SPUNTINO: Comfort Food New York Style

Eons ago – on a teenage trip to New York – we discovered truffle egg toast in a small West Village café. We’ve never been able to find the café since but the memory of that unuctious brunch was forever etched in our memory. Then we got a copy of Russell Norman’s homage to New York café eating Spuntino: Comfort Food New York Style and, hey presto, there was the Fontina-laden recipe. After his indispensible paen to Venetian food, Polpo, this is Norman’s follow-up based on recipes at his ever-popular Soho restaurant of the same name. Part travelogue, part cookbook, Spuntino gathers together sliders and salads, brunch staples and puddings as well as classic comfort food like Mac ‘n’ Cheese that could only ever have emerged from America’s East Coast. Jenny Zarins’ atmospheric photos and Norman’s area guides throughout the book provide another reason – if you need one – to treat yourself. And if you do, try that truffle egg toast – you won’t regret it.