Eat Me: The Food and Philosophy of Kenny Shopsin

Those of you who expect this to be just another cookbook will be disappointed. I think that to truly understand this book, you have to watch "I Like Killing Flies" to get the humor, wit and fun. Otherwise, you'll end up thinking that Kenny Shopsin's just a rude, crude person who happens to know people in the publishing industry. Fans of " I Like Killing Flies" will get a better understanding of Kenny Shopsin's philosophy and viewpoint. After reading the book, I think that in the end, Kenny wants to make the world a better place through food in his own unique, foul-mouthed way.

Written in almost a stream-of-consciousness fashion, the book is very easy to read. It's a lot of fun to read about how some of dishes on Shopsin's extensive menu originated. Some of the tips in the book are very useful, eg. how to cook various styles of eggs properly. Most of all, I enjoy being knowing more about Kenny Shopsin and his family. I just hope that I'm lucky enough to be allowed in his restaurant if I happen to be in the area :)

I've already cooked several recipes and it's a great cookbook.....just reading it though is a pleasue, since it's almost half memoir. Google the New Yorker article that is used as an introduction and read that....if you liked that, you like the book.

I'm a long-time customer of Shopsin's. This book is very special to me. For those who eat at Shopsin's, it's a little piece of the restaurant to have in your home, and to those who have never been there, it's a window into that that world. The cookbook part of it is wonderful. I've cooked a bunch of recipes so far -- they're easy and they turn out great. Kenny also has some very helpful advice on how to stock your kitchen in ways that whenever you need to make dinner, you can grab a few items and whip up something quick. I'm one of those people who buys stuff for one recipe, then the excess eventually goes bad, and then my freezer, fridge and pantry lay empty for months while I do take out. This has helped end that! Thank you Kenny! I think anybody will dig this book -- if you don't believe me, leaf through a copy in your local bookstore and you'll be hooked.

The title says it all.

Kenny Shopsin is profane, hard on customers, full of big ideas that are as important to him as anything he'll put on your plate.

If your idea of a restaurant is a place where "the customer is always right," do yourself a favor and stop reading right here.

But if you like a combative good time, an original mind and some amazingly simple recipes for home-cooked classics, you might inch a bit closer to the screen and pay close attention to this unusual cookbook.

First, the facts: Shopsin's is a New York institution. Kenny Shopsin and his late wife Eve started it as a Greenwich Village market before turning it --- without much in the way of redecoration --- into a 40-seat restaurant. It's now moved to the Essex Street Market, in a more pristine space with just 20 seats, more constrained hours and a menu trimmed from its former 900 items.

Now for some consumer warnings...

Kenny Shopsin on Customer Relations
Sometimes my mind works a bit too fast, and I come to the conclusion of a relationship with customers faster than they get there. The abruptness of my understanding the essence of what's happening is really upsetting to them and makes them vindictive and angry.

Kennedy Shopsin on Publicity
[to a New York magazine photographer who asked to take his picture] Get [REDACTED] out of here! What? [REDACTED] [Sound effect: Shopsin slamming the door.]

Kenny Shopsin on his huge menu, revised daily
I spent almost $3,000 on toner in the last three months.

Kenny Shopsin on what makes his restaurant special
The brilliance of my restaurant is my ability to control my clientele. The thing that makes my restaurant special is my relationships and interactions with my customers --- and the way they relate and interact with one another. With the wrong people here, those interactions don't happen, so...I probably axe at least one party every day --- and usually more than that.

Kenny Shopsin on what's in it for you
Once we've established a rapport, my customers and I are absolute equals in my restaurant. But I guess I shouldn't expect newcomers to understand this. In all fairness, they're right and I'm the [REDACTED], because my way is hardly the traditional you-give-me-the-money-I-give-you-a-bagel. I want more from them. I want a relationship.

But you get the idea. Underneath the crusty exterior beats a loving hippie heart. And a totally committed owner --- there is no other cook. And were you to order, say, one of the 300 soups, Shopsin would make it right then and there. No steam table here... ever.

So don't be fooled by the signs that say, in so many words, GO AWAY. Play by the key rule: No two people at one table can order the same thing. [It bores Kenny.] Do remember that a waitress once poured soup over the head of an annoying customer --- and that Kenny took her side. And, finally, do know you can make his food at home.

This food is international home cooking. Even the eggs and the pancakes can be had in surprising combinations. But it's the soups where Shopsin really shines. Chicken Tortilla Avocado. Brazilian Chicken Garlic Rice. And then chili, made punchier with coffee. An egg, rice and bean mixture called Blisters on My Sisters. A simple Bolognese, tricked up with chili.

Three of his five children work with Kenny. The book was designed by Kenny's daughter Tamara and photographed by Kenny's son-in-law, Jason Fulford. So it's no surprise that, six days a week, Kenny Shopsin wakes up eager to see his kids, engage his customers and, as an aside, cook.

Kenny Shopsin is, in short, a very happy man. Between the recipes and the philosophy, his very useful book can make you happy. You don't think so? To quote the maestro: [REDACTED].

This is a great book. It is one of the few cookbooks I've read through page by page. I enjoy his stories and his matter of fact attitude.

The recipes are interesting and his shortcuts are a crack up. Do yourself a favor and buy it. You will enjoy it.