Mysteries

A Real-Life Vintage Cookbook and Kitchenware Shop

When I created Miss Vee’s Vintage Cookbook and Kitchenware Shop, the setting and premise for my Vintage Cookbook Mysteries, I thought I was being so creative. I mean, who ever heard of a shop like that existing in the real world, right? Well, guess what. Not only do they exist, there are least two of them. One in New Orleans – where my series is set!! – and one in New York City – my hometown!!

I’ve visited Seasoned, the shop in New Orleans, and will visit again on my next NOLA trip to check out their new location. But although I follow Bonnie Slotnick Cookbooks on Instagram, I’d never been to her shop. So, I made a pilgrimage on my recent trip to the city.

After lunch in Midtown, my husband Jer and I took a quick subway ride down to the East Village, where we found Bonnie’s shop on a leafy street, housed in a charming townhouse. I stepped into a dream come true…

The cookbooks! The kitchenware! It was as if the shop I imagined for my series protagonist Ricki James-Diaz had come to life. And in a historic, picturesque setting, no less. I took a ton of photos and Bonnie even kindly let me interview her, which I plan to share when I kick into full metal promo for the summer release of A MURDERER’S GUIDE TO MARDI GRAS, my 5th Vintage Cookbook Mystery.

When I first discovered these shops exist in real life, I was a bit deflated because I could no longer give myself credit for coming up with a brilliantly unique idea. But having browsed the offerings at both stores, I’m now excited to know that I’m not alone in my passion for culinary history. Judging by the Likes on Bonnie’s posts, there are a growing number of us out there. We aficionados love how the cookbooks capture their particular moment in time. Their illustrations (or lack of), ingredients, and writing style offer a fascinating window into the decade they were published. Likewise, kitchenware evolves with time, rendering some items from the past downright archeological.

I couldn’t leave Bonnie’s wonderful shop empty-handed. There was no way I could add another cookbook to my huge collection, but vintage kitchenware was another story. I debated between three items. My first choice was a tea timer. Since tea is my go-to beverage choice, it would have gotten a lot of use. Then I spotted these gorgeous handmade bowls fitted with slots to hold chopsticks…

Given how much Jer and I love Asian cuisine, I knew we’d put the bowls – and chopsticks! – to good use.

The final item I found myself drawn to was the oddest: a rusty, rotating canape… bread cutter? I guess??? I never entertain anymore, so it was clearly the least useful. Plus, I had questions about the rust, if I did take a chance and experiment with the contraption.

I went back and forth between the three. But honestly, it was no contest.

I don’t think I have to tell you which one earned a spot in my suitcase and a place of prominence in our living room.

Readers, is there an old kitchen item you’d love to have again, or brings back memories – fond or otherwise? (Personally, much as I loved my grandmother, I do not miss her hand eggbeater.)

39 thoughts on “A Real-Life Vintage Cookbook and Kitchenware Shop”

  2. We use a hand crank can opener. Gets the job done and we have no complaints about it. That said, I have fond memories of the electric can opener we had when I was a kid. Watching the can go round and round was like magic to me. And the magnet that held onto the lid? What a bonus!

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    2. J.C. I’ve always used a hand can opener. We never had an electric one growing up. You know what, I don’t know if they’re even still around. But I too loved watching them work their magic when I visited friends who had them!

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  4. Hand egg beaters–ha! I used one for years, till I switched to a wire whisk (or often simply a fork, if it’s for scrambled eggs for one or two).

    I have a lot of my grandmother’s ancient cooking utensils (some of which no doubt came from her mother–or grandmother), and many of them have a place of honor hanging in a row in our kitchen. And I use her well-seasoned cast iron chicken fryer (an enormous skillet) and Dutch oven all the time!

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  5. My mom had a great potato ricer. I wanted that thing when we cleaned out her kitchen, but one of my sisters sold it out from under me at the rummage sale! I finally bought one, but it’s certainly not as sturdy as the one she had. That thing was a beast!

    My grandmother had one of the original KitchenAide electric mixers and I did get that and used it until the motor gave up the ghost. When I tried to replace just the motor, the guy looked at me and said, this thing is over 50 years old! They do not have parts for it anymore. Now, just who do I leave my replacement to?

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    2. I had an OG KitchenAide and it was wonderful! Then my roommate, who was also my cousin, used it for a heavy dough and blew out the motor. I wanted to kill her.

      You have my sympathies re: the ricer. But maybe one of the vintage shops I’ve discovered can find one for you!

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  6. I don’t know why, but I’ve decided that I am the keeper of all family china, tea sets and kitchen items. Vintage cookie cutters, 100-year-old tea sets, a toaster so old I don’t even know how it’s supposed to work (and based on the electrical cord, I’m 100% sure it’s a fire hazard). I currently have glass front cabinets in the kitchen and two glass front displays. But I was a lot happier once I just gave in and started displaying them!

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      1. I’m not allowed to use the Cuisinart in our house, ha. Something about me being a hazard in the kitchen and possibly in danger of losing some fingers.

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  8. I have a few older things from my mom, and a rolling pin and wooden spoon from my grandmother. BTW, my agent had me write a Vintage Sweets series that was published 2020-2021. That was a real stretch for me! She suggested vintage candies that I’d never heard of. I found out they were East Coast/New York things and I grew up in the Midwests. But I managed to find recipes for some and got 3 books published in that series. It’s better when the ideas come from the writer! (I don’t have that agent anymore.)

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        1. Huell Howser’s program (PBS – California’s Gold) had an episode that covered a candy store in the L.A. area that sold old fashioned candy. The show’s been off the air for a number of years; no knowing whether the shop’s still in existence…

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  10. Ellen, I don’t remember if we discussed Bee Wilson’s recent book “The Heart-Shaped Tin,” but everyone who commented here would enjoy it. It’s about the strong attachments some people feel for kitchen/table/cooking things.

    Thanks for visiting and posting about my shop!

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  11. I kept all of my mother’s vintage kitchen items and bought lots more. Our old house in Texas had all of these displayed on the walls of the kitchen, but the new one has no room. I love everything that I have though it is not now displayed. My mother had cookbooks out the kazoo. I kept many but had to let many go as I had no room at our new house. I still have everything packed away and maybe someday it will be relevant again.

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  12. There’s nothing new under the sun, right, Ellen? You’re in good company with your fictional cookbook bookshop. Wasn’t it fun to browse the real deal? Enjoy writing the books you add to the series (and using your souvenir).

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  13. Will have to visit that store next time I’m in the city, El! My mom didn’t cook a lot but my nana went to French culinary school. I probably have all of her cooking stuff (and plates). My fave piece is her wooden rolling pin. I have to mind that the handles don’t detach as I’m rolling (say, refrigerated Pillsbury dough tubes for Santa cookies) but other than that it works great!

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  14. I have a draw full of my grandma’s vintage kitchen tools. I use her butter slicer every holiday to make butter pats.

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