There are lots of reasons to want to recreate favorite restaurant recipes at home. A happy memory of a meal, maybe at a place that no longer exists; the pure challenge of replicating that mystery sauce or seasoning; the desire to be thrifty, cooking in more and eating out less; improving cooking skills through imitation... having already had a taste of perfection. Some restaurant meals are just inspirational to the home cook.
Pinterest, that virtual bulletin board loaded with visuals, is one place to browse for "copycat" recipes. There are also scores of bloggers that set out to do this for all of the popular national chain restaurants. If you're dying for Olive Garden's Fettucini Alfredo, it's not hard to find someone who has already done the research on cheese proportions for you using Google.
Since this is New York, home of some of the best restaurants in the world, my idea was to pull together resources based less on chains and more on the dishes you might want to recreate that are unique to this city. Jacques Torres's chocolate chip cookies. Eleven Madison Park's granola. New York style pizza. The shack burger! I've eaten these things, and honestly I don't know that my homemade attempts can possibly compare. Still, it's fun to try. I am equally interested to learn how to make renowned dishes I haven't had the chance to order yet: Nobu's black cod miso, Frankies Spuntino's Wine-Stewed Prunes and Mascarpone.
In these two lists, NYC Restaurant Cookbooks Part 1and 2, I compiled all of the cookbooks I could find (there are tons, with more coming out all the time) that are based on a particular restaurant or group of restaurants under one chef. To be included in this list there have to be actual recipes, but some books might also contain narrative describing the history of the place and the owner or chef's vision and food philosophy. Here are links to the books, alphabetical by restaurant (for fun, I've also included links to any historical menus we have in our collection):
Missing your favorite here? Let me know and I will add it.
- 21 / menu
- Algonquin / menu
- Alice's Tea Cup
- Annisa
- Aureole / menu
- Babbo / Babbo desserts
- Blue Ribbon
- Bouchon Bakery
- Brasserie Les Halles
- Bubby's
- Café Boulud
- Café des Artistes / menu
- Candle 79
- Candle Cafe
- Carmine's
- Chanterelle / menu
- Craft, Gramercy Tavern
- Da Silvano
- Dirt Candy
- Eleven Madison Park
- Fatty Crab, Fatty 'Cue
- Frankies Spuntino
- Grand Central Oyster Bar & Restaurant / menu
- Jacques Torres Chocolate Haven
- Jean-Georges
- Junior's
- Kefi
- Le Bernardin (also)/ menu
- Le Cirque
- Lutèce / menu
- The Meatball Shop
- Mile End
- Momofuku
- Momofuku Milk Bar
- Nobu
- Ouest
- Patsy's
- The Red Cat
- Rosa Mexicano / menu
- Russ & Daughters
- The Russian Tea Room / menu
- Shopsin's
- Shun Lee / menu
- Spice Market
- The Spotted Pig / menu
- Sylvia's
- Tavern on the Green / menu
- Tea & Sympathy
- Union Square Cafe
- Veselka
- The Waldorf Astoria / menu
- Wallsé, Cafe Sabarsky, Blaue Gans
- 'wichcraft
Here are general resources about favorite New York City restaurant meals, in reverse chronological order:
- Family Table: Favorite Staff Meals from Our Restaurants to Your Home - 2013
- New York A La Cart: Recipes and Stories from the Big Apple's Best Food Trucks - 2013
- I Love New York: Ingredients and Recipes - 2013
- The Big New York Sandwich Book: 99 Delicious Creations from the City's Greatest Restaurants and Chefs - 2011
- Taste of Broadway: Restaurant Recipes from NYC's Theater District - 2010
- Edible Manhattan - 2009-2013
- Arthur Schwarz's New York City Food: An Opinionated History and More than 100 Legendary Recipes - 2004
- The New York Restaurant Cookbook: Recipes from the Dining Capital of the World - 2003
- Taste of New York: Signature Dishes of the Best Restaurants - 1993
- New York Cookbook - 1992
- The Four Star Kitchen: Classic Recipes from New York's Great Restaurants - 1986
- Dining In: Manhattan Cookbook: A Collection of Gourmet Recipes for Complete Meals from Manhattan's Finest Restaurants- 1983
- Where to Dine in Thirty-Nine: A Guide to New York Restaurants, to Which There Is Added A Cook Book of Recipes by Famous Chefs - 1939
Here's a handy tip. Unsurprisingly, many of New York's chefs have appeared in the pages of The New York Times over the years, often sharing popular recipes from their restaurants. Using this search box, type in the name of a restaurant, chef, or dish to view only the recipes they have submitted to the paper. Try searching for the keyword "adapted" just to browse some of them.
Have you tried to cook a new dish yourself after enjoying it in a restaurant? Please share your experience in the comments.