{"product_id":"9781639735723","title":"Cheesecake: A Novel","description":"Author: Kurlansky, Mark\u003cbr\u003eISBN: 9781639735723\u003cbr\u003ePublisher: Bloomsbury\u003cbr\u003eYear first published: 16 Dec 2025\u003cbr\u003ePages: 240 Format: Hardback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFrom \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e bestselling author Mark Kurlansky, a delectable novel following one Manhattan block as an ancient cheesecake recipe   and a conniving landlord   change the Upper West Side forever.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWest 86th Street knows its desserts. It's the 1970s, and poppyseed strudel, praline ice cream cake, and New York cheesecake are as integral to Manhattan's Upper West Side as clustered pigeons, suited doormen, and greasy diners. That is, until Cato comes to town. Cato the Elder, a Roman born in 234 BCE, is credited with the earliest written recipe ever found. A recipe for . . . cheesecake. No cream cheese, no graham cracker crust, somehow savory and sweet, the recipe is enigmatic   and suddenly, it's all anyone on West 86th Street can talk about. \u003cbr\u003eThe Katsikases, a Greek cheesemaking family who immigrated to open a restaurant in New York, added Cato's pastry to their menu as a ploy to attract \"upscale\" diners. After a glowing write-up in the \u003ci\u003eTimes\u003c\/i\u003e, the recipe becomes a neighborhood fixation   and the Katsikases' patriarch, Art, buys up as much of the block's real estate as he can. As the portentous pastry appears in the lives of the old-school residents Art is pricing out of their apartments, a sidewalk view of West 86th Street emerges- A high-profile family planning a high-pressure bat mitzvah, a painter's muse with a terrible secret, an eccentric art collector plotting revenge. Sometimes laced with green M\u0026amp;Ms, sometimes with sage, sometimes with spite, Cato's cheesecake heralds change as West 86th Street is transformed for good.","brand":"Ships in 10 to 15 days","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46658443968670,"sku":"UBD-9781639735723","price":44.78,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0400\/9043\/5742\/files\/9781639735723.jpg?v=1774925929","url":"https:\/\/classicbargains.com.au\/products\/9781639735723","provider":"Classic Bargains Australia","version":"1.0","type":"link"}