restaurants Archives - Carma's Cookery

This collection of more than 100 recipes comes from the Al Tiramisu Restaurant in the heart of Washington, DC. This award-winning restaurant is thought of like “taking a trip to Italy without leaving the country.” Part cookbook, part Italian cooking primer and part memoir, this book offers you a slice of Chef Luigi Diotaiuti’s life and a taste of his birthplace in Italy.

Summary of The Al Tiramisu Restaurant Cookbook

The chapters follow a logical progression through Diotaiuti’s professional and personal life. Within each chapter, recipes are organized by Appetizers (Antipasti), First Courses (Primi), Second Courses (Second), Sides and Salads (Contorni e Insalate) and Desserts (Dolci). Tips for Italian cooking and wine suggestions follow every recipe. Preceding each recipe is an introduction from Diotaiuti sharing his personal thoughts on the recipe. There are plenty of full-color photographs of the recipes and from Diotaiuti’ life.

Pick up your copy on Amazon.com here.

What Worked for Me

This book uses a nice big font, which makes it, easier to read while preparing a dish. Diotaiuti’s notes for each recipe are fun and interesting to read. The Italian Cooking Primers at the end of each recipe help explain techniques and give you alternatives for ingredients. At the back of the book there is a “Where to Buy” guide and a glossary of terms.

What Didn’t Work for Me

If I had been editing the book, I would have recommended that all the memoir parts be placed at the beginning and have the recipes organized together at the end. Having all five categories of recipe repeated through out makes the book less perusable for recipes. Yes, you can use the index, but that only works when you know what you’re looking for.

What I’d Love to See in the Second Edition

Although the content is good, the printing and design don’t live up to it. I would love to see a second edition that added a little more finesse to the design and used a better printer.

Recommendation

If you enjoy cooking authentic Italian cuisine, this book will make a good addition to your collection.

Rating for The Al Tiramisu Restaurant Cookbook: 3 out of 5

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Specs

Full Title: The Al Tiramisu Restaurant Cookbook: An Elevated Approach to Authentic Italian Cuisine
Author: Luigi Diotaiuti
Paperback: 410 pages
Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform
ISBN-10: 1491205326
ISBN-13: 978-1491205327

Pick up your copy on Amazon.com here.

NOTE: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. If you’ve read past book reviews, you’ll know that I don’t pull my punches when I believe they are warranted. I also try to provide balanced information so you can make your own decision to read or not read the book, even if you disagree with my opinion.

When visiting a new city, or even just deciding where to go tonight in your own, it can be tough to make up your mind. Your decision may be made on the cuisine you’re in the mood for, the price range you want to pay or just that you want to go somewhere different tonight. The Yellow Pages were a great aid in making this decision in days gone by, but few people keep these tomes around. So what are you to do? If you’re in Portland, I suggest you pick up a copy of Doug Pitassi’s 15 Best Restaurants in Portland.

NOTE: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for writing a review on this blog. Also, links to purchase this book go through my Amazon Associate links, so if you purchase the book using these links I will receive a small percentage of the sale as compensation.

SUMMARY
The book’s title pretty much says it all: This slim book provides a list with descriptions of what Doug Pitassi believes are the 15 best restaurants in Portland, Oregon. Given that he’s lived there since 2013, he probably has a good idea of which ones those might be.

WHAT WORKED FOR ME
This book is a very quick read. The language is simple enough that pretty much anyone can glean the information they need from it in an expeditious manner.

The introduction gives you a nice overview of Portland and why it might be a decent culinary destination.

Each chapter provides a summary of what to expect of the restaurant in question, some suggestions of what to order there, and website links for more information. Some chapters also include operating hours.

WHAT DIDN’T WORK FOR ME
This book could use a good editor. There were several typos and font size often changed between chapters. But worst of all, the writing style came off more like a commercial for each restaurant than an honest review. There were times I felt like I was reading a script of one of those thinly veiled travel shows that are really infomercials for travel locations.

RECOMMENDATION
If you can overlook the few flaws of this book, you will find that it is a decent resource for choosing a good place to eat while staying (or living) in Portland. And, since it is priced quite modestly — less than $6 for the paperback as of this writing — it is worth the small investment if Portland dining is in your future.

RATING

I give this book three out of five chefs because it can be a useful guide, however it has flaws that keep it from being a must-have book.

SPECS
Format: 6 x 9 inches, Paperback, 52 pages
Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform (October 1, 2015)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1517627850
ISBN-13: 978-1517627850

Pick up your copy on Amazon.com here.

Video Review

Rather listen to or watch this review? Check this out!