Dinner at Omar Khayyam's

"DINNER AT OMAR KHAYYAM'S"
Chef George Mardikian, 1944

The previous post made me think about a growing genre of cookbook collecting -- restaurant cookbooks. A number of chefs of famous restaurants haven given up some of their best recipes in recipe collections and cookbooks.

Here I've chosen another San Francisco restaurant, long gone, called Omar Khayyam's; an Armenian restaurant featuring exotic flavors of the Middle East with nods to American cooking and local produce and seafood.

Mardikian writes in an affable style and recounts his story of immigrating to America. His cooking favors the fresh and simple, avoiding heavy sauces and complex recipes; "Broiled Trout and Lemon Dressing with Piaz" (Piaz is a parsley and onion mixture) , a raw spinach salad called "Immigrant's Pack Salad", and  "Bean Yahni" (lima bean or soy bean stew") to name a few.  Recipes are preceded by informative tips and tales of the recipes origin.

William Saroyan writes in the intro:"...more than just a cookbook. It is the smiling chef himself".

[buy it "Dinner at Omar Khayyam's"at OldCookbooks.com]