Fisherman's Wharf Cookbook Author:Barbara Lawrence, Mike Nelson (Illustrator) This 1971 work (revised 1982) from Nitty Gritty Productions is one of a series of 45 cookbooks and craft books. The book is softcover, 190 pages in length (including the front pages and the index) and the outside dimensions are 5" x 8 1/4" x 1/2". This volume contains 101 recipes, ninety-eight percent of which are for seafood.&nbs... more »p;
The basis for the work includes famous San Francisco (Fisherman's Wharf District) seafood restaurant recipes of the period. These high-end restaurants include Alioto's, Bernstein's Fish Grotto, Di Maggio's, Exposition Fish Grotto No. 1, Fisherman's Grotto No. 9, Franciscan, The Mandarin, Sabella and La Torre, A. Sabella's, Scoma's, Spenger's, Tadich Grill, Tarantino's, Toro's, and, Pompei's Grotto. No doubt a number of these establishments have by now gone belly up, or at least have likely changed ownership and/or menus.
The "Fisherman's Wharf Cookbook" is profusely illustrated with watercolor prints by Mike Nelson. These well-done mini-prints (similar to the cover illustration) portray the San Francisco Bay scenery and the restaurants themselves, and not so much the featured dishes. There is also a brief history listed for each of the featured restaurants which makes for a nice nostalgic background of the district.