Mission Chinese Food & ZUNI CAFE COOKBOOK reviews
There are cookbooks, and there are story books. It is a gift to the reader when the two genres effortlessly intersect. The books become well told histories of life, sustenance, and revelations regarding how the authors acquire their well-deserved spots in the world of food.
The first two books I chose to review were written by chefs and restaurateurs who did a marvelous job of facilitating the connection between cooking and culture for diners. As a home cooking enthusiast, I am grateful to them for sharing their well-seasoned stories and enticing recipes. Danny Bowien and Judy Rodgers have distinct voices and culinary points of view. Captivating narratives give us a front row seat to their compelling experiences and winding forays into and within the restaurant industry. The resulting recipes are crave-worthy, restaurant style dishes that can be made at home or enjoyed at Book Club over the next couple months.
The Mission Chinese Food Cookbook
Authored by Chef Danny Bowien and Chris Ying, forwards by Anthony Bourdain and David Chang
Focus: Chinese Cooking
Published in 2015 by Harper Collins
Page count: 336
Do photos accompany recipes: Some have related color images but not all
Are required tools and ingredients listed for recipes? Yes
Restaurant address: 2234 Mission St, San Francisco, CA 94110
Ramen Noodles with Pressure-Cooked Lamb in Numbing Broth
The recipes created by Chef Bowien are grouped with color photographs and life stories. This cookbook is written diary-style and depicts in great detail his accelerated rise in the food universe, from the cult-like adoration of the simple and unadorned Mission Chinese Food pop-up in San Francisco, through the ups and downs of his professional and personal adversities and triumphs. Chef Bowien writes with an unreserved honesty that draws you in and makes you want to keep reading. In the beginning of the cookbook writing process there was one Mission Chinese Food Restaurant in San Francisco. Over the next three years a second location opened in New York, then it closed, re-opened, and eventually closed for the final time. The San Francisco location remains open today and is still wildly popular. The recipes reflect what was occurring in real time during the writing process and several of them remain on the San Francisco restaurant menu today. Danny’s list of accomplishments is long and includes: recognition of Mission Chinese Food by Bon Appetit Magazine as one of the Second-best new restaurants in America in 2011, Food and Wine named him one of the country’s best new chefs in 2013 and that same year he was awarded the Rising Star Chef Award by the James Beard Foundation. The NYT tagged Mission Chinese Food as the best new restaurant in New York City in 2012. The book contains conversations between Danny and several well-known chefs that have been influential in his life. His co-author is Chris Ying. Chris is has a lengthy background in food and publishing. He is a masterful conversationalist who knows how to ask engaging and thought-provoking questions, and does so throughout the book. I listen to him regularly on The Dave Chang Show (podcast).
Recipe cooked: Ramen Noodles with Pressure-Cooked Lamb in Numbing Broth. Ramen is something I make at home on occasion but this is the first time that I used lamb in the dish. The numbing characteristic in the broth comes from the ground Sichuan pepper. The recipe calls for the addition of warm spices like star anise, ginger, cinnamon sticks and more. We loved this recipe and will definitely make it again.
If you want to delve into the world of Chinese cooking, this is the book for you.
THE ZUNI CAFE COOKBOOK: A COMPENDIUM of RECIPES & COOKING LESSONS from SAN FRANCISCO’S BELOVED RESTAURANT
Authored by: Judy Rodgers
Focus: Western US Cooking (with Italian and French influences)
Published in 2002 by W.W. Norton & Company, Inc
Page Count: 504
Do photos accompany recipes? Most of the recipes do not have an accompanying photo. The book contains a total of 24 color images and 50 black and white images, some pertaining to instructional steps. This cookbook style may feel intimidating to some. I believe the organizational method that Judy used to write this book will give the home cook the confidence to forge ahead, instilling faith in their abilities to conquer the recipes without needing a vision of what the outcome should look like. The recipes are very well written, and the instructions are clear and straightforward.
Are required tools and ingredients listed? Yes, along with substitution recommendations where necessary.
Restaurant Address: 1658 Mission St, San Francisco, CA 94102
Judy was referred to in a NYT article as the chef of refined simplicity and THE ZUNI CAFE COOKBOOK is reflective of that designation. It is aptly described on the cover as a “Compendium of Recipes and Cooking Lessons from San Francisco’s Beloved Restaurant”. Throughout the book, Judy emphasizes the importance of using locally sourced, fresh ingredients whenever possible. Cooking with the seasons is a common theme and she emphasizes that no ingredient is at its peak year-round, so the knowledge of what to use and when is crucial. She offers wine notes with many of the recipes which I found helpful as those pairings are such an important part of the meal and it’s not information that is generally known by home cooks, myself included. The book begins with Judy describing her first exposure to restaurant cooking at the age of 16 when she was an exchange student visiting the kitchen of a Michelin starred chef in France. She continues on after those first experiences with stints in Italy and CA, landing her a fortuitous placement cooking with Alice Waters at Chez Panisse, located in Berkeley and finally, with the start of her job as chef at Zuni Café in 1987. This book is filled with helpful cooking tips. I felt like I gleaned a new piece of cooking knowledge with every recipe that I read, and her style of writing is easy to digest and immersive. Judy’s list of accomplishments is long and includes: James Beard Foundation Cookbook of The Year, IACP Cookbook award, James Beard Foundation Outstanding Restaurant Award, James Beard Foundation Outstanding Chef Award. She was awarded Best Chef: California in 2000. Sadly, Judy passed away in 2013. Her recipes and her vision of what cooking should be live on in this cookbook and through The Zuni Cafe Restaurant.
Recipe cooked: Zuni Roast Chicken with Bread Salad. This recipe called for salting the whole chicken and refrigerating it for a day before cooking. During the cooking process, the chicken is roasted at high heat and turned over twice. The result was an incredibly moist chicken. The skin was a gorgeous golden-brown color, it was so crispy and so full of flavor. The bread salad was the perfect accompaniment. This recipe has maintained its esteemed reputation over time. It remains on the Zuni Café restaurant menu to this day. Additionally, I found it on several food websites including NYT cooking, Food & Wine, and Bon Appetit Magazine (most recently on the back page of the March 2023 issue).
Mission Chinese Food and Zuni Café are located in San Francisco and both of these restaurants are on my gastronomic travel radar.
Book Club thought questions for the reader:
How often do you embark on travel inspired by food or books?
Does food take on an elevated importance for you when know the history of its origin?
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Do you have a list of “go-to” cookbooks and recipes in your kitchen?
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Coming soon to the Book Club menu: dishes inspired by these cookbooks.
About Lisa Patrin
Book Club Restaurant, guest cookbook review blogger
Lisa Patrin is a Minnesota based recipe creator, food writer, and global traveler. She is the author of The Empty Nesters Kitchen blog and the recently released Eat Your Words puzzle book: 125 Food & Beverage Themed Puzzles for Hungry Minds. She is passionate about bringing attention to important sustainability and food justice issues and she strives to promote and support local restaurants, farmers, and food producers. Lisa is an avid cookbook collector and looks forward to taking Book Club blog followers on inspiring journeys into the exciting and diverse world of global cuisines & food cultures via her cookbook reviews.
You can follow Lisa's blog at emptynesterskitchen.com You can also stay connected to Lisa's local and global food & travel experiences on Twitter and Facebook at The Empty Nesters Kitchen and via Instagram @emptynesterskitchen and @emptynesterskitchentravels