Foreword by Alice Waters
In honor of its twenty-fifth anniversary comes this full-color
culinary celebration of Il Buco, one of New York City's most beloved
restaurants, featuring more than 80 mouthwatering recipes and detailing
the romantic origins of the restaurant's philosophy of sourcing the best
prime materials, including olive oil, salt, vinegar and all that make
the Mediterranean way of life so alluring.
"This book holds the succulent substance of Il Buco's history, which
has always been guided by Donna's acute intuition. Through these pages,
we travel around the Mediterranean, from the vineyards of Umbria to the
salt flats of Sicily, visiting the farmers, artisans, and winemakers in
their element. And then we return to Bond Street, stories and recipes in
hand, to celebrate life and everything possible at the melting edge of
sizzling pans and the heart of Italy."--Francis Mallmann
In New York City, restaurants, even very good ones, come and go. But
there are a very small number of establishments that take root and
continue to flourish, where food, wine, atmosphere, history, and all the
makers behind the scenes come together in a unique alchemy to create an
experience. Il Buco is such a place. For over 25 years, Donna Lennard
has presided over an international--and ever growing--family of
artisans, farmers, winemakers, chefs and regulars from her outpost on
Bond Street in the heart of New York City. Since 1994, Il Buco has
withstood the test of time.
In Il Buco, written with Joshua David Stein, Donna shares her
incredible journey from antique shop owner to award-winning restaurateur
and taste-maker. She reflects on the iconic ingredient-driven,
farm-to-table Italian cooking that seduced palates and earned the
loyalty of notoriously discriminating New York diners. Donna also
expounds upon the essential elements of good eating and good living she
learned over the restaurant's nearly three-decade history. Both a
cookbook and a deeply personal journey through the places and with the
people who have influenced the restaurant's ethos the most, Il Buco
includes the beloved best-of dishes from the kitchen's roster of
now-famous chefs: Ignacio Mattos's Black Kale Salad, Justin Smillie's
Bucatini Cacio e Pepe, and Sara Jenkins's Porchetta alla Romana, to name
a few. It also includes profiles of the artisans whose craftsmanship
evokes the warm Mediterranean patinas that have enhanced the
restaurants' atmosphere over the years.
Donna has dedicated her life to identifying, cultivating, and
celebrating the essential ingredients of a beautiful life well-lived. Il
Buco isn't just a place, it's a feeling--of warmth, of home, of ease, of
love--and Il Buco allows any home cook to experience some of the
restaurant's beautiful and inviting magic, creating sumptuous easy meals
to enjoy at his or her own table. Accompanying the mouthwatering recipes
and gorgeous photography are Donna's insights on what it truly means to
live well and to eat well and tributes to food producers in Spain,
Italy, France and other parts of the world, including dedicated chapters
on the building blocks to a perfect meal: salt, olive oil, wine, and
salumi, among others.
Il Buco is a very personal exploration of what makes the heart of a
restaurant and a lifestyle: a celebration of a true New York success
story. It is a book about learning to listen to what pleases us, and a
reminder of just how wide, wonderful, and flavorful the world is.
Il Buco Locations:
Il Buco (47 Bond Street, NYC 10012)
Il Buco Alimentari & Vineria (53 Great Jones Street, NYC 10012)
Il Buco Vita (4 East 2nd Street, NYC 10003)
Il Buco (Ibiza, Spain)
