cooking

The Restaurant List: A Belle Époque for African-American Cooking

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A few months ago, when I read the New York Times article on African-American cooking, by Jeff Gordinier, it was a welcome surprise. Yet, it was a great disappointment as well, because there are no links to each restaurant nor the books listed in the article. Nor is there a summary list, which would be nice to refer to later.

Much like the “Big List“ of free yoga classes in Boston that I created, since it’s a list that I want that nobody else has put together, at least that I know of, maybe I need to do it for myself. So I am creating another list for myself again. But of course, I want to share it with you too!

Below is a list with links to each restaurant named in the article and the locations by city and state. For those of us living in these areas or planning to travel to them, this restaurant list may help us to find some great places to eat.

Hopefully many of us will get a chance to try these restaurants. Happy eating!

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Salare  (Seattle, WA)

Brown Sugar Kitchen  (Oakland, CA)

1300 on Fillmore (San Francisco, CA)

FarmerBrown (San Francisco, CA)

Willie Jane (Venice, CA)

Post & Beam (Los Angeles, CA)

The Cecil (Harlem, NY)

Minton’s (Harlem, NY)

The Grey (Savannah, GA)

The Fat Ham (Philadelphia, PA)

Sbraga & Company (Jacksonville, FL)

Chef Benjamin Dennis (Charleston, SC)

Husk  (Nashville, TN)

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Photo by Rajesh TP from Pexels

Special Day Cooking: A Life Skills Cookbook

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Special Day Cooking cookbook cover

When I heard about a cookbook written especially for people who love to cook and have an intellectual disability, I was interested in learning more, so I accepted a review copy to look at myself.

The author, Beverly Worth Palomba is originally from Massachusetts, but moved to the West Coast. As a high school Special Education teacher, she created a life skills cooking class especially for her students. Since Palomba’s unique method of teaching worked so well, she decided to write a cookbook. An excerpt from her website gives more insight.

Special Day Cooking was written to help people with developmental challenges become independent in the kitchen. Whether you are living at home, in a group home or on your own, Special Day Cooking provides the tools to be independent or part of a team. Special Day Cooking chefs have the ability to prepare dinner, pack their own lunch, and bring a goodie to a social event. Cooking involves so many aspects of life; it is creative, builds social skills, fosters teamwork, encourages self-confidence and is a fun activity to do with family and friends.

I haven’t made any of the recipes from the cookbook, but I’m impressed with the variety and the easy feel of it. There are recipes for every meal of the day, soups and salads, vegetables, drinks and snacks. And my favorite – dessert! There is even a recipe for Chocolate Mug Cake!

I love cooking and think that the more people who cook their own food the better. Saving money and healthier eating are also big benefits of cooking, so having this life skill exponentially increases the positives in our lives.

This book is a great idea and would make a wonderful gift for anyone who enjoys spending time preparing food and has an intellectual disability or is just a beginner cook. Either way, Special Day Cooking is a cookbook that will provide some tasty food and lots of fun!

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 Disclosure: The review copy was provided complimentary to me. Thank you!

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Screenshot: Amazon