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Bohemian San Francisco: Its Restaurants And Their Most Famous Recipes, The Elegant Art Of Dining
Bohemian San Its Restaurants And Their Most Famous Recipes, The Elegant Art Of Dining is a book written by Clarence Edgar Edwords. The book provides a fascinating insight into the food culture of San Francisco in the early 20th century. The author takes the reader on a journey through the city's most famous restaurants, describing the ambiance, decor, and menu items of each establishment.The book is a treasure trove of recipes, featuring dishes from some of San Francisco's most iconic restaurants. From the famous Hangtown Fry of the Tadich Grill to the Crab Louis of the St. Francis Hotel, the book provides detailed instructions on how to recreate these classic dishes at home.In addition to the recipes, the book also explores the art of dining, providing tips on table settings, menu planning, and wine pairing. The author emphasizes the importance of creating a welcoming and comfortable atmosphere for guests, and provides advice on how to achieve this.Overall, Bohemian San Its Restaurants And Their Most Famous Recipes, The Elegant Art Of Dining is a must-read for anyone interested in the history of San Francisco's food culture. It is a fascinating glimpse into a bygone era, and a valuable resource for anyone looking to recreate the classic dishes of the time.This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the old original and may contain some imperfections such as library marks and notations. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions, that are true to their original work.
- GenresTravelNonfictionCooking
150 pages, Paperback
First published July 2, 2004
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
August 1, 2023
A history of San Francisco through food
The best I can determine from a little research, Clarence E. Edwords was a medical doctor, a journalist, a traveler and at least a dabbler in Republican politics when he lived in Kansas City. From this book, published in 1914, it is easy to determine that whatever else he was, he was a gastronome, bon vivant, romantic and historian.
Edwords divides his history of San Francisco's restaurants and culinary arts into two large sections - before the 1906 fire and afterwards which he generally refers to as simply before the fire and after the fire. He frequently calls pre-fire San Francisco the city that was. He divides the period before the fire into five broad groups: the Spanish period; the arrival of the Gringo; arrival of Italian restaurants, the arrival of French restaurants and the arrival of Mexican restaurants. However he does not limit his discussions of San Francisco's restaurants and markets to just these. In this book there are also German, Chinese, Japanese, American Southern and seafood restaurants and markets. There are so many that I may have left something out.
Recipes are scattered all through the text. Many of them are recipes offered to Edwords by various chefs as the best dishes served in their restaurants. Most of these recipes lack the detail one finds in modern cookbooks. For instance doneness is gauged by appearance rather than timing at a particular temperature. An experienced cook would probably have little trouble adapting them to the modern kitchen. I think that even I could handle most of them. Edwords ends the book with advice on serving wine and, "From our store (of recipes) we have selected the following as being well worth trying:" Again the recipes lack the detail one would find in a modern cookbook.
The best I can determine from a little research, Clarence E. Edwords was a medical doctor, a journalist, a traveler and at least a dabbler in Republican politics when he lived in Kansas City. From this book, published in 1914, it is easy to determine that whatever else he was, he was a gastronome, bon vivant, romantic and historian.
Edwords divides his history of San Francisco's restaurants and culinary arts into two large sections - before the 1906 fire and afterwards which he generally refers to as simply before the fire and after the fire. He frequently calls pre-fire San Francisco the city that was. He divides the period before the fire into five broad groups: the Spanish period; the arrival of the Gringo; arrival of Italian restaurants, the arrival of French restaurants and the arrival of Mexican restaurants. However he does not limit his discussions of San Francisco's restaurants and markets to just these. In this book there are also German, Chinese, Japanese, American Southern and seafood restaurants and markets. There are so many that I may have left something out.
Recipes are scattered all through the text. Many of them are recipes offered to Edwords by various chefs as the best dishes served in their restaurants. Most of these recipes lack the detail one finds in modern cookbooks. For instance doneness is gauged by appearance rather than timing at a particular temperature. An experienced cook would probably have little trouble adapting them to the modern kitchen. I think that even I could handle most of them. Edwords ends the book with advice on serving wine and, "From our store (of recipes) we have selected the following as being well worth trying:" Again the recipes lack the detail one would find in a modern cookbook.
October 10, 2019
A lovely restaurant review / recipe collection written in a friendly fashion. I appreciated all the pre-fire and post-fire commentary. Lots of recipes I’d like to try in here, a really wide variety of regional options.
July 27, 2011
Fantastic book published in 1914 about San Francisco cuisine. Vivid descriptions of produce markets and wistful memories of pre-1906-fire restaurants. There's an odd exposition of what "bohemian" really means. And lots of recipes.
All in all, the audiobook is a perfect companion for insomnia. It's public domain; I've been listening to it via the Free Audiobooks iOS app.
All in all, the audiobook is a perfect companion for insomnia. It's public domain; I've been listening to it via the Free Audiobooks iOS app.
January 8, 2017
Stumbled across this online while looking for info on an old SF restaurant. Definitely worth a browse! Here's the Gutenberg free edition:
http://www.books-about-california.com... -- and also free at Amazon.
Quote from the section on Tipping, from Founding Father Gouverneur Morris (1752 - 1816):
* Whenever I go anywhere I find persons in humble situations who smile at me and wish me well. I smile back and wish them well. It is because at some time or other I have tipped them. To me the system has never been an annoyance but a delightful opportunity for the exercise of tact and judgment.
According to Wikipedia, Edwords' recipe for Crab Louie salad, included here with many others, is one of the first published.
You should also check out his reco for "A Good Bohemian Dinner" in the appendix. It's quite remarkable.
Bon appetit,
Peter D. Tillman
http://www.books-about-california.com... -- and also free at Amazon.
Quote from the section on Tipping, from Founding Father Gouverneur Morris (1752 - 1816):
* Whenever I go anywhere I find persons in humble situations who smile at me and wish me well. I smile back and wish them well. It is because at some time or other I have tipped them. To me the system has never been an annoyance but a delightful opportunity for the exercise of tact and judgment.
According to Wikipedia, Edwords' recipe for Crab Louie salad, included here with many others, is one of the first published.
You should also check out his reco for "A Good Bohemian Dinner" in the appendix. It's quite remarkable.
Bon appetit,
Peter D. Tillman
March 25, 2023
✔️Published in 1914.
Wow! This was a gem of a find. Not only does this publication from 1914 include comments on Frisco restaurants, it touches upon the Bohemian life, entertaining, and a few recipes. This was a delight to read, and I was engrossed throughout every page.
A couple of memorable passages:
💥 Recommended.
🟣 Media form: Kindle version.
🟢 Media form: Project Gutenberg .
Wow! This was a gem of a find. Not only does this publication from 1914 include comments on Frisco restaurants, it touches upon the Bohemian life, entertaining, and a few recipes. This was a delight to read, and I was engrossed throughout every page.
A couple of memorable passages:
Negro's, at 625 Merchant street, near the Hall of Justice, has quite a following of those whose business attaches them to the courts, and while many claim this to be one of the best of its class, we believe the claim to be based less on good cooking than on the fact that the habitues are intimate, making it a pleasant resort for them. The cooking is good and the variety what the market affords.
But if you really love good music—music that has melody and rhythm and soothing cadences, go to the Heidelberg Inn and listen to the concert which is a feature of the place every evening. And while you are listening to the music you can enjoy such food as is to be found nowhere else in San Francisco, for it is distinctly Heidelbergian.
💥 Recommended.
🟣 Media form: Kindle version.
🟢 Media form: Project Gutenberg .
January 20, 2011
This is a jaw dropping 1914 non fictional account of post earthquake San Francisco. Filled with racist, misogynist, and incredibly floral and detailed prose, explaining eating places that could easily find their way in a Pirates of Caribbean set, if they set sail for San Francisco. Monkey brains, exotic dirty Chinatown eats, recipes that require ingredients I would have an extremely hard time finding, I read this when I want to be transported into the foundation of a world class crazy city populated by even crazier frontiersmen. It gets a little boring, and I would not necessarily read this back to back.
January 31, 2015
A jumbwoled mess!
No rhyme or reason to the presentation. Rablings about various (now mostly defunct) Francisco restauranpts with a bunch of loosely written "recipes" that, for the most part, omitl quantities, altho' the recipe for oyster stew does call for "100 California oysters". Written in very stilted English, even for 1914 San Francisco, as though author is trying to impress as to how oh sooo erudite he is. Interesting historically, nearly worthless as a cook book. No page numbers or locations given in the TOC or index, and there are problems with how the pages
sync.
No rhyme or reason to the presentation. Rablings about various (now mostly defunct) Francisco restauranpts with a bunch of loosely written "recipes" that, for the most part, omitl quantities, altho' the recipe for oyster stew does call for "100 California oysters". Written in very stilted English, even for 1914 San Francisco, as though author is trying to impress as to how oh sooo erudite he is. Interesting historically, nearly worthless as a cook book. No page numbers or locations given in the TOC or index, and there are problems with how the pages
sync.
April 17, 2009
A treasure. Anyone who loves me - get me a 1st edition.
This article I wrote, inspired by the SF Library History Center, says what I've got to say about this book for now.
http://www.spooningmag.com/story/shor...
This article I wrote, inspired by the SF Library History Center, says what I've got to say about this book for now.
http://www.spooningmag.com/story/shor...
January 28, 2015
Gourmet meal: $1.50. Champagne vintage recommended? 1892. There's something charming about traveling back a century and learning about your city's restaurants, groceries and eating habits. I recommend it to any local foodies
Read
May 31, 2014old, restaurant review of San Francisco's old eateries.
October 14, 2020
2.5 stars, rounded up. Written in 1914, this book is an interesting chronicle of the food scene during that time. Edwords has as his demarcation line the great fire of 1906, and details various restaurants. Some recipes are found in here, as well, but may not be feasible to reproduce.
Points off for racism; despite this author and his wife being rather intrepid foodies for this time period, there's a bit of obnoxious commentary about Mexican, Chinese, and even Italians, from food prep cleanliness to the amount of children they have.
Points off for racism; despite this author and his wife being rather intrepid foodies for this time period, there's a bit of obnoxious commentary about Mexican, Chinese, and even Italians, from food prep cleanliness to the amount of children they have.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews