every food in: A La Carte

A La Carte by Tanita S. Davis

Originally published in 2011

A La Carte grew on me in a way I didn’t expect it to. I think at first reading it, I didn’t want to admit I could relate to Lainey, because I had my own hangups about being a former teenager with eating issues who, paradoxically, loved to cook. But weeks later I keep catching myself thinking about it while doing chores, or making cake, or thinking about salads, and wondering about what this side character or that was doing while “offscreen.” So yeah, guys - it’s a really solid YA read, and I really recommend it.

I won’t spoil the how and why too much., but at risk of providing some spoilers, I appreciated that at the end, Lainey doesn’t romance anyone. She grows as a person, pursues her career, and spends time repairing relationships that her interest in her childhood crush damaged. It’s honestly great, and I’ve never wanted to slap a character more than her terrible almost-boyfriend. I feel like I’ve met that ultra privileged ~bad boy when I was around that age, and would’ve probably fallen for his shit just as hard as Lainey did. Oof.

The author does a great job using food to sort of act as the soundtrack to the plot - when Lainey betrays her mom by lending money to the love interest, she gives away some of the breakfast food her mom made, and later her mother and her eat sour cherry soufflés and bitter cocoa Azteca. Not only are they desserts that a weight-anxious Lainey normally wouldn’t accept, they’re strong, overpowering tastes to compliment her guilt. All of Lainey’s recipes are heavily spiced (a girl after my own heart) and many of them are included in the text as illustrations,. which was a really cool touch.

My one single complaint is that, though I don’t want a book to be preachy, I don’t think painting Lainey’s blatant eating disorder as “mostly understandable” is the greatest move for a book for teenagers. I feel like if I’d read this and identified with it when I was younger, I would’ve gotten some bad ideas with how specifically her restricting is described. But that’s really a personal nitpick.

Now, onto the food - I haven’t linked any recipes here, because despite Lainey’s mother and Pia’s restaurant being French Cambodian soul food fusion, most of these are either descriptive enough on their own, or recognizable to most readers. If anyone would like similar recipe links, however, I’ll happily track them down and add them in.

• Soup in bisque bowls

• Chai latte

• Meyer lemon shortcake

• Almond scones

• Blueberry scones, dried apricot chocolate swirl scones

• Granola bar

• Stale toasted wonder bread with a packet of jam

• Cookies and milk

• Super simple French bread from Saint Julia

• Gingerbread (+ white pepper and mustard for extra spice)

• Lemon tea

• Popcorn balls

• Taffy

• Chicken soup

• An entire turkey

• Garlic roasted beets over a lettuce salad with Dijon, leftover pasta

• Fresh rolls with julienned vegetables from the restuarant

• Pumpkin curry soup

• Tofu cream cheese, creme fraiche, Devonshire cream

• Banana bread with crushed pecans

• Soy chai latte

• Pecan bark

• Ginger carrot sorbet, ginger ice cream sandwiches made of gingerbread with the edges rolled in chopped crystallized ginger

• Hot and sour soup

• Carrot macaroons

““I think we’ve got a garlic squid pasta,” Mom says, pulling out the low chef’s toque she wears with the formal chef’s jacket, “and Pia’s said something about a pecan-encrusted catfish. The soup is white asparagus with prawn and coconut milk, a little spicy, very warming for this nippy evening, a nice pumpkin curry soup as well, and then there’s the usual.””

• Soup and rolls and half a cheesecake with lemon sauce

• Grape focaccia

• Sunflower seeds

• Gazpacho

• Carrot macaroons again, with a different almond orange ginger recipe, with pear granita

• Leftover mushroom soup with white wine that the main character turns into matzo ball soup

• Parsnip carrot latke

• Summer squash and zucchini latkes with Chinese five spice applesauce and yogurt

• Coconut torte

• Hot chocolate

• Baked apples filled with cardamom and granola

• A pot of tea

• Wheat rolls with egg salad with olives, tapenade, mayo, smoked Hungarian paprika, parsley, and scallions

• Pecan bark, granola, and oranges

• Sour cherry souffle

• Cocoa azteca

• Cottage cheese loaf with caramelized onions and mushrooms and Pia’s mushroom soup

• Cabbage slaw with Mae Ploy, honey roasted soy nuts, chow mien noodles, raisins, ginger habanero salad dressing, and chives

• Cobbler and peach ice cream, and soy vanilla ice cream

• Hummus burgers with tahini sauce and onions and mushrooms, tomato and avocado

• Soda, vegetables, dip, and chips

• Apple peach crumble with Raisin Brain graham cracker topping

• Chowder with hominy and corn muffins with canned corn, chilies and martini olives

• Blueberry crepes made out of pancake mix

• Soda water with lime

“..the flatiron steak, which comes with garlic whipped potatoes and toasted cumin-avocado butter, which on any other day I’d really want to try. I request a bowl of minestrone soup and a house salad, which includes roasted walnuts and cherry tomatoes in a soy ginger vinaigrette.”

• Divinity fudge

• Pea shoots

• Grilled vegetables

• A “time consuming mu shu”

• Kettle corn

• A two pound box of chocolate covered macadamia nuts

• Perfect lemon cake (recipe from grandma), biscuits, peas, and rice

• Spelt flour lemon poppyseed bars

• Gingerbread house (for the cooking segment)

• Pecan pie