About this Event
From expert chef Ryan Bartlow and longtime Anthony Bourdain collaborator and food writer Laurie Woolever, Essentially Basque is a comprehensive cookbook that brings Spain's Basque region—a destination beloved for its fresh produce, vibrant food culture, and unforgettable dishes—to your table.
Approachable and deeply flavorful, the recipes are designed for real home kitchens—no foams, no screaming-hot pans, no tricks, just food meant to be eaten with wine, cider, sherry, or beer among friends, family, or on your own while dreaming of San Sebastián.
Bringing together Bartlow’s most trusted recipes and techniques and the storytelling of Laurie Woolever, Essentially Basque captures the spirit of Spanish culture and distills one of the world’s most celebrated food regions into dishes any home cook can master.
🎟️ What your ticket includes:
- admission and one hardcover copy of Essentially Basque
Ryan Bartlow is the chef and co-owner of Ernesto’s and Bartolo in New York City. He began working in restaurants at age 14 at Baskin-Robbins in his native Chicago. After culinary school, he moved to Spain to cook at the famed Akelarre, and from there, cooked in some of the most respected kitchens in the U.S., including Alinea in Chicago, Animal in LA, and Frankie’s Sputino, Quality Eats, and Frenchette in New York. Ernesto’s has been heaped with accolades since its opening. Pete Wells named it #3 on the list of Best Restaurants in New York for The New York Times in 2021, and it has remained high on that list ever since. It also received glowing reviews in New York magazine, Eater, and GQ, which named it one of the best new restaurants in America. In the summer of 2025, he opened his second Spanish restaurant, Bartolo, in the West Village, which has already started garnering critical acclaim.
Laurie Woolever is a New York Times bestselling author, editor, speaker, and former cook. For nearly a decade, she worked as the lieutenant to Anthony Bourdain, coauthoring Appetites: A Cookbook and World Travel: An Irreverent Guide with him. She later authored Bourdain: The Definitive Oral Biography, Richard Hart Bread, and Care and Feeding.
[ABOUT THIS EVENT: The rear half of the store will be used exclusively for this event. The front bar will be open to the public for drinking & chatting. Book browsing will be limited to a few display tables and shelves closest to the front of the store.]
Event venue & nearby stays
Book Club Bar - East Village, 197 East 3rd Street, New York, United States
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