Books x Food @ A Novel Kitchen
At last, the perfect convergence of wonder is here: an all-in-one bookstore/café/restaurant.
Opened just a few weeks back, A Novel Kitchen is the brainchild of three restauranteurs (Ali Ahmed, Ana Cabrera and Akram Nassir) and a bookstore owner (Dave Morse), who met in a very Brooklyn kind of way — Morse dented Ahmed’s car and left a note. They hit it off, they got talking, and A Novel Kitchen was born.
The name, a pun in more ways than one, points to the idiosyncratic nature of the eatery as well as the worlds it brings together. While there are some shops specializing in cookbooks and foodstuffs (Archestratus in Greenpoint, for example) and plenty of bookstores with a café, there has never been something quite like this.
view from my corner table
After reading about the restaurant’s opening, I had to stop by. When you walk into the bright space, a shelf of books lines the right-hand wall, with a smaller shelf to the front and a collection of records at the left. The books - provided by Better Read Than Dead - are organized by genre, and they have a wonderful selection of used titles. I could have bought dozens of books (like Stephen King’s On Writing, John Kennedy Toole’s A Confederacy of Dunces and a host of pretty art books), but I settled on Patti Smith’s Just Kids, something I’ve been meaning to read for years. The price is right as well.
The menu is diverse and varied, but I’ll leave that to the foodies to dissect. I decided to keep it simple with an iced tea and muffin (delish), so when I return next, I will def be ordering the chicken & waffles.
I’m not sure why it brought my so much joy to hear of an exciting new venture opening, or why I wanted to sit at my corner table with my book for hours (alas, work calls). It’s been a long year. There’s been endless news of closings and bankruptcies, empty storefronts lining the streets, so many jobless and struggling. Maybe it was the stacks of well-loved books. Maybe it was the smells coming from the kitchen. But I think what really moved me was the feeling of revival. People are daring to open up shop again, crocuses have pushed through the ground, New York City has vaccinated over 4 million people, with more to come. There is something in the air, and A Novel Kitchen is an embodiment of that.
Check it out. You won’t leave disappointed.
