Charlotte Au Chocolat: Memories of a Restaurant Girlhood
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | 4.10 (632 Votes) |
| Asin | : | 1594488150 |
| Format Type | : | paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 272 Pages |
| Publish Date | : | 2018-02-09 |
| Language | : | English |
DESCRIPTION:
But it’s her ode to her quirky, dazzling mom that makes the dish."—Good Housekeeping . “Charlotte au Chocolat charms.”—The New York Times Book Review “Every paragraph here is a confection of wit, color, texture, and taste, all overlaid with a dusting of melancholy for a lost restaurant, a lost time, a childhood that set Charlotte Silver apart and inspired her to write this utterly captivating memoir.”—The Huffington Post “Silve
"for the epicurean and more" according to Shep Farmer. The writing is to be savored, though in truth I gobbled this book up in a few sittings. It's a reflective rite of passage story of a girl growing up in a world of glamour vs. reality. Actually I know very little about fancy food and high fashion, but was completely captivated through the vivid descriptions. I know a lot more about coming to terms with your parents as people - a theme that resonates with many and is explored by the author with much tenderness and care.. Elizabeth Benedict said Charlotte au Chocolat in Harvard Square. []It doesn't happen often that a memoir reminds me of one of the masterpieces of the personal essay, Joan Didion's love letter to New York, the classic "Goodbye to All That." Despite its frilly cover, Charlotte Silver's Charlotte au Chocolat: Memories of a Restaurant Girlhood is a rightful heir to Didion's piece. And yes, author Silver was named after the dessert of the same name by her famous-in-Cambridge restauranteur-mother, co-owner of Upstairs on the Square né Upstairs at the Pudding, where Harvard professors, presidents, parents -- and even Julia Child -- have dined since it opened in 198"Charlotte au Chocolat in Harvard Square" according to Elizabeth Benedict. []It doesn't happen often that a memoir reminds me of one of the masterpieces of the personal essay, Joan Didion's love letter to New York, the classic "Goodbye to All That." Despite its frilly cover, Charlotte Silver's Charlotte au Chocolat: Memories of a Restaurant Girlhood is a rightful heir to Didion's piece. And yes, author Silver was named after the dessert of the same name by her famous-in-Cambridge restauranteur-mother, co-owner of Upstairs on the Square né Upstairs at the Pudding, where Harvard professors, presidents, parents -- and even Julia Child -- have dined since it opened in 1982.Upstairs at . .Upstairs at . Henry James said A Delicious Read. This is a thoroughly delicious and delightful read. Silver has a sensibility that is unique and dazzling. She manages to recount her magical youth in a fantastical restaurant with a marvelous combination of delight, nostalgia, and irony. Her insights are at the same time startling and convincing. Most important, the book reminds us of the enchantments and bafflements of growing up, even if most of us didn't have the grade of chocolate that Charlotte's mother guaranteed.
Like Eloise growing up in the Plaza Hotel, Charlotte Silver grew up in her mother's restaurant. Her one constant was her glamorous, indomitable mother, nicknamed "Patton in Pumps," a wasp-waisted woman in cocktail dress and stilettos who shouldered the burden of raising a family and running a kitchen. After dinner, in her frilly party dress, she often caught a nap under the bar until closing time. Located in Harvard Square, Upstairs at the Pudding was a confection of pink linen tablecloths and twinkling chandeliers, a decadent backdrop for childhood. Charlotte's unconventional upbringing takes its toll, and as she grows up she wishes her increasingly busy mother were more of a presence in her life. Over dinners of foie gras and Dover sole, always served with a Shirley Temple, Charlotte kept company with a rotating cast of eccentric staff members. But when the restaurant-forever teetering on the brink of financial collapse-looks as if it may finally be closing, Charlotte comes to realize the sacrifices her mother has made to keep the family and restaurant afloat and gains a new appreciation of the world her mother has built.Infectious, charming, and at times wistful, Charlotte au Chocolat is a ce