Cheesecake

(Hardback)

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Description

From New York Times-bestselling author Mark Kurlansky, a delectable novel following an ancient recipe for cheesecake as it spreads through the Upper West sidefrom the restaurant of a conniving landlord to the kitchens of the old-school New Yorkers hes trying to force outand to the parties, feasts, and apartments theyre not willing to give up that easily.

The Katsikases have found a home in New York. A Greek cheesemaking family who immigrated in hopes of opening a restaurant, theyve found the perfect storefront on the up-and-coming Upper West Side. They decide to call it The Katz Brothers. (Close enough, they think.) The diner becomes a neighborhood favoriteuntil Art Katsikas begins buying up all the real estate he can, forcing out their old regulars and scheming to replace the neighborhoods strudel shops and artists with ritzy boutiques and the nouveau riche.

Meanwhile, at The Katz Brothers, the Katsikases rush to prepare for this new clientele by introducing a new modern classical cuisine, changing the diners name to Mykonos, and deciding to serve Catos Cheesecake, an ancient Roman recipe known to be the oldest ever found. Sure enough, the enigmatic recipe is a hit, even minted by the New York Times restaurant critic. Soon the cheesecake is all over the Upper West Side, and wild interpretations of Catos vision appear at the parties, feasts, and bakeries of old New Yorkers struggling to keep their withering community alive. Sometimes laced with green M&Ms, sometimes with sage and spite, the cheesecake becomes a herald of change as the Upper West Sideand New Yorks food sceneare transformed for good.

Reviews

Mark Kurlansky is among our most intelligent, prolific and literate writers about food. * Mark Bittman, The New York Times *
Mr. Kurlansky is a veteran writer . . . He has come to be known for his ability to weave history, philosophy and personal experience into compelling narratives . . . Often marvelous. * Wall Street Journal on THE UNREASONABLE VIRTUE OF FLY FISHING *
The sort of book that Proust might have written had Proust become distracted by the madeleine . . . you step away from this book with a new vantage on history. * New York Times Book Review, Editors' Choice, on MILK! *
Elegant . . . related with vast brio and wit. * Los Angeles Times on COD *
Magnificent . . . a towering achievement. * Associated Press on THE BIG OYSTER *

Author Bio

Mark Kurlansky is the New York Times bestselling author of Milk!, Havana, Paper, The Big Oyster, 1968, Salt, The Basque History of the World, Cod, and Salmon, among other titles. His most recent book, The Core of an Onion, was published by Bloomsbury in 2023. He has received the Dayton Literary Peace Prize, Bon Apptit's Food Writer of the Year Award, the James Beard Award, and the Glenfiddich Award. He is a regular contributor to the Los Angeles Times and frequently contributes to the New York Times and the London Guardian. A four-time Jeopardy clue, he lives in New York City.