Chris Bradley

Mike Cioffi

Sara B. Franklin

Just a few hours north of New York City, nestled in the picturesque Catskills, the Phoenicia Diner will take you back in time. It's a comforting respite that happens to serve the best pancakes you've ever had--and a damn good cup of coffee too. In their debut cookbook, the Diner shares their approachable, comforting dishes that have made them a must-stop in the region, from "All Day Breakfast" dishes like Twice-Baked Potato Skillet and K-Town Shrimp and Grits to elevated classics such as Roasted Chicken with Tarragon-Honey Glazed Carrots and Chile-Braised Lamb Tostadas. The recipes reflect the Diner's multifaceted culinary approach- a mix of all-American diner classics, and Catskills-specific items that highlight indigenous ingredients of the region and the cultural groups that have left their mark on the region (Jewish, Irish, and Dutch). The cookbook is also a celebration of the region and includes rich essays on the activities and culture of the area, culling from both its complex and fascinating history and the revival that defines it today. Most important, the food celebrates the long history of diners as cross-cultural scrambles of sorts, where hardworking cooks from all over the world have always worked the line side-by-side and left their culinary imprint. This is delicious, no-nonsense food. Whether you dish it up with a touch of salty service is up to you.

Dishes and Dispatches from the Heart of the Catskill Mountains

The Phoenicia Diner Cookbook

Edna Lewis (1916-2006) wrote some of America's most resonant, lyrical, and significant cookbooks, including the now classic The Taste of Country Cooking. Lewis cooked and wrote as a means to explore her memories of childhood on a farm in Freetown, Virginia, a community first founded by black families freed from slavery. With such observations as "we would gather wild honey from the hollow of oak trees to go with the hot biscuits and pick wild strawberries to go with the heavy cream," she commemorated the seasonal richness of southern food. After living many years in New York City, where she became a chef and a political activist, she returned to the South and continued to write. Her reputation as a trailblazer in the revival of regional cooking and as a progenitor of the farm-to-table movement continues to grow. In this first-ever critical appreciation of Lewis's work, food-world stars gather to reveal their own encounters with Edna Lewis. Together they penetrate the mythology around Lewis and illuminate her legacy for a new generation. The essayists are Annemarie Ahearn, Mashama Bailey, Scott Alves Barton, Patricia E. Clark, Nathalie Dupree, John T. Edge, Megan Elias, John T. Hill (who provides iconic photographs of Lewis), Vivian Howard, Lily Kelting, Francis Lam, Jane Lear, Deborah Madison, Kim Severson, Ruth Lewis Smith, Toni Tipton-Martin, Michael W. Twitty, Alice Waters, Kevin West, Susan Rebecca White, Caroline Randall Williams, and Joe Yonan. Editor Sara B. Franklin provides an illuminating introduction to Lewis, and the volume closes graciously with afterwords by Lewis's sister, Ruth Lewis Smith, and niece, Nina Williams-Mbengue.

At the Table with an American Original

Edna Lewis

Tradition, Treme, and the New Orleans Renaissance: Lolis Eric Elie interviewed by Sara B. Franklin (an article from Southern Cultures 18:2, Summer 2012: The Special Issue on Food)

Sara B. Franklin

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