Cheesecake by Mark Kurlansky
You may know Kurlansky for his nonfictional food writing, but in his latest, you’ll be treated to a novel about a Manhattan community obsessing over an ancient cheesecake recipe.
It’s the 1970s, West 86th Street. The people love their delectable local dessert options, but this grows even truer with the arrival of the Katsikases. They’re a Greek family opening a new restaurant who’ve brought with them Cato the Elder’s original 234 BCE cheesecake recipe. The goal was to attract “upscale” diners, but the cheesecake has been a hit with everyone. As a result, Art Katsikas begins to use his family’s new-found wealth to buy up local real estate, forever changing the landscape of this block of West 86th Street.
It’s a bit slice-of-life and a lot slice-of-cheesecake.