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12/07/2005 Archived Entry: "A Holiday Offer"

I, who always wait until the last minute to do any kind of necessary shopping – like for gifts, or a new suit for a special occasion -- went holiday and my niece’s birthday present shopping on Saturday, weeks before deadline. I was so proud of myself. I took an extremely pleasant walk down Atlantic Avenue in Brooklyn, where there are now, on the stretch between Flatbush Avenue and the BQE, young women’s wear designer boutiques (okay, I don’t exactly know what to call them), antique stores (as there have been for ages, except that they are much higher class these days), and a superior cookware store in A Cook’s Companion, which happens to be stocking autographed copies of Arthur Schwartz’s New York City Food and is amidst the old Middle Eastern stores that have been there for decades.

Cook’s Companion is only steps away from the Near East Bakery, which sells wonderful savory pastries (I like the meat pies, as opposed to the spinach, but there are others) as well as sweet pastries, and a few doors down from the famous Middle Eastern grocery, Sahadi, where I buy dried fruits and nuts, feta cheese, olives, and strained yogurt, among other things. Across the street are two other wonderful Middle Eastern shops, Malka Imports and Oriental Pastry. At Oriental, I scored some huge black prunes that I have now stewed with a little lemon juice and water.

Among the new shops on Atlantic, there is also a wonderful store called Artez’n (444 Atlantic, between Bond and Nevins) where crafts people sell their wares – among them jewelry, handbags and totes -- and a knitting store, Knit-A-Way (398 Atlantic, between Hoyt and Bond). I hear knitting is back in a big way. Maybe someone on your gift list would love some yarn. My cousin Erica can hardly have a conversation without a fork, a glass, or knitting needles in her hand.

I also ate a very nice Middle Eastern lunch at Waterfalls. There aren’t many Middle Eastern restaurants left on Atlantic Avenue, but there are several terrific new ones, including my favorite, Downtown Atlantic. Downtown Atlantic also has a retail bakery with the best – no exaggeration – cupcakes in the city, not to mention their divine – again, no exaggeration – chocolate banana cream tarts. Oy vay, I can feel myself getting fatter just writing about them.

Can I pitch myself as a Christmas gift?

Let me blurt it out: All of my books make very nice gifts. They range in price and scope from the modest $18 paperback, What To Cook When You Think There’s Nothing in the House to Eat, which I know by now is a handy book for college students and those starting out in life on their own, to my last book, Arthur Schwartz’s New York City Food: An opinionated history with legendary recipes, which, at $45 retail, is intended as a gift book. It’s big and glossy, an impressive package of contemporary color photos, old images from postcards and menus, and archival photos that will bring back the good old (even sometime bad old) days. It is more a reading book – I am told I am an amusing writer -- than an old-fashioned cookbook, but it does have more than 100 recipes. All of you who remember Ebinger’s will love my recipe for Brooklyn Blackout Cake. All of you who wax poetic about Schrafft’s cheese bread, or Child’s pancakes, or Horn & Hardart’s macaroni and cheese, even Eggs Benedict, Lobster Newburg, and Spaghetti Primavera, will want to read the stories behind them

“Arthur Schwartz’s New York City Food” was named by the International Association of Culinary Professionals – my peers, so it is like the Academy Award for cookbooks—as both the best book on an American subject and the best book of the year for 2004.

Between those two, there is Soup Suppers, a paperback with more than 100 main course soup recipes – really hearty bowls -- plus chapters on appetizer and salad accompaniments, and simple desserts. Then there is Naples at Table: Cooking in Campania, which remains the definitive book in English on the subject. “Naples at Table” has also won several awards, but I am proudest when a good Neapolitan home cook tells me I got it right. Indeed, just a few months ago, I and “Naples at Table” were honored by the Region of Campania, the Italy-America Chamber of Commerce, and the Naples Chamber of Commerce at a dinner in Manhattan – for my contribution to promoting the cuisine and culture of this great region and city.

All these books are still in print and any bookstore can stock them. Of course, that’s not the case. Many bookstores do not have them. The easiest and least expensive way to buy them is on Amazon.com or BarnesandNoble.com or ebooks.com (also called Jessica’s Biscuit). All these online booksellers discount books. For instance, the $45 “Arthur Schwartz’s New York City Food” retails for $27.90 on Amazon, with free shipping. The $16.95 retail “Soup Suppers” sells for $11.53 on Amazon, with free shipping if your total order is over $25. “Naples at Table” retails for $30.95, but is only $19.50 when bought through Amazon.com. BarnesandNoble.com and ebooks.com have similar deals.

I know many of you would like autographed copies of these books – for yourself or to give as a gift – but I can’t, unfortunately, be everywhere to sign books. However, I came up with a solution. While in Amalfi (that’s Italy) a few weeks ago, I bought some handmade Amalfi paper blank bookplates. I have put my red ink initial stamp on them (ARS in a circle) and I would be happy to send a personalized Amalfi paper bookplate to anyone who buys the book and sends me their receipt. Mail the receipt (from any bookstore or online seller) with the name of the person to whom the book is being given (even yourself) and I will send you a personalized bookplate that you can either slip into or glue into your book.

Send your receipts and requests to Arthur Schwartz and Associates, Suite 2C, 25 Plaza St. West, Brooklyn, NY 11217. I promise to mail out the bookplates (at my expense) as soon as I receive the requests. But if you want to have the bookplate before Christmas, you should do this by Dec. 20.

By the way, if you connect to Amazon.com through this website – by clicking on the name of the book in blue anywhere on the site (even in this diary item), or on the picture of the cover of NYC Food, or by clicking on the Amazon logo that appears at the bottom of every page – I will get a tiny commission for the sale. That would be your holiday gift to me. The commission will reimburse me for the cost of the bookplates and the postage to send them out. Thanks.

Wishing everyone a healthy and happy holiday season