Fred Plotkin

Authority on Italian food and opera

Joyce Goldstein, the prolific and multi-talented author and chef, ran a legendary restaurant in San Francisco called Square One. People who loved food and admired Goldstein’s sovereign knowledge of ingredients and cooking methods made pilgrimages to her kitchen. She combines Italian, Mediterranean, Jewish, North African and South American flavors with logic, panache and unfailing senses of taste, smell and touch. That she is able to communicate all this clearly to her readers in Back to Square One and her many other fine books makes her an indispensable writer for people who really like to cook and eat and not simply read.

Daniel Halpern

Publisher, Ecco