Delancey (Wizenberg)

Delancey: A Man, a Woman, a Restaurant, a Marriage
Molly Wizenberg, 2014
Simon & Schuster
256 pp.
ISBN-13: 9781451655094


Summary
In this funny, frank, tender memoir and New York Times bestseller, the author of A Homemade Life and the blog Orangette recounts how opening a restaurant sparked the first crisis of her young marriage.

When Molly Wizenberg married Brandon Pettit, he was a trained composer with a handful of offbeat interests: espresso machines, wooden boats, violin-building, and ice cream–making. So when Brandon decided to open a pizza restaurant, Molly was supportive—not because she wanted him to do it, but because the idea was so far-fetched that she didn’t think he would. Before she knew it, he’d signed a lease on a space. The restaurant, Delancey, was going to be a reality, and all of Molly’s assumptions about her marriage were about to change.

Together they built Delancey: gutting and renovating the space on a cobbled-together budget, developing a menu, hiring staff, and passing inspections. Delancey became a success, and Molly tried to convince herself that she was happy in their new life until—in the heat and pressure of the restaurant kitchen—she realized that she hadn’t been honest with herself or Brandon.

With evocative photos by Molly and twenty new recipes for the kind of simple, delicious food that chefs eat at home, Delancey is a moving and honest account of two young people learning to give in and let go in order to grow together. (From the publisher.)

Author Bio
• Birth—1978
• Where—Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA
• Education—B.A., Stanford University; University of Washington (graduate work)
• Currently—lives in Seattle, Washington


An intense love of food is nothing new to Molly Wizenberg, a former Ph.D. student at the University of Washington who now writes a popular food blog along with a full plate of other goodies.

Molly came to the UW after graduating from Stanford to study the cultural values surrounding the French social security system in the pursuit of becoming a medical anthropologist. Today, she is very far from that goal. Now she’s the author of Orangette, a tasty blog that mixes Molly’s life experiences with the foods she loves. She’s also the co-host of the humorous food podcast Spilled Milk as well as a columnist for various food magazines, author of two books: A Homemade Life: Stories and Recipes from My Kitchen Table, as well as Delancey: A Man, a Woman, a Restaurant, a Marriage, about the Delancey Pizzeria she co-owns with husband Brandon Pettit.

Molly has become a true foodie of Seattle. “I’m just grateful to earn a living doing work that I love,“ she said. “That’s the best part, hands down.“

Orangette is the blog Molly began in 2004 just after leaving the cultural anthropology program at UW. Since then, she has shared with readers stories about her past, her love of food and many innovations on new and old recipes. The stories she tells on Orangette are heartfelt and honest, and her inner self shows through completely. In the story of living in France and having leeks vinaigrette prepared by her host mother, readers can feel the love of learning about new food. Likewise, her enjoyment of summer is evident in the raspberry yogurt popsicles she shared with readers last July.

Through her blog, Molly met the man she is married to. Their wedding was unintentionally on the anniversary of the day she started the blog. Brandon has a Master’s in music composition from Brooklyn College, and came to the UW for a Ph.D. before leaving to open Delancey, which opened near Ballard High School in 2009. It is revered for its fired pizzas and chocolate chip cookies. “Brandon is there each night, tending the pizza oven,“ Molly said. “We’ve never been open without him there.“ Molly and Brandon gave birth to a daughter shortly after opening the Essex bar, next to Delancey. (Adapted from the University of Washington Alumni Association’s blog.)

Book Reviews
Wizenberg shines as a writer. She brilliantly turns the ups and downs of their do-it-yourself project into a compelling yet hilarious narrative....Like dipping into a lively, keenly observed diary....Charming.
Boston Globe


You'll feel the warmth from this pizza oven...affectionate...cheerfully honest...warm and inclusive, just like her cooking.
USA Today


The messy, explosive, and exhilarating story of giving birth to a restaurant...draws readers right into the heat of the kitchen.
Christian Science Monitor


When I sit down with Molly Wizenberg’s writing, it feels as though she’s just across the counter, coffee cup in hand, sharing an intimate truth….Inspiring, entertaining and informative, [Delancey] is a satisfying read.
Minneapolis Star Tribune


A crave-worthy memoir that is part love story, part restaurant industry tale. Scrumptious.
People


Charming, funny, and honest--in a hip, understated way--Wizenberg combines simple, appealing recipes with a tale of how nurturing her husband's passion project helped her see him, and herself, more clearly.
More


Wizenberg’s narrative is rich in such details.... Her fun and engaging narrative encompasses recipes, an odd assortment of the familiar (meatloaf) and the earnest (ricotta), undergirding overall what is an industrious, youthful effort at keeping marital harmony.
Publishers Weekly


(Starred review.) Food writer and creator of the popular blog Orangette....recounts the birth of her husband's Seattle restaurant, Delancey, in this charming memoir.... Wizenberg candidly describes her fears and doubts, as well as her struggles with trying to be a supportive wife. Recipes of favorite foods that the author and her husband turned to for comfort and in celebration are included.... [H]umorous, intimate, and honest. —Melissa Stoeger, Deerfield P.L., IL
Library Journal


Marriage plus business isn’t always the best formula to produce happiness. Just ask author Wizenberg and her husband, Brandon Pettit. Armed with a lot of enthusiasm and youthful vigor, the two opened a Seattle pizzeria.... Anyone, married or not, considering launching a restaurant will take away from this memoir some valuable personal and professional lessons. —Mark Knoblauch
Booklist


As always, Wizenberg is at her best when discussing the food, and though she quickly determines how small a part of restaurant ownership that is, she still manages to sprinkle fairy dust on everything—from the homemade cold meatloaf sandwiches...to the Vietnamese rice noodle salad.... A pleasantly rendered if not earth-shattering reality check for anyone with restaurant-owning envy.
Kirkus Reviews

Discussion Questions
1. In the introduction Molly discusses some of Brandon’s early ambitions, including making violins, building a boat, and opening an ice cream shop. None of these ever materialized. After those nonstarters, why do you think Brandon went through with Delancey?

2. Molly freely admits that change has always been difficult for her. When attempting to fully engage in the restaurant process, she remarks, “I didn’t want my life to change.... But it already had. I hated that“ (p. 107). Is Molly’s resentment only about change, or is it about the restaurant as well? How does Molly come to terms with change over the course of the book?

3. Both Molly and Brandon suffer emotional breakdowns, Molly’s on Halloween of 2009 (p. 178), and Brandon’s subsequent crisis after drinks with his staff (p. 186). Compare the two experiences. What was each of them truly upset about? In what ways did Molly’s breakdown affect her reaction to Brandon’s?

4. Molly and Brandon agree that they “wouldn’t be married anymore if (1) I hadn’t worked at Delancey and (2) I hadn’t stopped working at Delancey“ (p. 193). What was the significance of her working there? What was the significance of leaving? What effects do you think these two events had on both their relationship and their business?

5. Brandon and Molly take on a great deal of risk to start the restaurant. Discuss an experience where you took a risk, either alone or with others. How did the experience turn out? What did you learn?

6. Molly often compares the act of cooking to a way of caring for someone. In the beginning of her relationship with Brandon, that act consisted of cooking for and with each other. With the restaurant however, that act became a more communal one, an idea she contemplated when her editor asked, “What will it be like for you and Brandon to make it public?“ (p. 196). Discuss Molly’s thoughts about this idea through her poignant comment, “We would lose it“ (p. 197). How does the act of caring for someone through food and cooking alter for Molly? For Brandon? Is that alteration permanent? Do you think they will ever get “it“ back?

7. One of the prominent themes in the book is the transformative nature of the restaurant on Molly’s and Brandon’s lives, and Molly emphasizes that she has become a different person than she was before Delancey, often with a regretful tone. She admits, “I wondered when I’d go back to being the old, better me“ (p. 197). By the end of the book, does she still mourn the loss of her old self? How does she view, even embrace, the new version of herself?

8. From Molly’s description, the restaurant business is rife with impermanence: food spoils, employees come and go, and restaurants can close in the blink of an eye for any number of reasons. How does this sense of transience add to the challenge of running a successful restaurant? How do Molly and Brandon cope with it?

9. Molly and Brandon had a tumultuous experience with their first pizza cook, Jared. What did this relationship, and its abrupt ending, teach Molly and Brandon about the business and themselves as business owners?

10. In what ways do you think Brandon and Molly’s experience starting Delancey would have been different without the help and support of knowledgeable friends?

11. Molly eventually accepts the fact that she does not have the right personality to cook at the restaurant, yet after quitting, she says, "I didn’t know what do to with myself“ (p. 211). Contrast this thought with the opening Wendell Berry quote. How does this sentiment reflect Molly’s realization? What does it intimate about her path forward?

12. As novices in the restaurant industry, Molly and Brandon had to learn on their feet. How did the sometimes painful learning process help them identify their strengths and weaknesses? Without their flexibility to adapt to changing circumstances, do you think Delancey would have succeeded as it has?
(Questions are issued by the publisher.)

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