New York Times bestseller.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
June 24, 2021
Published in 1994.
I checked this out from the library because I was thinking of reading Sweetbitter and thought this was the restaurant in the book.
It is interesting to see how these recipes 30 years later, are standard high-class wannabe restaurant fare all over the country and pretty boring. The pastry and dessert recipes did look quite appealing and are the recommendation for the book - although like a lot of restaurant cooking - it would help if you had a liquor-store sized bar of fancies from which to draw a "tablespoon" here or there.
Oh, and no photos.
I checked this out from the library because I was thinking of reading Sweetbitter and thought this was the restaurant in the book.
It is interesting to see how these recipes 30 years later, are standard high-class wannabe restaurant fare all over the country and pretty boring. The pastry and dessert recipes did look quite appealing and are the recommendation for the book - although like a lot of restaurant cooking - it would help if you had a liquor-store sized bar of fancies from which to draw a "tablespoon" here or there.
Oh, and no photos.
April 17, 2013
Sometimes dining at one of the best restaurants is not enough, you want to try and recreate some of that culinary magic at home. With this book, you can.
The Union Square Cafe in New York has won many awards in time, including the "James Beard Award for the Best Restaurant in America" and this success has not gone to its head, instead they are sharing 160 of their favourite classic dishes with this book. After an interesting introduction to the wonders and history of the Cafe it is straight into the recipes, split into logical chapters dependent on the type of dish.
Let's cut to the chase. A few grumbles follow. This book has been spoiled by several poor design decisions which are akin to spoiling a great meal by the careless choice of key ingredients. Firstly the internal signposting of recipes, you are skimming forward and backwards to find a recipe unless you have identified the page number from the index at the back. Each chapter has a line listing of recipes that follow which is great… until you note there is no page number given. Talk about a wasted opportunity. Each page has a green corner identifying the chapter name which wasn't so obvious at the start, whereas a different colour to break up each section would have been so much more useful. But the biggest grumble of all is WHERE ARE THE PHOTOGRAPHS? Recipe after recipe appears but no photograph of the finished dish. Not everybody has had the opportunity to visit the restaurant and even fewer would have tried most of the menu. A very occasional black and white photograph is hardly sufficient and ended up feeling like it was there just as a filler.
And so to breath…
The recipes themselves, however, are a very pleasing, charming mixture that should ensure you don't become easily bored with this book. It is, despite the aforementioned grumbles, something that you would want to consult time after time after time. The recipes feature a bit of an introduction to the dish, sharing some hints or tips or possibly explaining a bit about its origins. A worthy little read even if you are not ready to make that particular dish as you can learn many "little things" along the way. The instructions are clear, detailed and direct. Unfortunately the measures are only in imperial units - a strange yet annoying omission in a book published nowadays. The binding of this book was also a bit of an annoyance as to get it to stay open one had to break the spine, a horrible thing to do to a book and hopefully other copies are not similarly affected.
What still swings this reviewer to be more positive than negative to this book, despite its irritating failings, is a combination of price and the sheer range of recipes. The reputation of the Cafe means nothing personally to this reviewer, since it is a bit too far away to visit routinely, so the recipes must deliver on their own merits. That they seem to do. This book is good as it is, just think how even better it would be with photographs, better signposting and a design overhaul! YYYY.
The Union Square Cafe Cookbook, written by Danny Meyer & Michael Romano and published by ECCO. ISBN 9780062232397, 330 pages. Typical price: GBP12.99.
The Union Square Cafe in New York has won many awards in time, including the "James Beard Award for the Best Restaurant in America" and this success has not gone to its head, instead they are sharing 160 of their favourite classic dishes with this book. After an interesting introduction to the wonders and history of the Cafe it is straight into the recipes, split into logical chapters dependent on the type of dish.
Let's cut to the chase. A few grumbles follow. This book has been spoiled by several poor design decisions which are akin to spoiling a great meal by the careless choice of key ingredients. Firstly the internal signposting of recipes, you are skimming forward and backwards to find a recipe unless you have identified the page number from the index at the back. Each chapter has a line listing of recipes that follow which is great… until you note there is no page number given. Talk about a wasted opportunity. Each page has a green corner identifying the chapter name which wasn't so obvious at the start, whereas a different colour to break up each section would have been so much more useful. But the biggest grumble of all is WHERE ARE THE PHOTOGRAPHS? Recipe after recipe appears but no photograph of the finished dish. Not everybody has had the opportunity to visit the restaurant and even fewer would have tried most of the menu. A very occasional black and white photograph is hardly sufficient and ended up feeling like it was there just as a filler.
And so to breath…
The recipes themselves, however, are a very pleasing, charming mixture that should ensure you don't become easily bored with this book. It is, despite the aforementioned grumbles, something that you would want to consult time after time after time. The recipes feature a bit of an introduction to the dish, sharing some hints or tips or possibly explaining a bit about its origins. A worthy little read even if you are not ready to make that particular dish as you can learn many "little things" along the way. The instructions are clear, detailed and direct. Unfortunately the measures are only in imperial units - a strange yet annoying omission in a book published nowadays. The binding of this book was also a bit of an annoyance as to get it to stay open one had to break the spine, a horrible thing to do to a book and hopefully other copies are not similarly affected.
What still swings this reviewer to be more positive than negative to this book, despite its irritating failings, is a combination of price and the sheer range of recipes. The reputation of the Cafe means nothing personally to this reviewer, since it is a bit too far away to visit routinely, so the recipes must deliver on their own merits. That they seem to do. This book is good as it is, just think how even better it would be with photographs, better signposting and a design overhaul! YYYY.
The Union Square Cafe Cookbook, written by Danny Meyer & Michael Romano and published by ECCO. ISBN 9780062232397, 330 pages. Typical price: GBP12.99.
July 29, 2015
Every recipe I have tried has been great. Thoroughly enjoy browsing through book for ideas and inspiration when I want to try something new and to refer to when I want to remake what was a hit. Particularly enjoyed the salmon recipe with citrus sauce and the 3 grain pilaf.
January 18, 2008
AMAZING cookbook. You can actually make stuff that tastes like what you would get with Union Square. It is YUMMY delicous.
Definately get it for the Garlic chips.
Definately get it for the Garlic chips.
February 22, 2017
I'm quite sure that everything in here is delicious, but the format of the cookbook just didn't appeal to me.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews