Delancey by Molly Wizenberg

In this funny, frank, tender memoir and New York Times bestseller, the author of A Homemade Life and the blog Orangette recounts how opening a restaurant sparked the first crisis of her young marriage.

When Molly Wizenberg married Brandon Pettit, he was a trained composer with a handful of offbeat interests: espresso machines, wooden boats, violin-building, and ice cream-making. So when Brandon decided to open a pizza restaurant, Molly was supportive not because she wanted him to do it, but because the idea was so far-fetched that she didn't think he would. Before she knew it, he'd signed a lease on a space. The restaurant, Delancey, was going to be a reality, and all of Molly's assumptions about her marriage were about to change.

Together they built Delancey: gutting and renovating the space on a cobbled-together budget, developing a menu, hiring staff, and passing inspections. Delancey became a success, and Molly tried to convince herself that she was happy in their new life until in the heat and pressure of the restaurant kitchen she realized that she hadn't been honest with herself or Brandon.

With evocative photos by Molly and twenty new recipes for the kind of simple, delicious food that chefs eat at home, Delancey is a moving and honest account of two young people learning to give in and let go in order to grow together.

Full of ups and downs, stress and excitement – and packed with amazing recipes – Delancey is the story of a marriage pushed to the breaking point by a shared dream: the desire to open a pizzeria in the midst of an economic downturn. Chronicling the amazing pressures caused by such an enterprise, Delancey is both a brutally honest look at a relationship and a loving exploration of the power of food. 

Delancey is part memoir, part recipe book, exploring the relationship between a man and a woman, the stresses inherent in beginning a new adventure and how difficult it can be to let go and learn to go with the flow. After exploring what brought her husband and her together, Molly Wizenberg gives us a glimpse into the tough world of opening a new restaurant, as well as the joys that arise along the way. Sharing some of the recipes they used in their restaurant or that they cooked in the crazy days of building pizza ovens and painting walls, she manages to perfectly convey all of the madness that goes in to such an undertaking while leaving the readers salivating at the thought of setting foot in the restaurant they built. Wizenberg is an excellent writer in her own right and the memoir moves along at a novel-like clip. Recommended for all lovers of mad adventures and good food! 

I gave Delancey 4 stars.