St. Louis Blog

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Julia-schmulia. Here's St. Louis' cookbook star.

​By now, everybody knows all about Julie & Julia, even those who have no intention of seeing the movie. (A theory on the ridiculous amount of media coverage: Nora Ephron's got the goods on every movie and food writer in New York.) Gut Check, however, would be remiss if we did not point out a link to St. Louis.

That would be a brief but memorable scene in which Julia Child gets to meet her cookbook idol, "Mrs. Joy," better known as Irma Rombauer. Rombauer, played by Frances Sternhagen with a wonderfully flat Midwestern accent (which contrasts nicely with Meryl Streep's Juuuuulia-ness), tells Julia and her two co-authors, Simone Beck and Louisette Bertholle, how she got screwed over by her publisher and did not earn close to what she deserved for her seminal book The Joy of Cooking.

That's not the half of it.

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Reichl in her office at Gourmet in New York.

Mark your calendars: Ruth Reichl, former restaurant critic for The New York Times, current editor of Gourmet and super-lovable food memoirist, will be appearing at Left Bank Books on October 8. Since she no longer needs to be an expert in clandestine operations to do her job, it's unlikely she will be wearing one of her famous wigs, but one can hope.

Reichl's latest book, Not Becoming My Mother: and Other Things She Taught Me Along the Way, came out in April. Gourmet Today: More than 1000 All-New Recipes for the Contemporary Kitchen, which she edited, will be published in September.

Michael Pollan, author of the seminal books The Omnivore's Dilemma and In Defense of Food, is speaking and signing books this evening at St. Louis County Library headquarters (1640 South Lindbergh Boulevard). Doors open at 6 p.m., the program begins at 7. On his Twitter feed, STL Bites' Bill Burge reports that a crowd of at least 400 is expected, so you'll want to arrive early.

No word on whether Pollan will sign body parts -- bring a copy of one of his books, just in case.

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Now here's something you don't see every day: A nationally released cookbook by a celebrity chef with a direct St. Louis connection. Burger Bar: Build Your Own Ultimate Burgers is based on Hubert Keller's Burger Bar, which has locations at Lumière Place (999 North 2nd Street; Web site) as well as in Las Vegas and San Francisco. Keller and cookbook author Penelope Wisner collaborated on the cookbook. The publication date is May 4, but Amazon, at least, is shipping it now.

I received an advance copy of the cookbook, a relatively slim volume (168 pages) with large type and many color photos. I especially love the dedication: "To whomever hungers for the ultimate burger."

How many different ways are there to cook a burger, you ask? Well, Keller and Wisner offer recipes for beef burgers, of course, as well as bison, lamb, chicken, turkey and even ostrich burgers. There are also sections for vegetarian burgers, sides, sauces and desserts.

Though I haven't read closely enough to offer a review, per se, I can tell you that at least one recipe is nothing but filler. How does Hubert Keller make a root-beer float? He pours half a bottle of root beer into a glass, adds two scoops of vanilla ice cream and then pours in the rest of the root beer.

Did I mention that the cover price is $22.95?

One other thing I noticed: The recipe for Keller's famous "Fleur Burger," a patty made with American Kobe beef topped with seared foie gras and black truffles omits the foie gras.

Check out my review of the Burger Bar (including the "Rossini Burger," which is more or less the same as the "Fleur") from March of last year.

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Stunning news from the struggling publishing industry, via Eat Me Daily: Jason Day and Aaron Chronister, who run the Web site BBQ Addicts, signed a six-figure book deal with Scribner. Day and Chronister were responsible for popularizing -- though not necessarily creating -- the Bacon Explosion, a gut-busting dish that involves rolling sausage and cooked bacon inside a lattice of raw bacon. Even more remarkably, according to the Pitch, our sister paper in Kansas City, the cookbook won't even feature the dish that made them an Internet sensation. Owen Morris nabbed this quote from Chronister:

"Everybody knows that one. We want to share our own unique recipes... we're still putting them together and deciding what to do."

But I don't think anyone has summed this up better than another Pitch writer, Peter Rugg:

Again, that's more money than most of us make in years of work to make America's asses even fatter.

Just learned that noted chef Rick Bayless (Chicago restaurants Topolobampo and Frontera Grill, the PBS show Mexico -- One Plate at a Time with Rick Bayless and numerous cookbooks) will be haivng a book signing Saturday, March 14, at 3 p.m. at the center court of Plaza Frontenac. You can purchase copies of his cookbook Mexican Everyday at the signing.

As part of the Year-End Bonanza, here are some Christmas* gift ideas for the foodie in your life. These are personal favorites, and these posts in no way imply an official RFT endorsement. The makers of these products didn't pay for my "endorsement," either.

The Alinea Cookbook

Even if I restrict the target demographic to hard-core foodies, the cookbook for Grant Achatz's celebrated Chicago restaurant Alinea isn't for everyone. If you judge a cookbook by its practical value -- how many good meals can this add to my rotation? -- this one probably won't meet your standard. And if you're shopping on a budget, the $50 price tag might seem extravagant.

(Amazon has it for $31.50, but to receive it by Christmas, you have to pay for two-day shipping.)

But if price and "practicality" are of no concern, then I can imagine few more remarkable gifts for the gourmand in your life.

Sorry for the short notice, but I learned this moments ago: Author Michael Pollan (The Omnivore's Dilemma, In Defense of Food) will be honored with the Washington University International Humanities Prize today at 4:30 p.m.

The ceremony is at Graham Chapel. Afterward there will be refreshments and an opportunity for you to have books signed.

- Ian Froeb

Left Bank Books is hosting renowned chef and author Jacques Pepin at COCA (524 Trinity Avenue) on Wednesday, October 15, at 7 p.m. According to the Left Bank Web site, you can receive two tickets to the event by purchasing Pepin's new book, More Fast Food My Way, at the store.

- Ian Froeb

Author and cooking instructor Raghavan Iyer takes an appetizingly broad view of curry, describing it as "any dish that consists of either meat, fish, poultry, legumes, vegetables or fruits, simmered in or covered with a sauce, gravy or other liquid that is redolent with any number of freshly ground and very fragrant spices and/or herbs."

Next Tuesday, September 16, from 6 to 8:30 p.m., Iyer will suit the action to the word with a 45-minute cooking demonstration at Kitchen Conservatory (8021 Clayton Rd., Richmond Heights; 314-862-2665). He'll also sign his latest book, 660 Curries: The Gateway to Indian Cooking.