At Starbucks my name is Amy by Els Quagebeur

At Starbucks My Name is Amy by Els Quagebeur is a fun book about her life in New York City. Because her name Els (‘With an A? Or like something else?’)  is somewhat different to pronounce by the staff during rush hour at Starbucks, she decides to go for the name Amy instead. 

She describes in a humorous way how she sees  New York and its people from her European point of view. She writes about her daily life, and her adventures in the city, (which are too much and numerous to write into detail here) and the colorful cast of New Yorkers she meets. Neurotic scenario writer Jeff,  George with the dress, a Chinese doctor above a kickbox studio. They and many other show her the heart and soul of NYC. In the meantime she tries to, with her new love Len, find out what is her own place is in this self proclaimed capital of the world.

The book is build up of eight chapters, who each contain seven short stories.
It is a must read for every European New York fan, and is written in a way that you feel you are in the city yourself. 

Greenwich Village Stories

Greenwich Village Stories is a recently published book by Rizzoli. I think it is the perfect book for New York book lovers, hopefully a review of this book will follow soon. ( I'm a little thin in New York themed books at the moment, that's why no new book reviews have appeared )

Confessions of a New York Taxi Driver by Eugene Salomon

Driving a cab for more than 30 years Gene Salomon has collected a remarkable selection of stories. He shares the very best in this unforgettable memoir.Gene has had everyone in the back of his cab…

…Lauren Bacall, Leonardo di Caprio, John McEnroe, Sean Penn and Dennis Hopper, Simon and Garfunkel, Tony Bennett, Robin Williams, Norman Mailer, Suzanne Vega, Kevin Kline, Dan Ackroyd, Diane Keaton and, yes, even Kevin Bacon.

He has taken all sorts of people for a ride…

.So sit back and enjoy the ride…the meter’s running.

Confessions of a New York Taxi Driver is a fun way to get an inside look in what happens on a daily basis in a New York City taxi. You'll be very surprised to read what happens on the backseat of a taxi, and how some people act in a taxi;…mafiosi, hookers, the rich and famous, down and outs, young lovers, old lovers, passengers from every corner of the globe, fare dodgers, a variety of animals, tourists, lifetime New Yorkers, people in a rush and others with no particular place to go. Gene starts every chapter with a brief description of what the chapter is about, and describes what types of (for example)of crazy people you can expect as a taxi driver. The stories where sometimes laugh out loud funnty, and sometimes I could just not believe some things would happen in a taxi. Sometimes I had the feeling though that the author just made the story a bit juicier than real life to make it more fun to read, but it was so entertaining to read that it doesn't matter that much. If you are in for a New York book and want to have a good laugh, this is your book!

Looking for fun NYC related content!

From 2014 I will, to make this blog more lively, also feauture other New York related blog posts on this blog. That means that if you have any other thing New York related thing that you want a review of, you can get it here. If you want me to do a feauture about a New York event or anything else, shoot me an email. Please keep in mind though that I don't live in NYC (boo!) .So if you have any content ideas or suggestions that might be suitable for this blog, get in touch!

Katz's: Autobiography of a Delicatessen by Baldomero Fernandez, Jake Dell and Beth Daugherty

Finally there is a book about the most famous and oldest delicatessen in New York and in the world. Katz's: Autobiograpy of a Delicatessen written by and published by Bauer and Dean publishers.

Opening the huge book is like taking a step into the legandary deli at Houston Street. Don't expect a long thick book about the history of Katz's. The author choose to tell Katz's story by pictures. A picture is worth a thousand words, and that certainly counts for this amazing and special book.
The book opens with a foreword of... Then follows a brief history of Katz's, which is one of the oldest delicatessen of New York

In 1888 what is now known as Katz’s Delicatessen was established on Ludlow Street in New York’s Lower East Side by the Iceland brothers. Upon the arrival of Willy Katz in 1903,
the name of the store was changed from Iceland Brothers to Iceland & Katz. Willy’s cousin Benny joined him in 1910, buying out the Iceland brothers to officially form Katz’s delicatessen. Their landsman Harry Tarowsky bought into the partnership in April 1917. A move to the present side of the street was necessitated during this time by the construction of the subway system, although the entry remained on Ludlow street. The vacant lot on Houston (named after a Dutch emigrant of the same name) Street was home to barrels of meat and pickles until the present storefront facade was added in the period 1946-49.

During World War II, the three sons of the owners were all serving their country in the armed forces, and the family tradition of sending food to their sons became sealed as the company slogan "Send A Salami To Your Boy In The Army" ^Tm.

During the peak of the Yiddish theater, the restaurant was forever filled with actors, singers and comedians from the many theaters on Second Avenue as well as the National Theater on Houston Street. Although the Yiddish theater has passed, Katz's is still witness to newer generations of successes and scoundrels as the pictures of current and past celebrities line the walls.


The next change in ownership took place with the death of Willy Katz as his son Lenny took over. In the late 70’s, both Benny Katz and Harry Tarowsky passed away,
leaving the store to their offspring, son-in-law Artie Maxstein and son Izzy Tarowsky, respectively. However by the mid-1980’s, the new generation of owners realized that they had no immediate offspring of their own to which they could leave the store. Long-time friend and restaurateur Martin Dell, along with son Alan (who was a chef and a manager at a neighboring deli) and son-in-law Fred Austin, officially bought into the partnership in 1988 on the 100th anniversary of the store. Alan’s son Jake officially joined the store in late 2009 and is currently in charge of all major operations. Over the years, many famous movie scenes have been shot at Katz's: When Harry met Sally, Enchanted and many others.

From the short history of the book the book goes over to the store itself, and how! With rich detaled pictures by. The Store part of the book is divided into sections, and so do the pictures: It all begins with a ticket, The Walls (with many pictures of celebrities and famous people who visited Katz's), Evening comes to Katz's,  3.00 A.M., December at Katz's, Night turns into Day, Restocking for the week, The Main Pickling Room and The Kitchen. Then follow the final  parts of the book: Meat Showdown: Pastrami VS Corned Beef, Pickle Showdown:Half-Sour vs Full Sour, What's your preference(where Katz's customers tell what their favorite food at Katz's is) The People Who Make Katz's Katz's (pictures and more about the staff) and Katz's- That's All. All parts of the book are beautifull captured on photo by the fabulous  photographer Baldomero Fernandez. His pictures make it feel like you are not just watching pictures of Katz's and people who eat there, but as if you are

there yourself and just if you are about to make an order at the counter yourself (which I really would like to after reading this book). The book opens with a foreword by Adam Richman, host of many food programs on NBC (Food Fighters), Travel Channel (Man vs Food). I highly recommend this special book of a special and legendary delicatessen. A great book if you have been to the deli yourself or when you can't visit in in person but want to get the feel of Katz's!

DK Eyewitness Travel Guide New York City: relaunched 2014 edition review and GIVEAWAY!

DK Eyewitness Travel comes with a newly revised, updated, and redesigned 2014 travelguide for New York City.

DK Eyewitness Travel guides are known to be the best in the world, and rightful so. The guide is very detailed, covers every neighborhood in the city and is packed with no less than 1072 beautiful photographs and 112 illustrations and even a glossy pull out city map.
This is the book to prepare for and take with you on a trip to New York City. The book contains all the information you need about the city. It contains information on every imaginable thing to see in New York: From Times Square to Central Park, till the Upper West Side to Harlem and Brooklyn. Ever-thing. The book gives detailed information about the museums in New York, complete with floorplans so you don't miss anything and contains seven guided walks: A 90 Minute Walk in The Lower East Side,  90 min walk in Greenwich Village and Soho, a Two Hour Walk in The Upper West Side, A Three Hour Walk in Brooklyn and a few others.

 In the back of the book, you find the Travelers Needs: Where To Stay, Where To Eat and Drink, Shopping, Entertainment and Children's New York City. Following is a Survival Guide with practical information about Getting To New York City and around the city as useful information for health and safety and the book ends with the street finder and the map of New York City which also covers the subway stops. Plus, check out the best of the boroughs with suggested highlights for Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island, The Bronx, and upper Manhattan. I highly recommend this book if you go to New York City or just, as I am, want to visit it someday to get the real New York vibe!

Want to win a copy of the new 2014 edition of DK Eyewitness Travel Guide New York City? New York Books is giving away not one, but two copies to two lucky readers! How to win: send an email to marjoleinbookblog at gmail com with your name and adress. And you are entered! Easy as that! The giveaway is open to Europe and till January 10!
(with special thanks to DK UK)

Look here on the site of DK for more about the the new and relaunched 2014 Travel Guide New York City and download a a walking tour of Little Italy/Chinatown!

New York City: A Food Biography by Andrew F. Smith

Altough there are thousands of book about New York, this is the first real biography about the food of New York City. Where did the food of NYC orginate? In New York City: a food biography you read everything you want to know about this topic.

The book starts with the discovery of New York by the Dutch Peter Stuyvesant, whereafter he vividly describes about te first inhabitants of the city and what they eat and how they got their food.
Ofcourse, a huge part of New Yorks kitchen is highly influenced by immigrants who came to New York for a better life from countries as Germany, Ireland, Italy and certainly Jewish immigrants became one of the major factors of the food of New York. Hot Dogs, Pizza, Bagels, Hamburgers, Bagels, Waldorf Salad were introduced to Americans through New York’s colorful street vendors, cooks, and restaurateurs. New immigrant groups came and added their kitchen to the colorful scheme of the New York kitchend and added Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Vietnamese, Thai, South American, and many other international cuisine of the city, its hard to imagine anything you can't get there. The book gives a good impression of how food was sold in the city, from simple street vendors till the first and the present haute cuisine restaurants. The book also give a good impression of food politics and how some now well known food brands where originated and much more fascination information, from the beginning of New York city till the present time and food trends.