cover image ONCE UPON A TART: Soups, Salads, Muffins, and More

ONCE UPON A TART: Soups, Salads, Muffins, and More

Frank Mentesana, Jerome Audureau, , with Carolynn Carreño. . Knopf, $27.50 (384pp) ISBN 978-0-375-41316-2

Once Upon a Tart, a charming café in New York's SoHo, was founded by two refugees from hotel management intent on a dream. Audureau, who ran a tarterie in Avignon, France, his home town, saw that New York had not discovered this French lunch delight—the savory tart, with its accoutrements of salads and the finish of a sweet. Jersey-born Mentesana learned to cook from his Italian grandmother. The café chefs add unusual twists to traditional recipes—for example Zucchini Tart with Curried Custard and Dried Currants and Chickpea-Tomato Soup with Fresh Rosemary. Zestful loving touches, such as Tomato Chutney with Golden Raisins as a spread for sandwiches, are what make this book and the café a standout. In chatty, accessible style, Audureau and Mentesana explain everything from blanching vegetables to how to cool tart crust and how to make apricot glaze for sweet tarts. The café's regulars will be ecstatic to have this generous offering of recipes for their favorite tarts, scones, tea breads, and cookies, such as My Mother's Are Better Ginger Cookies and the Chocolate-Pecan French-Style Macaroons. Each section, from salads to condiments, is carefully presented and full of ideas and hints. The lunchbox-size book (9" x 7") and lovely photos make for a cozy, lighthearted presentation. (May)