Charles Phan with cookbook agent Kitty Cowles at Omnivore | |
Elizabeth David on the wonders of Le Creuset | |
A sumptuous vintage fruit label | |
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I can't say I'm shocked that 2025 opened with sadness, but the death of one of my favorite San Franciscans was an unexpected blow. What I loved about chef Charles Phan, the late owner of The Slanted Door and author of two Vietnamese cookbooks, was his willingness to try anything. Most restaurateurs are willing to take some risks, but this guy...he threw his heart into every subject that caught his fancy. Since opening his groundbreaking restaurant in 1995, Charles went on to launch a whiskey bar, a Southern soul food spot, an English gastropub, a hot dog stand, a sandwich shop, a dumpling house, and more. Not all of them lasted, but his relentless creativity and willingness to take risks defined his legacy just as much as his successes. His Out the Door on Bush Street was one of my favorite restaurants in San Francisco, and I have a hundred sweet memories of meals enjoyed there with friends, family, or by myself at the counter. This fall, he told me how excited he was to have opened a Slanted Door in Beaune, France, and that he couldn't believe the quality of the produce and especially the Bresse chickens. He was having so much fun, and it gives me only small comfort to know he enjoyed life to its fullest, all the way to the end.
I had an excellent excuse to have fun myself last weekend, when the annual Antiquarian Book Fair was hosted at Fort Mason. I found some wonderful treasures, and got to visit with dealers and friends I only get to see infrequently. I especially loved chatting with Tim White, owner of Books for Cooks in Melbourne, Australia, and took a number of vintage books on food off his hands. I'm always interested in older books about the food of far flung places, like the one I bought from him on the cuisine of the Seychelles, 1960. From other booths, I picked up some charming 19th century books on etiquette, cake making, and beekeeping. There's something for everyone in here!
As always, we have an exciting lineup of events, including an off-site talk with Melissa Clark and Emily Weinstein from New York Times Cooking. Coming up this weekend, Pat Tanummihardja will talk about her new cookbook on Indonesian cuisine with Dr. Linda Shiue, and next week, we're hosting authors who've penned love letters to bread and to love (okay, well, sex - and its relationship to food)! One of my favorite cookbook writers, Julia Turshen, will be here on Feb. 21, and we even have our events (so far) for March and April online. One of the risks of posting events this far in advance is that the author will cancel and you'll show up anyway, having battled traffic and hired a babysitter. So please don't forget to check our website before heading over; we are really good at keeping it up-to-date.
Stay warm, dry, and hopeful,
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Sat. Feb. 8 • Pat Tanumihardja in conversation with Linda Shiue, MD • Mortar and Pestle: Classic Indonesian Recipes for the Modern Kitchen • 3:00 P.M. FREE!
Old family photographs and cozy, family narratives bring the reader into the authors' home and allow them to travel vicariously through food. Written with the distinct sensibility of an Indonesian who was born and grew up in Indonesia (Julia) and her daughter who was raised in the culture and taught to cook from a young age (Pat), this comprehensive cookbook proves Indonesian food can be prepared in any kitchen, anywhere in the world.
Can't make it? Order a signed copy here!
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Sun. Feb. 9 • Astranda Bakery Pop-up • 11:00 A.M - 2:00 P.M.
We're excited to announce that Astranda Bakery is popping up again at Omnivore! In addition to their famous cinnamon rolls, they're bringing sweet and savory lunchtime treats that are perfect for gameday feasting.
Pre-order here or just come on by!
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OFFSITE EVENT! Mon. Feb. 10 • Melissa Clark & Emily Weinstein in conversation with MacKenzie Chung Fegan • Easy Weeknight Dinners • 7:30 P.M. at the Sydney Goldstein Theater
This event is being hosted off-site by City Arts & Lectures at the Sydney Goldstein Theater. Find tickets and more information here.
Melissa Clark is a food writer and cookbook author whose 30-plus books include Dinner: Changing the Game. As a staff writer at The New York Times, she writes the popular column “A Good Appetite” and appears in a weekly cooking video series.
Emily Weinstein is the editor in chief of New York Times Cooking and Food. She also writes the popular NYT Cooking newsletter Five Weeknight Dishes. Her new book is Easy Weeknight Dinners: 100 Fast Flavor-packed Meals for Busy People Who Still Want Something Good to Eat.
MacKenzie Chung Fegan is a restaurant critic for the San Francisco Chronicle. Previously, she was a senior editor at Bon Appétit, and her writing has appeared in GQ, Vice, Wine Enthusiast, Playboy, and The Best American Food Writing 2021.
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Thurs. Feb. 13 • Jim Franks in conversation with Sarah Owens • Existential Bread • 6:30 P.M. FREE!
Jim Franks is a baker and a poet who’ s written a love story about bread, which is to say he’s written a life story about listening, learning, trying, failing, adapting, and above all, caring. Through humor, history, relentless curiosity, and refreshingly unsentimental poetry, Existential Bread teaches there are many ways to bake a loaf, just as there are many ways to live a life.
Can't make it? Order a signed copy here!
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Tues. Feb. 18 • Rachel Hope Cleves in conversation with Marcia Gagliardi • Lustful Appetites: An Intimate History of Good Food and Wicked Sex • 6:30 P.M. FREE!
Historian Rachel Hope Cleves explores the long association between indulging in good food and an appetite for immoral sex. Taking readers on a gastronomic journey from Paris and London to New York, Chicago and San Francisco, Lustful Appetites reveals how this preoccupation changed the ways we eat and the ways we are intimate—as well as how stigmas persist well into our own twenty-first century.
Can't make it? Order a signed copy here!
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Thurs. Feb. 20 • Coinneach MacLeod • Hebridean Baker: The Scottish Cookbook • 6:30 P.M. FREE!
Hebridean Baker, The Scottish Cookbook is an irresistible culinary voyage that promises recipes to inspire you in the kitchen and an immersive journey into the heart of Scotland's islands. Coinneach returns with his fourth cookbook sharing with his readers the art of Scottish baking with delicious, timeless recipes.
Can't make it? Order a signed copy here!
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Fri. Feb. 21 • Julia Turshen in conversation with Nina LaCour • What Goes with What: 100 Recipes, 20 Charts, Endless Possibilities • 6:30 P.M. FREE!
In her latest book, Julia offers readers a new way to think about cooking, one that focuses on mastering the alchemy of a meal―and then offers endless iterations. Organized into six sections, Julia arms readers with 20 charts and 100 recipes that teach them how to build a successful dish, while making ample room for creativity and personal preference.
Can't make it? Order a signed copy here!
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Sat. Mar. 1 • Kiera Wright-Ruiz in conversation with Kristina Cho • My (Half) Latinx Kitchen: Half Recipes, Half Stories, All Latin American • 3:00 P.M. FREE!
This one-of-a-kind cookbook is the story of Kiera’s journey to embrace her identity and all her cultures: Latinx, Asian, and American. It’s a celebration of Latin American food in all its vibrant, flavorful glory, and a love letter to the diaspora--from Ecuador to South Florida, Mexico to Cuba, the recipes in this book are as diverse and unique as the cultures themselves, and show how being half can ultimately lead to being whole.
Can't make it? Order a signed copy here!
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Thurs. Mar. 20 • Zareen and Umair Khan • Zareen’s Pakistani Kitchen • 6:30 P.M. FREE!
Zareen and Umair Khan are the founders of Zareen’s Restaurants, acclaimed eateries located in the San Francisco Bay Area. In this introduction to Pakistani cooking, they share 95 recipes designed for American cooks with three goals in mind: first, to make authentic Pakistani food simple and accessible; second, to share their sheer foodie joy and vibrant Pakistani culture; and third, to inspire women (especially other immigrant women) to entrepreneurship and activism.
Can't make it? Order a signed copy here!
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Wed. April. 9 • Lacey Ostermann • 3 Doughs, 60 Recipes: Focaccia, Pizza, Sandwich Bread – Easy-to-master Doughs and Delicious Ways to Enjoy The • 6:30 P.M. FREE!
From the queen of dough behind your favorite viral bread-making videos on social media (@_lace_bakes_), here are 60 creative yet easily achievable recipes, whether you’re baking, topping, using up leftover bread or reworking the doughs into a variety of bread products. Every dough also has practical step-by-step instructions, detailed photography and QR codes to video tutorials that will fill you with confidence as you learn to make bread.
Can't make it? Order a signed copy here!
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Thurs. Apr. 10 • Georgia Freedman • Snacking Dinners: 50+ Recipes for Low-Lift, High-Reward Dinners That Delight • 6:30 P.M. FREE!
Solo diners unite! Ask yourself: what do you want to eat when you have no demands from family and friends? Maybe it’s cream cheese and lox on rye bread; or tuna hand-rolls made ingeniously with tinned fish; jammy eggs topped with numbing Sichuan pepper; or for a splurge, caviar sandwiched between toast points. Snacking dinners are the ultimate form of self-care, a meal comprised of favorite foods, expanded to be balanced and perfectly satisfying.
Can't make it? Order a signed copy here!
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Wed. Apr. 16 • Sarah Ahn & Nam Soon Ahn • Umma: A Korean Mom's Kitchen Wisdom and 100 Family Recipes • 6:30 P.M. FREE!
Sarah Ahn’s viral food videos of her and her mom have captivated millions of viewers with their behind-the-scenes look at Korean cooking and multigenerational home life. This collaboration with America’s Test Kitchen is now a must-have cookbook blending the emotional intimacy of Crying in H Mart with practical culinary advice from Nam Soon’s lifetime of kitchen experience.
Can't make it? Order a signed copy here!
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Tues. Apr. 22 • Katie Reicher • Seasons of Greens: A Collection of New Recipes from the Iconic San Francisco Restaurant • 6:30 P.M. FREE!
The chef of San Francisco’s legendary Greens Restaurant shares 120+ plant-based recipes inspired by cultures from around the world and pays homage to the amazing chefs before her while showcasing vegetables in new and exciting ways. All of the recipes are created with substitutes in mind and with whatever is available for the season. Seasons of Greens is a fresh and modern way to enjoy vegetables.
Can't make it? Order a signed copy here!
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Thurs. Apr. 24 • Laurie Woolever in conversation with Samin Nosrat • Care and Feeding: A Memoir • 6:30 P.M. FREE!
NOTE: We have indoor standing room only tickets for the first 60 people to pre-order the book through us here. The book is your ticket.
Tracing her path from a small-town childhood to working at revered restaurants and food publications, and alternately bolstered and overshadowed by two of the most powerful men in the business (Mario Batali and Anthony Bourdain), Laurie’s life is frequently chaotic, an often pleasurable buffet of bad decisions at which she frequently overstays her welcome. As the food world careens toward an overdue reckoning and Laurie’s mentors face their own high-profile descents, she is confronted with the questions of where she belongs and how to hold on to the parts of her life’s work that she truly values: care and feeding.
Can't make it? Order a signed copy here!
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Sat. May 3 • Joaninha • Recipes For A Good Life • 3:00 P.M. FREE!
Imagine enjoying the most delicious food and finding yourself energized, joyful, and filled with a vibrancy for life. Recipes For A Good Life is packed with useful guidelines that can help even the most reluctant take steps to improve their health. Eating healthfully is not about limiting choices, it’s about expanding horizons and changing your relationship to food. Ideas for quick meals and menu plans are included along with vegan and gluten-free recipes.
Can't make it? Order a signed copy here!
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Mon. May. 5 • Hailee Catalano • By Heart: Recipes to Hold Near and Dear • 6:30 P.M. FREE!
Over 100 restaurant-quality recipes designed to be made in your home kitchen - seasonal pastas, veggie-forward recipes designed to make the most of your CSA box, simple meat dishes, breads, butters, condiments, perfect beach sandwiches, simple sweets, and so much more. Inspired by her professional training and love of seasonal cooking, Hailee includes details on how to keep a calm kitchen, navigate a farmers market, and plan out a Friday Night Dinner menu. Carefully crafted from the heart, this is a book you'll return to again and again.
Can't make it? Order a signed copy here!
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Check out all of our upcoming events here! | | | | |
