Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Cookbooks & Kitchenware
52
The Cook's Library/Cook Books
Where SoCal Cooks Hang Out
Los Angeles/Pasadena, California
The Cook's Library
looks just like what it
is—a smart, sophisticated hangout for Los
Angeles chefs, both amateur and profes-
sional. With almost 8,000 titles in stock,
tea and nibbles offered to afternoon
browsers, and a frequent roster of authors
doing in-store appearances, the Cook's
Library has been fostering a community of
local foodophiles since owner Ellen Rose
opened it in 1989. Many of the knowledge-
able staffers are trained chefs themselves,
and eager to chat about not only books
but the food scene in general; check out
the bulletin board near the door for cook-
ing classes and other chef news. The sum-
mertime used book sale is definitely worth
marking your calendar for. The store is
handily situated on a thriving Westside
retail strip between the Farmer's Market
and the Beverly Center. (Another of our
favorite shops, the
Traveler's Bookcase,
is right next door, at 8375 W. 3rd St.)
If what you're seeking is something out
of print and rare, head north to Pasadena,
where Janet Jarvis's
Cook Books
crams
an extraordinary inventory of over 30,000
secondhand cookery books into one tiny
out-of-the-way shop. With all those one-of-
a-kind items shelved floor to ceiling, it's for
bibliophiles as well as cooks—a prism of
American history viewed from the kitchen
perspective. Jarvis's selection is more than
comprehensive, it's almost compulsive—
entire sets of Time-Life food books, for
example, or every known edition of the
Betty Crocker Cookbook.
Things look
Many of the Cook's Library's knowledgeable staffers are trained chefs.
