Eat Me: The Food and Philosophy of Kenny Shopsin: A Cookbook

"Pancakes are a luxury, like smoking marijuana or having sex. That's why I came up with the names Ho Cakes and Slutty Cakes. These are extra decadent, but in a way, every pancake is a Ho Cake." Thus speaks Kenny Shopsin, legendary (and legendarily eccentric, ill-tempered, and lovable) chef and owner of the Greenwich Village restaurant (and institution), Shopsin's, which has been in existence since 1971.

Kenny has finally put together his 900-plus-item menu and his unique philosophy--imagine Elizabeth David crossed with Richard Pryor--to create Eat Me, the most profound and profane cookbook you'll ever read. His rants--on everything from how the customer is not always right to the art of griddling; from how to run a small, ethical, and humane business to how we all should learn to cook in a Goodnight Moon world where everything you need is already in your own home and head--will leave you stunned or laughing or hungry. Or all of the above.

With more than 120 recipes including such perfect comfort foods as High School Hot Turkey Sandwiches, Cuban Bean Polenta Melt, and Cornmeal-Fried Green Tomatoes with Comeback Sauce, plus the best soups, egg dishes, and hamburgers you've ever eaten, Eat Me is White Trash Cooking for the twenty-first century, as unforgettable and mind-boggling as its author.

Publisher: Knopf Publishing Group
Published: 09/23/2008
Pages: 288
Weight: 2.05lbs
Size: 9.10h x 6.90w x 1.00d
ISBN: 9780307264930


Review Citation(s):
Publishers Weekly 07/21/2008 pg. 155
Booklist 09/01/2008 pg. 22
Entertainment Weekly 10/10/2008 pg. 75
Publishers Weekly Best Books 11/03/2008 pg. 31
New York Times Book Review 12/07/2008 pg. 16

About the Author
Kenny Shopsin is a self-taught chef who has developed his own inimitable style: he colors outside of the lines and then uses the crayons in his pancakes. He lives in Greenwich Village.

Carolynn Carreño is a James Beard Award-winning journalist and the coauthor of 100 Ways to Be Pasta, Once Upon a Tart, and A Twist of the Wrist. She lives in Los Angeles and New York.