Alfred Portale Simple Pleasures
Home Cooking from the GOTHAM BAR AND GRILL'S Acclaimed Chef

By Alfred Portale & Andrew Friedman

     Alfred Portale has put together a book full of delicious recipes, with great pictures of the foods in the recipes. These foods are available at the local food store/market and many of them take very little time to prepare. He gives detailed directions and proportions. He also gives some variations in case you have a different thing or complimentary ingredients in mind, but like the main part of the menu. In the different categories of the book he gives you ideas about Salads, Starters, Small Plates, Soups and Sandwiches, Pizzas, Pastas, Risotto, Main Courses, Accompaniments, Side Dishes, and Deserts. The photography is very detailed and stunning. This is a great coffee-table book as well as a recipe book, and it is from a very famous Chef from a very well known New York Eatery to boot.

    Simple Pleasures is an easy read, with an even better tasting treat when one cooks up something from the menu to serve guests for dinner. It is well written, very articulate, and easy to understand. There is even a section about the well-stocked modern pantry that is a must read if you entertain. Makes you feel like you might be a member of the part of society that gets to dine at the Gotham Bar and Grill, even though you have never been to New York and are very unlikely to get there anytime soon. There are a few restaurants in every locality that could benefit from some of these recipes and serving suggestions. I tried a few of the recipes on some of my friends and the dishes were all given rave reviews by my guests. Also, as I stated above, they were easy to prepare and the cost was within reason when you reflect on the fact that you are preparing a gourmet meal that would cost many times more in the actual Gotham Bar and Grill. What more can one say than the food is great!!