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 photo by cproppe.

What, you're back again?

I was sure visiting all those restaurants last time would have kept you satisfied for at least two days, what with dinosaurs, a wild menagerie of zoo animals, Chinese take-out, greasy bugs, sprinkly seaweed and a mountain of cherry pies.

*looks at you and recognizes lean, hungry look*

Well, I can't really blame you, because we seem to have the same habit: we like to eat every day. No problemo. I'm happy to take you on another restaurant tour. Hope you're in the mood for more Chinese, some burgers, wild tigers, a troublesome bee, and a stampede of oinkers. Oh, and you have to mind your table manners.

Come and get it while the food is hot!



DIM SUM FOR EVERYONE by Grace Lin (Knopf, 2001). It's impossible to resist the inherent charm of "many little dishes" on carts and tables brimming with such delicious treats as egg tarts, turnip cakes, fried shrimp and steamed dumplings. Enter a busy Chinese restaurant and sit down with this family of five as they choose their favorites and eat their fill. Little ones will get a good sense of the bustling atmosphere and lively talk that defines this beloved tradition. An author's note provides a little history and describes several interesting yum cha (tea drinking) and dim sum customs. The endpapers alone are worth the price of admission ☺!

  

FRIDAY NIGHT AT HODGES' CAFE by Tim Egan (Houghton Mifflin, 1995). It's Friday night and all the regulars are gathered at Hodges' Cafe, a cozy spot known for its delicious desserts and one crazy duck. Despite the "No Tigers Please" sign on the door, three menacing tigers saunter in, dressed in expensive-looking clothes and talking with fancy words. They set the customers a-tremble, but the duck stands up to them. Until. The biggest tiger wants "Sautéed Duck in an orange glaze." A wild chase ensues, with friends tossing cheesecakes and rhubarb pies. The tiger catches the duck. Who will save him? Expect understated humor, a tense moment or two, and a duck diving into a large raspberry tart. Food to tame the savage beast. Chocolate soufflé, anyone?

HAMBURGER HEAVEN by Wong Herbert Yee (Houghton Mifflin, 1999). Sometimes you just crave a good burger. But not just any burger. Certainly not the same old cheesburgers they've been serving at Hamburger Heaven. No wonder fewer customers have been coming. Pinky Pig can't afford to lose her job (she wants to buy a new clarinet), so she comes up with a new menu to keep the restaurant open. Take a seat and enjoy Pinky's highly original toppings. Bet you've never had a burger topped with fried worms and slugs, or crawling with beetles. Lively rhyming couplets make for a good read-aloud and a customized meal.

 

WHEN THE PIGS TOOK OVER b

"Don't be intimidated by foreign cookery. Tomatoes and oregano make it Italian; wine and tarragon make it French. Sour cream makes it Russian; lemon and cinnamon make it Greek. Soy sauce makes it Chinese; garlic makes it good." ~ Alice May Brock
 
               
           Photo of Alice by Howell Conant, Source: NPR.org.


During the holidays, I like listening to Arlo Guthrie's "Alice's Restaurant Massacree."

The "Thanksgiving dinner that couldn't be beat" makes me happy, along with Officer Obie, the Group W bench, and of course, those "twenty-seven eight-by-ten colour glossy photographs with circles and arrows and a paragraph on the back of each one explaining what each one was to be used as evidence against us."

      
         photo of Alice and Arlo by Steve Schapiro/Corbis.

Dang fine example of the talkin' blues, a classic 60's counterculture, anti-war/anti-draft satirical ballad that still rings true 42 years after its release. I've been lucky enough to hear Arlo sing it in person a couple of times, and admit to having a crush on him when I was sixteen. Sigh. I wore out the A-Side of my album (some of the best 18-minute interludes I've ever had). When the movie came out with Arlo starring in it, I really really wanted to become a hippie, celebrate Thanksgiving with all those people, and help dump the garbage.

But this year, with my interest curiosity obsession with restaurants, I've been wondering about Alice. Hers was/is the most famous "restaurant" in pop culture and she's a beloved 60's hippie icon. But where is she now and what has she been up to?


Church in Great Barrington, MA, where Alice once lived with her husband Ray, and where the Thanksgiving dinners of the song took place (Now the Guthrie Center.)
(photo by Luvzdollz)

Lucky for me, I found a wonderful, in-depth interview from 2007 conducted by Alan Chartock, President and CEO of WAMC/Northest Public Radio. Alice, an artist who currently owns a studio and gallery in Provincetown, Massachusetts, lays it all out on the line. She opened the restaurant at her mother's suggestion, mainly to "give yourself something to do in the afternoon," to have a creative outlet. She had no chef training or any experience running a restaurant. She's the perfect example of "learn as you go," a free spirit who remained open to possibilities, and who, above all, didn't forget the importance

But if you want to, please be my guest (this is the yuckiest thing I've ever seen)!



Would you like fries with that? Thanks to James for forwarding the link!

 
    "Ciao Time" by Bob Staake (artcafe2008).


Any time you and your munchkins are in the mood to eat out, no need to call ahead, dress up, or risk the ho-hum food often found on children's menus. 

Just skip over to your local library and grab a few of these tasty picture books for meals that will excite, inspire, and feed the imagination. I've been doing my own literary restaurant tour the past few weeks, and am happy to report there are mucho picture books featuring chefs and restaurants. Most of them seem to favor cafés and diners, with lots of animal characters and cumulative tales ramping up the action with every bite.

Strange and wonderful things happen in restaurants, in real life and in books. Though every good picture book features a world unto itself, the world of a restaurant book is a natural gathering place for adventure-hungry, curious, mischievous, sly, zany and sometimes dangerous characters. It's the perfect set-up for an unexpected occurrence, a dramatic entrance, or a lesson on table manners. I got to dine at all these places, eat/read my fill, and it didn't cost me a dime. So take a seat (your table here is always ready), tuck in your napkins, and enjoy!



THE BEST RESTAURANT IN THE WORLD by Michelle Schwarz, pictures by Roland Harvey (Dutton, 2002). The perfect antidote for boring restaurants serving boring food and filled with boring conversation is the Super Sailing Sea Restaurant. Be patient, wait on the beach, and if you're lucky, little round Chef Peppi will come ashore in his tin tub to pick you up for a feast beyond your wildest dreams: cotton candy clouds, fish made of Jello tasting like anything you could wish for, floating chocolate castles, and a special dessert that can only be found at the bottom of the ocean (seaweed sprinkled with jimmies -- salty, sweet, colorful and round). Harvey's droll, highly detailed pencil and watercolor illos are ice-creamy delicious. An Australian import that will set imaginations soaring.



INSIDE THE SLIDY DINER by Laurel Snyder, pictures by Jaime Zollars (Tricycle Press, 2008). Deliciously disgusting in all its greasy, slimy, insect-ridden glory, the Slidy Diner is a must stop if you're in the mood for an unforgettable meal. Join Edie, who transgressed over a stolen lemon drop and is happy to describe the place, the customers, and the food (?) she knows all too well. On the menu: recycled sticky buns covered in bugs, pumpkin asparagus pie with unidentified crunchy-bit topping, Greasily Niblets, hive-inducing coffee, ladyfingers and the house specialty, Lumps and Dumplins. Compelling, highly original and darkly comic, strange is as strange does. Every word works, the illos take us beyond, and we'll never know -- real or imaginary? Brilliant work by two former waitresses; definitely not a chain restaurant ☺! (Faboo review at 7-Imp.)

          
          photo by Focht.

On a beautiful, warm Saturday night recently, Len and I headed over to Old Town Alexandria for dinner at the Majestic Café. You may remember my mentioning that Mrs. Obama hosted a birthday dinner there for her mother, Marian Robinson, this past summer.

Of course we had to check it out. (This is my favorite kind of "blog homework.")

The Majestic, with its art deco facade, dates back to 1932, and is a Virginia state landmark. It boasts "pure and simple food in rustic American style" -- wholesome, fresh, locally sourced ingredients -- farm-to-table goodness that seems to be the credo these days of foodies in the know.

      
      
       You enter through the bar to access the long dining room.

The interior was unremarkable, not "historic" as I had envisioned, but the food and service more than made up for it. Our servers were exceptionally friendly and attentive; Len and I noted they all looked uncommonly intelligent (both men and women were tall and lean with black rimmed glasses). We could have easily pictured them at a marathon reading of Proust. Okay, Len swore one female server resembled Olive Oyl, but that's just him. Do you like to cast people you see in restaurants for future stories or films? ☺

Everything except the butter is made in-house, including breads, chips, pickles, and pasta, and they like to remind you that even the water is filtered in-house. They love to refill your water glass the minute you take a sip, and every time you finish a course, they carefully wipe your table polish it to a high gloss. Yes, this may well have been the cleanest, shiniest table in the history of the world.

Being thus coddled by the wait staff (and the lovely hostess was also very pleasant), we drooled over the menu, which offered lots of comfort food: meat loaf with mashed potatoes and green beans, creamy tomato soup, crabcakes, grilled chicken, hanger steaks, calves liver (yuck).

Len started with fried green tomatoes (goat cheese, caramelized onions, fresh beets):


followed by the Chesapeake Bay seafood stew:


I had a mixed greens salad (pomegranates, vinaigrette dressing, caramelized onion, chopped nuts), which was perfection:


followed by roast pork (brussels sprouts, apples, onions, bacon):


This was the best roast pork I've ever eaten in a restaurant anywhere -- fork tender and moist, with the perfect sauce. Seriously, we're talking foodgasm. Couldn't stop saying, "mmmmmm, mmmmmmm, mmmmmm."
&nbs

          
          
Now here's a book that's got my name written all over it.

Regular readers of this blog may have noticed my subtle tendency total obsession with baking and sweets. Like most writers, I am especially mad for chocolate. Dessert First by Hallie Durand features some particularly decadent chocolate and more than satisfied my present craving.

Eight-year-old Dessert Schneider (whose family owns the Fondue Paris restaurant), is just the kind of spunky, quirky little minx I love to read about. She follows in the tradition of Eloise, Ramona, Junie B., and Clementine -- the type of character who gets into the kind of mischief we'd secretly like to, if only we had the nerve.

When her third grade teacher, Mrs. Howdy Doody, encourages the class to march to their own drummers, Dessert decides eating dessert before supper is the way to go. She doesn't succeed with lemon squares or rice pudding, but cleverly finds a way to win her parents' approval with hermit cookies. 

Crediting Mrs. Howdy Doody with changing her whole life, Dessert is then committed to forever blazing her own trail, even if it leads straight to trouble -- notably, scarfing down an entire box of verboten Double-Decker Chocolate Bars. How could she resist? They called to her from the refrigerator in all their dark, fudgy glory. It's inconceivable that something so good could make her feel so bad. Dessert must find a way to redeem herself for this terrible mistake, as well as go an entire two weeks without any dessert at all, after she's tricked by her arch nemesis, Amy D., in a class fundraising project.


Hallie (center) with Normana Schaaf, the real Mrs. Howdy Doody.

A fun, fast read, Dessert First is well paced with a good balance of scenes taking place at school, home, and at the family's restaurant. The other characters are appealing and keep things lively and interesting. Mrs. Howdy Doody, who champions individualism, is the kind of teacher every parent appreciates -- patient, kind, and there to offer much needed comfort and understanding when a child is troubled. Dessert's younger sister, Charlie, and her brothers Wolfie and Mushy (the Beasties) round out the rambunctious family unit, providing lots of noise and laughs. And of course Guston and Dominique from the restaurant add a French flavor to the mix. How tempting to read about Dessert dunking strawberry hats, cookie braids and animal pretzels into bowls of Maisie's Melted Lollipop Fondue!   

All fun aside, Dessert's flaws make her human and believable. Sneaky, persistent, crafty and brazen, her genuine remorse endears her to the reader. The way she handles the fundraising project illustrates her ability to successfully meet a challenge without compromising who she is. At the end, we see that her love of dessert remains undiminished, though her perception of just what is best and how it should be eaten has changed: "sometimes dessert tastes better when you save it for last" -- a great sentiment in this day and age of instant gratification.

    
      Fondue Paris is based on loulou, a French bistro in Brooklyn
      formerly owned by Hallie's friend, Christine Snell,
      who also gave her the famous red fondue pot.

Durand (a.k.a. Holly McGhee of Pippin Properties), says Dessert popped into her head after sharing a slice of iced lemon cake with her best friend. A character who signs her name with a maraschino cherry seemed destined for some pretty tasty adventures. Add to the recipe a red fondue pot Hallie received from a French bistro-owning friend, a favorite family recipe for those scrumptious Double-Ds, and you have the inspiration for an irresistible story that gently teaches many life lessons: taking responsibility for your actions, the importance of self control, and knowing that even though you make mistakes, you are still loved and can find a way to make amends.

Guaranteed to induce hunger, Dessert First is recommended for those who like to taste their words while reading them: pineapple upside-down cake, Snickers cake, flourless chocolate cake, petit fours, snickerdoodles, raspberry truffle bars, apricot pockets, seven-layer bars, et. al. You get the idea. Selected for the Summer 2009 Indie Kids' List, it's the first book in what promises to be a divinely delicious series.

Now let's get to those scrumptious Double-Decker Chocolate bars, shall we?


Nom nom.

Back in her 4-H days, Hallie typed a bunch of recipes, including Double-Ds, for her sister Laurel's birthday:

     

MORE GOODNESS:

For an excerpt from the book, click here.

Great interviews with Hallie Durand at Hope is the Word and The Children's Book Review. Find out what her favorite desserts are, and about the time she worked the 3 - 6 a.m. shift with a baker named George!

Nice review at The Reading Zone.

Keep up with Dessert news at Hallie Durand's Facebook Fan Page!

    
       Don't miss the surprise under the book jacket!

Dessert First by Hallie Durand
Illustrated by Christine Davenier
Atheneum/Simon & Schuster, 2009
Ages 7-10, 153 pp.
Source: Library Copy


Dessert and her classmates will be back for the second book in the series, Just Desserts, to be released May 2010!

More 2009 Fall for Restaurants posts here.

*Photos posted by permission of author, copyright © 2009 Hallie Durand. All rights reserved.

*Spreads posted by permission, text copyright © 2009 Hallie Durand, illustrations © 2009 Christine Davenier, published by Simon & Schuster. All rights reserved.

Copyright © 2009 Jama Rattigan of jama rattigan's alphabet soup. All rights reserved.
 

               
          photo by Zerberus.

Good morning! 

Time to wake up and smell the coffee! I've poured a steamy cup just for you. Mmmmmm. Breathe in that rich, divine aroma of freshly brewed Arabica beans. Would you like it black, or with a little sugar and milk?


photo by lepiaf.geo.

Sip, sip, sip and join me in a jazzy java jive, because today, Kristina Springer's very first YA novel, The Espressologist (FSG, 2009), is officially out! Yay!!

      

Whether or not you worship at the altar of caffeine, The Espressologist is sure to tickle your fancy and lift your spirits. I've always believed the old adage, "you are what you eat." In this fun, breezy story, which School Library Journal has called "compulsively readable," the main character, Jane Turner (a 17-year-old barista), believes people are what they drink -- at least when it comes to a cup of Joe.

Jane works with her friend, Em, at a local Chicago coffeehouse, where she enjoys correlating customers' personalities with the type of drinks they order. A medium iced vanilla latte? Sweet, smart and gentle. Pumpkin spice latte? Lots of fun and a bit sassy. What about a toffee nut latte? Watch out -- very hot and sexy!


   Latte Art mosaic from Eat-My-Heart-Out's photostream.

Jane records all her observations in a notebook, and soon decides to indulge in a little matchmaking. She succeeds at hooking up several happy couples, but when her competitive boss, Derek, decides to turn Jane's espressology into a holiday in-store promotion (a free match-up with every drink order), it creates havoc in her personal life. Seems there's one thing Jane hadn't counted on -- feeling a little jealous (?) when Em (medium hot chocolate) and Cam (toffee nut latte) start dating. She's the one who set them up, so why can't she be happy for them?


photo by cieya.

Kristina, who shares Jane's favorite drink (Iced Venti Skinny Mocha/No Whip) is eminently qualified to write this sweet, romantic tale -- after all, when she and her future husband first met, they walked into a coffee shop and he ordered a triple espresso. In an interview at Making Stuff Up for a Living, Kristina said, "I remember thinking, 'wow that's hot . . . ' I decided then and there he was perfect for me." Kristina routinely spends a lot of time in coffee shops observing people. A busy mother of four, she does all her writing in a local Starbucks.  Frankly, I can't wait to read the book to find out what it says about medium hot chocolate lovers like Em, because coffee or tea aside, I gotta have my chocolate!

Okay, whether you're an espresso, cappuccino, caffè latte, frappuccino, cafe mocha or cafe americano -- even if you're more into tea or hotsa totsa chocolat, join me now in congratulating Kristina for brewing up this fine, fun, frothy read. But I do have to warn you about today's soup. Slurp in moderation, lest you find yourself falling in love with a Caramel Macchiato, Mocha Valencia, or Espresso Con Panna. Or maybe you'd like to?


Today's Special: Matchmaker Mocha (proceed with caution).

Now that you're all juiced up, a little dessert. But before you bite into it, why not sing a few choruses of "Happy Birthday?" Yes! It's also Kristina's birthday!! Can there be a more perfect day to celebrate the publication of one's first book? Here's wishing you many happy returns, Kristina, and many more published books!!

      
         Starbucks Mini-Cake by LoveysConfections.

Like me, I know you just can't wait a second longer to devour The Espressologist. I think it'll be a pleasant diversion from the routine, the perfect light read to share with a friend, a happy stocking stuffer for the holidays. Drift on down to your local indie or order your copy online. I plan to drink some hot chocolate while reading mine. How about you?

♥ Love and Bottoms Up,

Java Mama Jama
Aspiring Bearista


 Bearista teddy from first Starbucks store in Seattle (photo by Chris_Inside).

                                       ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥



♥ Visit Kristina's official website and Live Journal Blog. She also blogs weekly at Author2Author, where you'll find several cool posts about The Espressologist, including this timeline from concept to publication.

♥ Interviews at Saundra Mitchell's Making Stuff Up for a Living, AuthorsNow, the Sunshine Edition, and the Book Butterfly, where you can enter a contest to win a signed edition of The Espressologist, plus a $10 giftcard from Starbucks (deadline: November 15th)!

♥ For those of you in the Chicago area, Kristina's having a Launch Party at the Fat Bean Bistro and Coffee Bar in Naperville, Illinois, on Saturday, November 7, 2009, 2 - 4 p.m.

♥ And check out the Facebook Fan Page for The Espressologist, where you can take the What Kind of Coffee Drink Are You Quiz!

ETA: Kristina has just announced this contest: take The Espressologist out for coffee and snap a photo for a chance to win a signed copy and other goodies. Deadline: November 27th. Details here.

The Espressologist by Kristina Springer
Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 2009
Young Adult Fiction, 192 pp.
On Shelves now!


Cappuccino teddy from The Adventures of Steph en Heckman.

More Soup of the Day posts can be found here.

And see all the 2009 Fall for Restaurants posts here.

Copyright © 2009 Jama Rattigan of jama rattigan's alphabet soup. All rights reserved.

photo by Michelle Lyles.

Happy Poetry Friday!

It’s nice to be back in Virginia after a wonderful visit with family and friends in Hawai’i. I think I chatted and chewed enough to last me at least a year – quite a change from my usual quiet, solitary life. I admit to suffering from a little Poetry Friday withdrawal, so I'm anxious to remedy that today.

In line with my current Fall for Restaurants theme, I’m sharing this radiant gem by Amy Lowell. A proponent of the Imagist movement, she hailed from upper crust New England society and cut quite the figure in her time (a woman of substantial girth who enjoyed puffing on a good cigar). In addition to her choice of subject matter, I am quite taken with this particular poem because:

1) It nicely exemplifies the primary criteria for imagist poetry: use of common, everyday language, presentation of a specific image, use of unrhymed cadence (also known as polyphonic prose). It is indeed “poetry that is hard and clear, never blurred nor indefinite.”

2) Rice pudding ☺.

I like the “Study in Whites” approach; I’m happy to enter Lowell's set piece rendered in glorious whites and ivories with green, red, orange, and silver highlights. Her succinct description of the sights and sounds of the lunch room fairly sparkles. There is the comparison to magnolia petals at the beginning, the unfulfilled chairs opening to receive at the end. The spring magnolia contrasts the “snow-peaks of chipped sugar,” and the progression of wax-white, chalk-white, vitreous-white, green-white, and grey-white rhythmically unfolds in a lovely cascade of sound echoing sense.

Now I suppose you’re expecting me to extol the virtues of rice pudding. I confess it was never part of my upbringing; the mere thought of mixing cooked rice with milk almost makes me gag. But alas, I married into rice pudding (I’m sure there are worse things). Len is so enamoured with it, that in the absence of proper pudding, he will pour milk on cooked rice and inhale it like it was the best dessert in the world. Blurgh.

In all other ways, he is practically perfect.

I will gladly read him this poem in lieu of either making rice pudding and/or watching him eat it (thanks, Amy). She has included not one, but two orders of the stuff near the end. With other types of comfort food (oyster stew, cornbeef hash, frankfurters, and chicken-pie), Lowell has succeeded in creating a most satisfying poetic feast. Secret: Len always uses the tiniest spoon in the kitchen when eating pudding (an English teaspoon), just to make it last longer. Perhaps this is the very same spoon that falls upon the floor with its “invisible zigzags of silver.” 

Savor this poem, small spoonful by small spoonful:

THOMPSON'S LUNCH ROOM -- GRAND CENTRAL STATION
by Amy Lowell


photo by j0mammma.

STUDY IN WHITES

Wax-white --
Floor, ceiling, walls.
Ivory shadows
Over the pavement
Polished to cream surfaces
By constant sweeping.
The big room is coloured like the petals
Of a great magnolia,
And has a patina
Of flower bloom
Which makes it shine dimly
Under the electric lamps.
Chairs are ranged in rows
Like sepia seeds
Waiting fulfillment.
The chalk-white spot of a cook's cap
Moves unglossily against the vaguely bright wall --
Dull chalk-white striking the retina like a blow
Thru the wavering uncertainty of steam.
Vitreous-white of glasses with green reflections,
Ice-green carboys, shifting -- greener, bluer -- with the jar of moving water.
Jagged green-white bowls of pressed glass
Rearing snow-peaks of chipped sugar
Above the lighthouse-shaped castors
Of grey pepper and grey-white salt.
Grey-white placards: "Oyster Stew, Cornbeef Hash, Frankfurters":
Marble slabs veined with words in meandering lines.
Dropping on the white counter like horn notes
Through a web of violins,
The flat yellow lights of oranges,
The cube-red splashes of apples,
In high plated épergnes.
The electric clock jerks every half-minute:
"Coming! -- Past!"
"Three beef-steaks and a chicken-pie,"
Bawled through a slide while the clock jerks heavily.
A man carries a china mug of coffee to a distant chair.
Two rice puddings and a salmon salad
Are pushed over the counter;
The unfulfilled chairs open to receive them.
A spoon falls upon the floor with the impact of metal striking stone,
And the sound throws across the room
Sharp, invisible zigzags
Of silver.


photo by diego_carolyn.

When it's creamy like this, rice pudding looks kind of yummy and reminds me of tapioca (which I love). Just don't let me see those individual grains of rice (which are fine by themselves, but should never go near a drop of milk).

In case you are of the rice pudding persuasion (I won't hold it against you), here is a good recipe. I hope you don't mind if I close my eyes while you eat it.

Sample the other delicious poetic offerings around the blogosphere by checking in with Laura Salas at Writing the World for Kids!    

More 2009 Fall for Restaurants posts here.

Copyright © 2009 Jama Rattigan of jama rattigan's alphabet soup. All rights reserved.

      
      from Uncle Wiggily and the Apple Dumpling (1939),
      written by Howard Garis, pictures by George Carlson
      (from calloohcallay's photostream).


Starting tomorrow, alphabet soup will be on blog vacation for about 2 weeks.

It's time to step away from the computer and enjoy some of the many magical things autumn has to offer. I hope to do some research for a new WIP, try some new restaurants, read, relax, and catch up with family and friends. While most of you were out and about this summer, I continued to blog blog blog, so I'm more than ready for a little break.

       

I did want to remind you that it's Cybils time again! Between October 1-15, you can submit your nominations (one per category) for the best children's and young adult books published during the past year. The goal is to recognize books with literary merit and kid appeal. The Cybils elves have been very busy setting everything up. I'm happy to report that once again I'll be helping out in the Poetry Category, coordinated by the lovely Kelly R. Fineman. Check the official website for important information about how to nominate books, and to get the scoop about all the different categories and panels.


photo by -Snug-.

The alphabet soup kitchen helpers will be in charge while I'm gone. Please do not let them go beserk and eat all the chocolate in the house. I don't want you to go hungry, so nosh on these pumpkin muffins till I return:

photo by stickygooeychef (recipe is here).

We'll resume our Fall for Restaurants celebration right after Columbus Day. Click here in case you missed yesterday's doggone delicious chat with Leslie McGuirk and Alex von Bidder, creators of Wiggens Learns His Manners at the Four Seasons Restaurant.

Hope the beautiful autumn weather inspires some great writing! Take care and see you soon!

Copyright © 2009 Jama Rattigan of jama rattigan's alphabet soup. All rights reserved.

Note: This is a polite post about a very polite book. Please wipe your paws before reading and wag your tail whenever one of our guests says something especially witty or charming.


Leslie and Alex at Books of Wonder, NYC, September 2009.

Welcome, friends!

Thank you for grooming yourselves and arriving precisely on time. Your table is ready!

Today's menu features a mini-review and chat with the creators of this year's most fetching picture book, Wiggens Learns His Manners at the Four Seasons Restaurant (Candlewick, 2009). The story of how author/illustrator Leslie McGuirk and restaurateur Alex von Bidder let the Four Seasons go to the dogs has set tongues wagging on Bark Avenue and beyond.

These two kindred spirits, one who spends her days in a Florida beachside studio writing, painting and managing her own design company; the other, a busy, illustrious Top Dog running NYC's famous power lunch landmark eatery (what Town and Country deemed, "Favorite Restaurant in the World"), overwhelmingly agree on one crucial thing: good manners matter. Lucky for us, because America is currently suffering from a rude epidemic. Wiggens is precisely what the doctor ordered (after truffles and escargot), so make yourself comfy, put on your favorite bib, and enjoy today's feast!

 APPETIZER (a little about the book):


Picture Book for ages 3+, published by Candlewick Press (2009), 32 pp.

You don't have to be a dog lover to take a liking to rascally, rowdy Wiggens, a chocolate labrador puppy who's got a lot to learn when it comes to good behavior. On the advice of the Chi-waa-waa (oldest and wisest dog in Manhattan), Wiggens's distraught parents send him to the Four Seasons Restaurant, where dogs from all over the world go to practice their manners. There, he and three other labs flourish under the tutelage of a handsome St. Bernard, whose barrel contains the spirit of helping others.

Ten lessons are served up on Four Seasons signature plates, emphasizing courtesy, respect, kindness, patience, restraint, and the importance of expressing gratitude. The charming narrative is accompanied by Leslie's winsome gouache illos, which are chock full of giggle-inducing speech bubbles to amp up the fun. There are so many hilarious asides and little touches that speak volumes: hoity toity poodles, grumbly bulldogs, pups doing yoga poses and chanting, guardian angel dogs whispering encouragement, celebrity dog sightings (Britney Spaniel), a display of weird foods and the brilliant Tail-O-Meter. 


St. Bernard and lab pups in the Pool Room (click to enlarge).


The real Four Seasons Pool Room (photo by BrooksofSheffield).

Because of the multi-layered nature of the book, which can be "read" via the main text, the subtext of the illustrations, the ten lesson summaries, and the varying levels of quirky humor, this story/guide will appeal to readers of all ages. I especially like how each lesson is gently conveyed within the context of the story -- displaying the bad behavior, its implications, and then suggestions for improvement. Those familiar with Leslie's Tucker books will appreciate Wiggens as an expanded showcase for her child-centric animal drawings, which capture a wide range of emotions and personalities via amusing facial expressions and posturing. With each little tail wag and pink tongue, her love of dogs shines through.

Make no bones about it, you'll likely gobble up this tasty tail (wink) in one fell swoop, sit up, and beg for more -- and if you faithfully practice these lessons, you'll never be in the dog house again.

 MAIN COURSE (Q&A with Leslie and Alex):

Thanks so much for visiting today, Leslie and Alex! Please tell us how the book came about. What was it like collaborating for the first time?

Leslie: I met Alex in Mexico, where I was teaching a workshop on creativity and I found his spirit to be very similar to mine -- playful yet wise. He had such elegant manners, too, so when a friend suggested I do a book on manners, I said, "I know the perfect person to work with!" Fortunately, he loved the idea, and it was a total joy to work with him.

Alex: Leslie and I talk the same language and I think I was telling her about my teaching a dining manners class for adults at NYU; she added that one of her passions is to encourage grandparents and grandchildren to do things together, e.g., read books. Voilà, the idea was born. The challenge for me was that publishing takes sooo long compared to preparing a fine meal.

(To Leslie): Did you get to spend a fair amount of time in the restaurant soaking up the ambience and tasting some of the "weird foods" included in the story?

Leslie: Yes, I was so lucky to have Alex allow me into not only the kitchen, but also to meet the characters that go into making the place what it is. And then, of course, to sketch and observe the surroundings and diners. I have to admit it was rather daunting to think that I could pull this off! And I am so happy with the way it turned out.


Four Seasons entrance, 99 E. 52nd Street, NYC (photo source).

Alex: Leslie captured the spirit of the Four Seasons and its characters beautifully. Just yesterday, a customer told me about seeing the magic of this special place on every page of "Wiggens."

Who wrote all the text for the speech bubbles?

Leslie: Alex and I worked on every little detail of the text together. He was fantastic at writing a children's book, even though it was his first. He just "got it" from a very natural place within himself. I can't wait to do another book with him. I think we make a great team!

Alex: Two minds who think like 8-year-olds come up with a lot of funny stuff; we had a lot of laughs, a wonderful complement to working "seriously."

Do you have a favorite spread from the book? (Leslie) could you briefly explain how you created it?

Leslie: I have two favorites. The scene in the downstairs lobby, with the stairs . . . and then the bar scene, which took me 3 weeks to paint. I just did a ton of sketches from being there and from photos. It took me awhile to find the right style. I have tons of paper to show the actual process. It was not simple. There is a lot that goes into a children's book of this nature. There are many layers to this book.

Alex: Yes, the lobby art is cool! And the one with the doorman welcoming Wiggens and his parents, but nothing beats the "tail-o-meter." :-)

(Some of Leslie's sketches):







Who thought of making Wiggens a chocolate lab? Is his character based on a real dog, the St. Bernard on a real person? Who decided which breeds would be portrayed?

Leslie: Wiggens is a chocolate lab because it is the only dog which comes with a food in its name!!! I have a dog named Wiggens. I picked that name because it is rather unusual, to say the least. I wanted this dog to be memorable. And the St. Bernard is Alex! Alex is from Switzerland, so, of course this soul saving dog was the perfect fit. I mostly decided which breeds to draw, but Alex was keen on making sure I put in the Park Avenue Poodles.

Alex: Yes, to all of Leslie's answers. My favorites are the grumbling bulldogs.

What's the worst case of bad manners you've ever witnessed in a restaurant?

Leslie: I think just rudeness to the waiters -- barking orders, so to speak!

Alex: Snapping fingers, which of course dogs would never do :-). Sometimes bad manners can be funny, too, like when customers yell at us for not finding their reservation and then they discover they made it in a different name, after having been very unkind to us :-).


Four Seasons apple tart (photo by Adam Kuban).

Please tell us about your dogs and how they inspired your work on this book.

Leslie: I have three dogs -- Wiggens, a 14-year-old Norfolk Terrier; Guy, a terrier Shih Tzu mix from the humane society; and Pumpkin, another rescue from Hurricane Katrina who is a Mississippi mutt. They completely amuse me, so their little personalities are in this book for sure.

Do you have a favorite restaurant? What do you usually order there?

Leslie: Of course, the Four Seasons! It's magical and I order whatever Alex tells me is good!

Alex: My favorite restaurants are the ones run by friends of mine. The closest is just up the street, "La Grenouille," which translates into "The Frog." Its owner is Charles Masson and just like Leslie's order, mine is whatever delicious dish Charles wants to serve me.

This question is for Leslie: Did you learn anything especially interesting or surprising about a restaurateur's life as a result of working with Alex?

         

Leslie: I learned that he works very very hard to keep many people happy. He is a master. I can't say enough nice things about him. You will have to meet him to see for yourself. An extraordinary human on this earth.

Alex: I totally agree, of course :-).

What are you working on now?

Leslie: I collect rocks that come in the shapes of letters and numbers and objects. I have the entire alphabet after 10 years of hunting. The book I am putting together is called When Rocks Sing, or something like that. I want it to be an adult gift book and also for kids. Also working on the next TUCKER book: Tucker in Love, for Valentine's Day. It comes out in 2010 with Candlewick. And I hope to do another Wiggens book with Alex. We can teach other things, too!

*Jama swoons over alphabet rocks*

DESSERT (Sweet Extras):

 Visit the special website devoted to Wiggens Learns His Manners at the Four Seasons Restaurant, with blurbs from famous fans, reviews, and more!

 The official publisher book trailer is here.

 Learn more about Leslie and her children's books (including the popular Tucker series) at her official website. Did you know she is a famous designer in Japan, and that her art graces at least 800 products?!

 You must visit the Four Seasons website! Don't miss the fascinating video,"The Ultimate Power Lunch." It includes a brief history of the restaurant, interviews with Alex and co-owner, Julian Niccolini and other staff members, a peek at the Pool and Grill Rooms, the kitchen, and juicy stories about some of the patrons. Known for its beautiful architecture, interior design, award winning new American cuisine and celebrity clientele -- wall street titans, entrepeneurs, politicians, entertainers, et.al., the Four Seasons is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year.

  Alex is also co-author, with John F. Mariani, of The Four Seasons: A History of America's Premier Restaurant (Smithmark Publishers, 1999). 

 Bone Appetit!

More 2009 Fall for Restaurants posts here.

                                  

"'Build something new. Take care of something old. Think of either while petting your dog.' I like taking care of old buildings, old boats, and old friends." ~ Alex von Bidder's comment on memorable lines from a book he'd read.

*Photos and sketches copyright © 2009 Leslie McGuirk. All rights reserved.

WIGGENS LEARNS HIS MANNERS AT THE FOUR SEASONS RESTAURANT. Text copyright © 2009 by Leslie McGuirk and Alex von Bidder. Illustrations
copyright © 2009 by Leslie McGuirk. Reproduced by permission of the publisher, Candlewick Press, Somerville, Massachusetts. All rights reserved.

Copyright © 2009 Jama Rattigan of jama rattigan's alphabet soup. All rights reserved.

 

Spicy shrimp ramen by aJ GAZMEN GuccibeaR.

To slurp or not to slurp?

Is it ever okay to burp?

And would you mind if I picked my teeth after finishing my lo mein?

Ah well, it all depends on where you're eating. We all enjoy dining out, but maybe we need to check our manners. Today's menu features four different restaurant etiquette quizzes. I got a perfect score on the Japanese restaurant quiz, but only 3 correct when it came to Chinese restaurants (jaw drops). My overall knowledge was above average, but I definitely need to brush up on other international cuisines.

Okay, here's today's four course meal:

Start with this general restaurant etiquette quiz. If you get a perfect score, the pizza's yours.

photo by Scorpions and Centaurs.

Then, twirl your chopsticks with the Japanese dining quiz. For perfect scorers: a traditional Japanese breakfast.

photo by MichaelMaggs.

This rude/not rude Chinese quiz was tricky. No winter melon soup for me.

photo by Kent Wang.

Finally, do a little globe hopping with this fun quiz. If you score well, nosh on these mezes (appetizers) from Jordan.

photo by Unai Gerra.

So, how did you do? Is it safe to dine with you in public? ☺

Have fun, eat well, and always mind your manners!

More 2009 Fall for Restaurants posts here.

Copyright © 2009 Jama Rattigan of jama rattigan's alphabet soup. All rights reserved.
 

"A great artist is never poor. We have something of which other people know nothing." ~ from Babette's Feast by Isak Dinesen.

             
          poster from truity1967's photostream.

If you've never seen "Babette's Feast," you simply must.

Based on the short story by Isak Dinesen, this profound, far reaching depiction of the transformational power of food is also a glorious celebration of haute cuisine -- a fine, masterful art which can be motivated by gratitude, devotion, passion, and a sincere desire to make others happy. "Babette's Feast" won an Oscar in 1987 for Best Foreign Language Film, and has long been a cult favorite among hard core foodies. It was the first Danish film to win an Oscar; scriptwriter/director Gabriel Axel's rendering is quite true to Dinesen's original story, with added emphasis (lucky for us) on the preparation and consumption of Babette's magnificent meal. 


Dinesen's story actually takes place in Berlevaag, Norway, but Axel changed the location to Jutland, Denmark, because he preferred a less picture perfect, idyllic setting. (Click to enlarge this panaroma of Berlevaag.)

In a remote, barren seaside village in 19th century Denmark, two elderly sisters lead ascetic lives devoted to serving the poor and upholding the teachings of their deceased father, a Dean and prophet who founded a well known Lutheran sect. Though beautiful and admired since their youth, Martine and Philippa renounce suitors and all forms of social finery. To them, the earth and its pleasures are an inconsequential illusion. Every day they dress in the same greys and blacks, subsisting on dried salt fish and thick ale-bread soup.

One day, Babette appears at their door. She is a French civil war refugee, whose husband and son had been killed in the counter-revolutionary turmoil. Forlorn and desperate, she bears a letter recommending her as a housekeeper from Achille Papin, a famous French opera singer (Philippa's former suitor). Though the sisters' devout lifestyle would ordinarily preclude having any servants, they take in Babette, a Roman Catholic, who, over the course of 14 years, helps to ease not only their lives, but that of the other villagers. 

    

One fortuitous day, Babette learns she has won the lottery, ten thousand francs! She offers to cook a real French dinner to celebrate the Dean's 100th birthday. It takes a lot of convincing to get the sisters to agree, as they are wary of the imposition and of what such a meal would entail. Frogs' legs? Snails? Would their father approve of such decadence? Babette pleads, citing that in all her time with them, she has never asked for anything for herself. Since she has won the lottery, she wants to pay for all the provisions.

Poor Martine has nightmares, and the sisters are compelled to confess their regrettable decision to the aged congregation. The followers are very sympathetic and vow not to utter a single word about the food and drink at dinner, which is surely the devil's sorcery.

But what a meal Babette prepares! Everything has been specially ordered from France. The villagers are astounded at the strange and exotic ingredients that arrive by boat: a live turtle! a cage full of quails! crates of wine and champagne! beautiful fruit! Engaging the help of young Erik and a coach driver, Babette lovingly prepares the feast of a lifetime, demonstrating her supreme gifts as a chef de cuisine.

 
   Babette preparing La Salade.

LE MENU:

Potage a la Tortue (turtle soup)

Blinis Demidoff au Caviar (buckwheat cakes with caviar and sour cream)

Caille en Sarcophage avec Sauce Perigourdine (quail in puff pastry shell with foie gras and truffle sauce)

La Salade (Belgian endive with walnuts in a vinaigrette)

Les Fromages (Blue cheese, papaya, figs, grapes and pineapple)

Savarin au Rhum avec des Figues et Fruit Glacée (rum sponge cake with figs and glacéed fruits).

Rare wines are served with each course, including amontillado, Clos de Vougeot burgundy, and Veuve Clicquot champagne. 

As promised, the guests refrain from commenting on the food, though their enjoyment is obvious by their gradual transformation from somber, disillusioned, and argumentative to congenial, generous, and forgiving. One guest, however, General Loewenhielm (Martine's former suitor), freely expresses his astonishment and appreciation for every dish served. A man of the world and an attaché to Paris, the general reveals some very interesting details about the last time he had dined on such ambrosial offerings, especially the magnificient Cailles en Sarcophage!

   
     The world famous Café Anglais (1910), located at the corner of
     the Boulevard des Italien and the Rue de Marivaux, Paris.

General Loewenhielm stopped eating and sat immovable. Once more he was carried back to that dinner in Paris of which he had thought in the sledge. An incredibly recherché and palatable dish had been served there; he had asked its name from his fellow diner, Colonel Galliffet, and the Colonel had smilingly told him that it was named 'Cailles en Sarcophage.' He had further told him that the dish had been invented by the chef of the very café in which they were dining, a person known all over Paris as the greatest culinary genius of the age, and -- most surprisingly -- a woman! 'And indeed,' said Colonel Galliffet, 'this woman is now turning a dinner at the Café Anglais into a kind of love affair -- into a love affair of the noble and romantic category in which one no longer distinguishes between bodily and spiritual appetite or satiety! For no woman in all Paris, my young friend, would I more willingly shed my blood!' General Loewenhielm turned to his neighbor on the left and said to him: 'But this is Cailles en Sarcophage!' The neighbor, who had been listening to the description of a miracle, looked at him absent-mindedly, then nodded his head and answered: 'Yes, Yes certainly. What else would it be?'


The art nouveau building that replaced the Café Anglais (photo by Tangopaso).

The entire dinner scene unfolds like a splendidly understated symphony of sensual and spiritual wonder with welcome notes of subtle humor. Twelve diners at a different sort of Last Supper. Food fit for a king laid out for a pious group, who, up until then, had never seen, smelled, touched or tasted nourishment such as this. As they drink their first glasses of wine, their cheeks redden and they are rejuvenated and renewed. Old grudges are forgotten; forgiveness and conviviality reign at this communion created with Babette's love.


The life-changing Cailles en Sarcophage (photo credit: Mogens Engelund, Wikipedia).

As viewers, we are free to imagine the flavors and textures which passed through their lips. I love the moment when they first dip their spoons in Babette's turtle soup and sip the clear broth. A beautiful restraint: no sound except the gentle clinking of silver against china -- but their expressions suggest taste buds awakening to unforetold rapture. As Colonel Galliffet said, when you are in love with such fine cuisine, there is no distinction between the physical and spiritual. 

 
   Potage a la Tortue!

And what of Babette? She remains in the kitchen throughout the meal. Watching her cook, a true artiste thriving in her element, is in itself  soul satisfying and inspiring, because you witness her coming into herself. The preparations are tedious and elaborate. It is indeed miraculous that such a meal could emerge from the sisters' small, rustic kitchen. There are close-ups of Babette rolling and cutting the blinis, slicing a plucked quail and placing it in its pastry shell, pouring rum over her sponge cake, arranging papaya, grapes, figs, pineapple and peaches on silver trays, slicing a wheel of blue cheese. We have already sensed that she is the aforementioned female chef at the Café Anglais, but not until after the guests have all gone home, do we learn she has spent all her lottery money for this one feast. "I am a great artist!" she tells Martine and Philippa. She says a great artist is never poor. And then she tells Philippa, who passed up her chance to become a world renown opera singer, what Achille Papin had once told her:

"Through all the world there goes one long cry from the heart of the artist. Give me the chance to do my best!"

  
    Erik enjoys Babette's Savarin au Rhum.

Babette chose not to return to Paris. For one evening, she was able to relive her past glory as a great chef. She sacrificed all for this one chance to perform her art, selflessly, with no thought of reward. She was able to recall the country she had lost in the most unlikely of places and circumstances. 

"Babette's Feast" is a beautiful example of the transcendent power of art. When the circle is complete -- a reader for the writer, a listener for the musician, an appreciative eye for the painter, or an enthusiastic diner for the chef, then it has fulfilled its ultimate purpose. Art does not have to play out on a grand stage. Babette had cooked for the most illustrious people in Paris, yet her feast in faraway Jutland was the true miracle. Philippa refused a life on the stage, yet her singing brought deep pleasure to her bethren. The true artist always strives for excellence, gaining self fulfillment through making others happy. Babette's cooking was an extension of her soul.

The many layers, parables, and themes of the story continue to stimulate thought and discussion. That Dinesen decided to portray a woman as the greatest chef in Europe (something that clearly would not have been possible at that time), is admirable and fascinating. There is the stark contrast between the self-denial of the Protestants vs. the self-indulgence of the Catholics, but by story's end, there is a merging of the ascetic with the aesthetic, as all the characters are transformed. What I like most about "Babette's Feast" is Dinesen's statement about the role of the artist, as she awaits the opportunity to serve, albeit in lesser surroundings. That hope is what we will carry with us, the food that sustains beyond reach.

                                     ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ 

"Babette's Feast" was first published in Ladies Home Journal (1950), and is included in Dinesen's collection, Anecdotes of Destiny and Ehrengard (Random House, 1958).

The Café Anglais opened in 1802, and was frequented by royalty, aristocrats, actors and patrons of the nearby Opera House. It gained its highest gastronomic reputation after the arrival of Chef de Cuisine Adolphe Dugléré, who invented Pommes Anna.
 
Click here to watch excerpts from the movie, showing kitchen preparation and guests dining.

If you are a very brave cook or merely curious, here are some photos and recipes (scroll down) from Babette's meal.

Click here for the official "Babette's Feast" webpage, with loads of great links to reviews, essays and recipes.

2009 Fall for Restaurants posts are here.

"In this beautiful world of ours, all things are possible."

Copyright © 2009 Jama Rattigan of jama rattigan's alphabet soup.

 

photo source: Obama Foodorama.

Sounds absolutely delicious to me: chock full of great Hawaiian-y ingredients like coconut, pineapple and macadamia nuts!

Wanted to point you to this great blog post about Carol McManus, owner of Espresso Love in Edgartown, Martha's Vineyard. Carol's Obama Muffin has been getting worldwide media attention ever since its debut in August, and the story of how a bankrupt single mother of five decided to open a small coffee/breakfast treats café on a strong hunch is indeed inspiring. Espresso Love is highly popular with the locals and many famous people have dropped in, like Robert DeNiro. "Are you lookin' at me, or my muffin?" ☺

I also loved reading about how she created a Presidential Muffin to honor the Clintons, who frequently summer on the Vineyard. After working on the Obama campaign, Carol simply had to create a special muffin just for him and Michelle. (The full recipe is included in the post.)



Carol recently published a trés cool cookbook, Table Talk (Vineyard Stories, 2008). The focus is on encouraging families to eat together, and engaging children in the cooking process. A former academic teacher, Carol now gives cooking lessons to local seventh and eighth graders. The book is brimming with simple recipes, gorgeous photos of island life, and of course, interesting quotes and snippets.

I don't know about you, but I can't wait to bake those Obama muffins!

♥ Click here to read all the 2009 Fall for Restaurants posts.