Rebecca Federman may have the best job in the world. As a librarian, Ms. Federman enjoys the unique pleasure of safeguarding the largest public menu collection in America, housed at the New York Public Library. I first discovered her via the video series “Obsessives” on Chow.com where she passionately describes the collection and her job with an air that says ”you know you wanna be me yet I’m too amicable to be the object of envy” aimed directly at foodists . ”I’d love to see how they’re cooking ramps, when they started cooking ramps” she says with genuine curiosity. Yeah. I’m pretty much down with anybody that has an interest in the genesis of ramp cookery (ramps are like wild leeks, very seasonal, usually foraged).
Her blog, Cooked Books, is fantastic, a wealth of information, and very witty. I particularly like her post about Friendly’s Restaurants, wherein she pays homage to her favorite sandwich, “while my love for Friendly’s is vast, my heart belongs to the Fishamajig”. Brilliant.
3 Comments
September 17, 2008 at 11:38 pm
cheap date you are…lol.
September 18, 2008 at 12:14 pm
Am I dreaming, but did they used to offer a clamboat sandwich (butter-toasted bun with fried clamstrips, served w/tartar sauce and a lemon wedge and a scoop of coleslaw)? It’s still my favorite. For dessert, Friendly’s used to offer a variety of ready-made ice cream cakes, which our family often purchased for home consumption. Does anyone remember the mint chocolate chip ice cream pie with crushed oreo crust? OMG
October 8, 2008 at 7:32 pm
[...] people. I need your help. Early on in the life of this blog (circa last month) I told you about Rebecca Federman, the librarian at the New York Public Library who is in charge of the largest public menu [...]