Looking back on that first Book and the Cook - 1985 - is an exercise in nostalgia. See the luncheon at Le Bec-Fin for the princely sum of $24. And notice all the many restaurants that no longer exist, including Julia's Don Quixote, Magyar, Adrian Cafe, Frog, Harry's Bar & Grill, and Cafe Nola.
But many of the personalities that define Book and the Cook are still plugging away: Judy Faye, who has helped produce it since 1986; chefs Georges Perrier and Susanna Foo; restaurateur Toto Schiavone; and scores of others. Tourists, lured by mentions on the Food Network cable channel and by national magazine articles, now actually come to visit and eat.
And the hobnobbing! Not only do foodies get their fill of great meals and ``shop talk'' from the authors, but visiting chefs and restaurant workers themselves have a good time. Many authors bring along a helper or two, and the after-hours socializing gets hot and heavy. More than a few restaurant couples met over drinks at the legendary Thursday night party at Jack's Firehouse restaurant in Fairmount.
In short, the Book and the Cook is a happening.
For us mortals, there is still room at the table for many of this year's events, though perhaps not the events featuring the highest-profile authors. Want to have brunch with Jacques Pepin at the Four Seasons ($95)? Word of the event leaked out last October. It sold out in January, shortly after the reservation books opened.
It paid to be fast with a reservation elsewhere as well. Three weeks after the January Book and the Cook announcement, 320 seats for Ming Tsai's appearance at the red-hot restaurant Buddakan had sold out - at $75 a head. Earlier this week, 80 people were on the waiting list.
