Author(s): Salvatore Scognamillo
Publisher: Clarkson Potter
Publication Date: 2002-06-04
Pages: 224
Review: I love this book. If you love classic Italian cuisine and have a connection to the ring-a-ding-ding dining choices of Ol’ Blue Eyes, this is perfect for you. The food is delicious, the stories are a blast and it all combines to make a delightful package. Make sure you stop by when in NYC to get Chef Sal to personalize it. Killer sauce (or gravy!).I grew up in NY, but had never heard of Patsy’s. Last week I was in New York for a meeting and was staying on 58th street. I randomly wandered over to Patsy’s and was drawn in by the articles in the window and the wall of autographed pictures. Since I was dining alone, I asked if I could borrow a copy of this book to look over. The book is great as a cookbook. The recipes seem easy to follow and have few ingredients that are all easy to come by. But the real fun of the book are the anecdotes between recipes. My favorite was the one about the time Frank allowed someone else to pick up the bill… only for their credit card to get denied. Just wait until you find out who it was… you’ll laugh out loud like I did in the middle of the restaurant.I must agree with Bill Gallagher’s comments that this book reads more like a promotion of the restaurant than a cookbook of substance. There are a lot of trademark recipes like lobster fra diavolo, chicken cacciatola, steak pizzaiola etc that are either not mentioned, or given a “simplified” treatment by stating “Buy a bottle of our … sauce and follow this”. I don’t think even Alain Ducasse or Joel Roucheon guard their signature dishes that tightly in their cookbooks.
I found that fellow New York Italian-American restaurant and personal cookbooks from Rao’s (Rao’s Recipes from the Neighborhood: Frank Pelligrino Cooks Italian with Family and Friends, and Rao’s Cookbook: Over 100 Years of Italian Home Cooking) have a much more complete coverage including all the red sauce recipes, many of which I couldn’t find in this book, and with a more detailed disclosure of seasonings.I bought this book on the strength of the many reviews that praised it. After reading it, however, I felt like I had just read a paid advertisement. At first, the references to Sinatra held a certain fascination and made me feel like an “insider.” However, page after page of cloyingly sweet testimonials, written in a style that makes one feel that you are reading PR instead of candid comments, leaves a bad taste. There are also repetitious references to the original Patsy, in his grey waiter’s suit, refilling bread baskets. Patsy sounded genuine, but I’m not so sure about his successors. By the end of the book, all of this mushy testament, perhaps unfairly, detracted from the interest in the recipes. I was left with the impression that this was a place that was treading on past glories and I decided to see what others had to say. I looked at the customer reviews on the web for those who had recently dined at Patsy’s and at least half of the reviews (from non-celebrities) reflected rude service from the front desk and serving staff and premium prices. There are some interesting recipes in this book but I just can’t help thinking that Patsy’s shot themselves in the foot with the way this book is written. I like to read cookbooks, particularly those with a story to tell, but I couldn’t wait to put this one away.The book had a torn page in it, but I really didn’t like the book and would have kept it if not for the torn page. It had some recipes that were of interest, but overall didn’t like the book.
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