Joe Beef

September 3, 2018
Embracing the eclectic concept of their first book (The Art of Living), the team behind Montreal’s Joe Beef and Liverpool House restaurants double down on their rambling chaos, providing survivalist recipes for both outdoorsmen and bunker-dwellers, as well as a panoply of fine French cuisine, an outpouring of Canadian joie de vivre, and a 16-page gatefold full of photos of preserved edibles to stock in the cellar. The 150 offerings may not be enough to survive an apocalypse, but they will certainly provide plenty of distraction in its midst. A chapter entitled “Sunday Dinners at Home” defies expectation with complex entrees that professional chefs might cook up on their evenings off—examples include paupiettes de saumon au cerfeuil and partridge pie. One chapter is full of dishes inspired by the “human dexterity and gumption” of PBS cooking shows (a mirepoix bolognese, made of wilting vegetables passed through a meat grinder) while another riffs on Montreal’s Mohawk heritage with choices like moose stew and chips. In the last chapter, the authors pivot to a selection of recipes, including corn doughnuts with corn custard, to prepare during Christmas in July. Quirky, comprehensive and cutting, this is the ideal tome to have on any bomb shelter bookshelf. Agent: Kim Witherspoon, Inkwell.