Riverbend Books at Balmoral, plus German cooking

Probably, Riverbend is the best bookshop in town. Folio Books and The American Bookstore in the city are also great, but I would put Riverbend ahead of those two because of its accessibilty, its teahouse and sushi bar double life, its position at the forefront of what's hip and happening in books, and its commitment to extras like live music, readings and so on.


Especially, Riverbend has great cookbooks, and books on cooking. There is a book out called Eating For England that I really want to buy: it is filled with funny anecdotes and information about those quintessential British foods and dishes like spotted dick and Cadbury Flake bars. I want.

The other book that I bought today is called Culinaria Germany. It's one of a series that also includes Russia and Hungary. I had to get it, because it's not often you see a giant cookbook busting its seams with information about German food and cooking.

I don't really know much about German cooking. My knowledge is confined to a few thematic cooking moments at home, a visit to the Black Forest German Cafe-Restaurant at West End for Oktoberfest last year, and a fleeting 3-day visit in 2004 to see my friend and her family, who live in the shipbuilding town of Papenburg in Lower Saxony. (We also visited the Becks factory in Bremen: what an afternoon that was!)

My friend's mother made us a special meal: I don't remember much except the spatzle and the rich cakey dessert. Breakfast was a platter of cold meats, soft dark bread, smooth mild cheeses like emmenthal and gruyere, and lots of hot milky coffee.
This book is seriously huge: it will take me a week to get through it. I'm so excited, I can't wait, and I really hope I learn some interesting and exciting things that will lure me away from my constant obsession with French cooking.