A world within a world, and a true blend of cultures, cuisines, old favorites, and new beginnings, the Grand Central Market has fed and fascinated the fortunate folks of Los Angeles, California for one hundred years. “The Grand Central Market Cookbook: Cuisine and Culture from Downtown Los Angeles", by Adele Yellin and Kevin West, celebrates a century of serving fabulous food and so much more to longtime residents and to visitors who can’t resist exploring this one-of-a-kind marketplace and food hall. Each of the market’s 38 vendors is featured, and here’s a sampler of the recipes you’ll find: Eggslut’s popular “Slut,” which features coddled eggs with potato puree served in a mason jar; Sticky Rice’s Thai barbecue chicken; Horse Thief BBQ’s Nashville-Style Hot Fried Chicken Sando; Madcapra’s Sumac Beet Soda; and Golden Road’s Crunchy Avocado Tacos. Divided into sections like breakfast, tacos, carbs, happy hour, meat and fish, veg and sweets, the book also offers recipes for a wide variety of foods, including coconut-cream doughnuts, watermelon slushies, savory carnitas, and cold, smoky ramen. The original flavor, color, and spirit have been maintained, and after a refreshing renovation in 2012, the market is now also a haven of inspiration for both professional chefs and home cooks. If you visited the Grand Central Market every day, you still wouldn’t have time to see, hear, touch, and taste everything, but you sure would have fun trying, and this cookbook will provide much enjoyment for cooks and armchair travelers. 100 years looks mighty fine on the Grand Central Market.

Book Copy Gratis Clarkson Potter Publishers via Blogging for Books ( )

I love this cookbook! So many wonderful recipes from so many different cultures. Very easy to follow and so yummy! Explains how the Grand Central Market was started, this book is very facsinating. Wonderful cookbook to add to your collection or as a gift!! ( )

My only exposure to Grand Central Market has been on Food Network, such as when The Next Food Network Star competitors shot video interviews with chefs at the Market. It looked a fascinating place, so I was eager to read The Grand Central Market Cookbook.

You know you’re in for a treat before you even open it. The cover is rich in nostalgia with the vintage oilcloth cover that evokes summer picnics. The colors and style remind me of Lotería cards from that old Mexican game. Before turning the first page, I was smiling with remembrance.

It opens with the weakest section of the book, the business history of Grand Central Market. Since it founded in 1917, there must be a rich anecdotal history full of life and passion. This is not it. This history would fit better in something to send to investors. It’s about development, urban renewal, marketing, and business plans. There’s an interesting interview with someone who has been going there for years, but most of the introductory text is geared toward a different audience. Some of it is an unnecessary response to local criticism that is just odd to present to a broader national audience who would not be aware of the criticism as they don’t live there.

The recipes are organized in an interesting way. It seems haphazard. There are chapters for breakfast and happy hour, but not lunch and dinner. There is a dessert chapter, but that is the only one organized by course, no salads, no soups, not entrees. Then there are chapters on tacos which is pretty specific. Then a few by food group, veggies and fish and meats. So, instead of being organized by meals, food group, or courses, it’s a mix of all three.

It makes sense in a sort of haphazard way. Breakfast includes some donuts, some juices, and a bloody mary. Also, a chop suey which I might have thought would be a carb, but that’s the kind of haphazard I mean. While I don’t know it’s in the breakfast section, why not? It’s better than cold pizza for breakfast. The other sections are much simpler. Meat and fish, for example, has meat and fish. It just seems as though there was no decision made about how to organize, it just happened.

I like The Grand Central Market Cookbook, but it is filled with pretty standard fare that many people will know how to make. What I found myself enjoying more than the recipes was the design. Normally, good design avoids a superfluous number of fonts, but The Grand Central Market Cookbook is full of fonts, part of that nostalgic vibe. The regular text is an easy-to-read serif, but the headings and recipe titles are someone having fun. The playfulness of the design appeals to me. I also love the photos which are much more human-centric than most cookbooks. Ice cream is actually in a cone in a human hand. People hold drinks, stir pots, drop garnish and otherwise connect the food to people. I love this. Food without people has no purpose.

I also like the ordinariness of the recipes. Yes, they are things many people know already and things people usually buy from a food cart, but it’s kind of nice to see a contemporary cookbook that is filled with recognizable foods that we know, love, and probably should cook at home.

I received a review copy of The Grand Central Market Cookbook from the publisher through Blogging for Books.

https://tonstantweaderreviews.wordpress.com/2017/10/25/9781524758929/

The Grand Central Market Cookbook at Penguin Random House | Clarkson Potter
The Grand Central Market website
Adele Yellin company site
Kevin West magazine profile
Johnny Autry photographer ( )