Delancey: A Man, a Woman, a Restaurant, a Marriage [S0027]

2015 PB with minor cover wear and nice clean text pages. An engaging memoir from Molly Wizenberg, bestseller Seattle author of A Homemade Life and the restaurant blog Orangette. When Molly Wizenberg married Brandon Pettit, he was a trained composer with a handful of offbeat interests: espresso machines, wooden boats, violin-building, and ice cream-making. So when Brandon decided to open a pizza restaurant, Molly was supportive-not because she wanted him to do it, but because the idea was so far-fetched that she didn't think he would. Before she knew it, he'd signed a lease on a space. The restaurant, Delancey, was going to be a reality, and all of Molly's assumptions about her marriage were about to change. Together they built Delancey: gutting and renovating the space on a cobbled-together budget, developing a menu, hiring staff, and passing inspections. Delancey became a success, and Molly tried to convince herself that she was happy in their new life until -in the heat and pressure of the restaurant kitchen- she realized that she hadn’t been honest with herself or Brandon. Delancey became a success, and Molly tried to convince herself that she was happy in their new life until-in the heat and pressure of the restaurant kitchen-she realized that she hadn't been honest with herself or Brandon.

With evocative photos by Molly and twenty new recipes for the kind of simple, delicious food that chefs eat at home, Delancey explores that intimate territory where food and life meet. This moving and honest account of two people learning to give in and let go in order to grow together is "a crave-worthy memoir that is part love story, part restaurant industry tale. Scrumptious" (People).

From Amazon/GoodReads reviews: "Like its predecessor, A Homemade Life, Delancey contains some amazing-sounding recipes and is heartfelt without being sappy. The book mostly concerns the restaurant Wizenberg opens with her husband in Seattle; it was fascinating to read about, and I admire Wizenberg's honesty about the toll the business took on her and her marriage. She can really write. I'm already looking forward to her next book."; "I always love Wizenberg's writing; it's intimate and lovely, and I want to eat every single thing she mentions. Loved this story of opening a restaurant with her husband, and the difficulties that ensued. I will say, having eaten there - you'd never know what a HUGE labor of love it was to open. Anyway, lots of fun and recommended to anyone thinking of opening a restaurant and fans of her blog or the first book."; "This isn't really a book about life in a restaurant, and it isn't really a book about food, even though there are plenty of recipes in the book. This is really a book about marriage and about diverging dreams and what that can do to a marriage. It's about waking up one morning and realizing that the life you have is nothing like the one you imagined that you would have, and then learning to embrace that one instead. She really captures the details of how her relationship changes without really giving up too much privacy. She's funny, open, honest. I really like her. I would happily recommend this book (or A Homemade Life) to anyone who enjoys a memoir or a foodie book or even just a well written story."