Title: The Slanted Door
Author: Charles Phan
Publisher: Ten Speed Press, 2014
When I lived in San Francisco, I was told by numerous friends to check out The Slanted Door which was located in the Ferry Building at the time. Admittedly, I had not had much experience with Vietnamese cuisine and really didn’t have a desire to seek it out. But every review I read and every recommendation for The Slanted Door got me more and more intrigued.
I can’t remember who I dined with for my first Slanted Door experience, but I was ready for my life to be changed. I was ready to be taken. I really should have known better than to go into a restaurant with such high expectations, but that’s what happens when the hype is all-engulfing. A patron at the next table was having the restaurant’s signature Shaking Beef dish and it seduced me – chunks of beefy beef, all glazy and deep dark brown. I thought, maybe this will be my “born again” moment with Viet cuisine. The steaming pot of beef was lowered in front of me. I inhaled the sweet tangy aroma and I was taken. I took a bite and was waiting. I took another bite; still waiting. And another. It was good, but not life-changing good. I felt taken….swindled. I was another victim of “the hype”. All of a sudden, the portions seemed too small, drinks too weak, and everything way overpriced. I was left hungry and wanting.
So when I saw this cookbook, I was intrigued. I wanted to give The Slanted Door another chance. The food was very good, but looking back I knew I didn’t go in with an open mind. I didn’t give it enough respect. I had to get this cookbook.
The book is not an introduction or a how-to cookbook on Vietnamese cuisine. There is no glossary of Vietnamese ingredients, staples or resources. It is the compilation of dishes that are served in the restaurant which were inspired by Chef Charles Phan’s Vietnamese heritage as well as the ingredients and food products of the Bay Area. It is an homage to Chef Phan and his restaurant.
The book is beautiful. The photographs of San Francisco made me feel wistful and brought back a rush of memories of my time there. The photos of the food are gorgeous as expected and I have to say that the dishes that I made looked pretty close to what they pictured. Each recipe is accompanied by a full-page photo so for someone who is cooking Vietnamese food for the first time, it is extremely helpful. All recipes, but one, are laid out on one page which I appreciate.
The recipes are straightforward and easy to follow. There are over 100 recipes. I loved the stories that were woven throughout giving more heft to the legacy of The Slanted Door. They also made me more eager to starting trying the recipes. I made their signature dish, Shaking Beef (of course), the Braised Oxtail Stew, and the Braised Ginger Chicken. The food is spot on. I am now convinced that fish sauce is liquid gold. Just a little amount of this pungent liquid transformed these seemingly simple dishes into something more tantalizing. Most of the dessert recipes seemed to have more French influences than Vietnamese or Asian, and they look and sound incredible. Even as a non-baker and a diner-who-never-orders-dessert, I’ve bookmarked several like the No-Bake Cheesecake with Walnut Cookie-Brown Butter Crust, the Chocolate Souffle Cake, and Lemon Meringue Tarts.
The Slanted Door restaurant is also known for their cocktails using fresh ingredients and premium liquors. They are painstakingly devoted to the cocktail-making technique. They were in the forefront of the whole “mixology” movement on the West Coast. The cookbook includes about 20 cocktail recipes.
I would recommend this cookbook to the avid and adventurous home cook who has some familiarity and affinity for Vietnamese cuisine. There are some ingredients that may be unfamiliar to the average cook (eg. rau ram), but a quick search on Google can help shed some light. After reading the story behind The Slanted Door and having a newfound respect for the restaurant, I definitely want to make another visit if I am ever in the Bay Area again. Until then, I will continue to cook through all the recipes in this wonderful cookbook.
For more information on The Slanted Door cookbook, please click here.
For more information on the author Charles Phan, please click here.
To purchase the cookbook, please click below:
Disclaimer: I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review.
