"Bites From Books"

Several months ago I read about a new venue in the Berkshires, Bondhu, which means friend in the Bengali language, and signed up to attend a themed lunch, “Bites From Books.” I had no idea what to expect. How would the food be tied to books? I thought perhaps the chef who founded this “culinary community space,” Farah Momen, would replicate meals from literature, but in fact it was far more creative than that. I now understand why Farah calls herself a “Food and Experience Designer.”  

The first thing we discovered at our seats was a crossword puzzle. The answer to each of the clues was the name of a book and solving it was a great way for the guests to get to know each other. I knew that On the Road was the book Bob Dylan said changed his life and that The Great Gatsby was written in Great Neck, Long Island. But I would not have guessed that “confidential grounds” was The Secret Garden, or that The Joy Luck Club was the novel that was made into a film in 1993.  One of my friends knew that Ramona was the answer to “and Beezus.”  

The list of “bites” was also a list of clues, like “good fortune” and “toothpaste,” most of which were too oblique for me to guess the foods they were describing.  Farah used the mysterious clues as an opportunity to speak to us before each course, explaining both the clue and the food we are about to eat. The course for The Joy Luck Club, or “good fortune,” was a Southeast Asian inspired dumpling. “Toothpaste” was the most bewildering clue until Farah explained that one of her favorite childhood memories from the Ramona Quimby stories was Ramona squeezing an entire tube of toothpaste into the sink. Happily, we received pastry piping bags filled with whipped cream instead, which we squeezed onto delicious miniature apple pies.

As much as I appreciated the cleverness, it was the food, influenced by Farah’s Bangladeshi heritage, that was the centerpiece of the afternoon.  It was a unique gourmet experience I won’t forget.