Cafe Cuisine

Rating:
Summary: Where's the blueberrry coulis
Review: I'm not much of a cook, but I'll admit that many recipes in this book look enticing and healthful. I'll probably try several.

The book offers two sets of contents.

One, as one would expect, lists sections in order of appearance. These divide the pages (and recipes) by courses, opening with 25 pages of "Tapas and Small Courses" (both cold and hot), 30 pages of "Soups," 34 pages of "Sandwiches, Pizzas and Savory Tarts," 70 pages of "Entrees and Accompaniments."

But the courses are ordered European-style. "Salads" come after the main course, and are followed by "Deserts," "Breakfast and Brunch" and "The Cafe Pantry"--which includes several pages of staple recipes, like chicken, beef, veal and fish stock, vinaigrette, clarified butter, crème fraiche, crème Anglaise and, for cooks who prefer everything from scratch, pizza dough.

Unfortunately, for specifics, one must skip to the second contents, which follows a 3-page introduction. Only there are the recipes listed. Alas, these are not in order of appearance, but in the order they would be served. To complicate matters further, the detailed contents are arranged alphabetically by CITY, and only then under the name of the originating café.

Thus, Atlanta appears first, but none of the 10 recipes from the Indigo Coastal Grill can be found near any of its others. Indigo's opening Oriental Oysters course is on page 59, the main course Red Snapper in Melon Sauce lands on page 182 and the Poppyseed Parfait with Blueberry Coulis on page 190 (and to top it off, the page number is mistaken).

Serious cooks and novices alike might enjoy these recipes. Most look fairly simple and quick.

The arrangement, however--though from premiere American cafés like Clancy's and Napoleon House in New Orleans, Washington Square in San Francisco, Café Guadeloupe in Santa Fe and Monique's in Chicago--is definitely frustrating.

Thank heavens for indexes.

--Alyssa A. Lappen