Bonnie Slotnick Cookbooks — Local services in New York

We found this shop through a quick Google search—I love collecting local cookbooks when I travel and prefer supporting small, local bookstores. While the store has a great used cookbook selection, the customer service left a lot to be desired.

For my entire visit, the owner was complaining to a friend/patron about a typo in a recent social media post and about all the foot traffic it brought in. As a customer standing there, it was uncomfortable and made me feel like I was inconveniencing her by being in the store.

When I checked out, I waited while their conversation continued. Later, I noticed one of the books was priced higher than its recommended sale price, so I emailed to ask whether it was an error or if there was a specific reason. I wasn’t upset—I was curious.

The reply I received was noticeably snarky. Although she did provide an explanation, she added: “You should be aware of the price before you pay for the book.” After listening to her complain about customers during my entire visit, this felt unnecessarily judgmental for simply asking a clarifying question.

I also hadn’t realized the prices were lightly penciled inside the first page of each book, which her email clarified—helpful to know before you shop.

While the cookbook selection is good, I’d recommend exploring one of the many other local bookstores in the neighborhood where the customer service may be more welcoming.

From my experience it appears this shop owner prefers her local patrons and minimal unexpected...

This is one of the prettiest bookstores with a large collection of cookbooks, mostly vintage. There are also vintage cooking related knickknacks that you can purchase.

But I had a terrible experience at the store. Unlike the warm and cozy bookstore, the owner of the store was extremely rude. Her behaviour was seemed to be selectively directed at me, may be because of my ethnicity. I saw she greeted and helped other customers, but was very curt and sometimes unresponsive to me. The books in the store are not very well curated and I wanted her help to look for some Italian cookbooks. When I asked her for help, she asked me to figure out myself. Despite her behaviour, I wished her happy holidays before leaving and she did not respond...

I went into the store and told the attendant about how my Scottish mother-in-law loves collecting cook books and she brought me over to the tiny Scottish section and showed me the most curious book! I was thinking that my MIL didn’t need a Scottish cookbook, she knows how to make everything in it! But it was a nostalgic comic book cookbook with a kind of story woven throughout. Anyway, it’s now my MILs favorite. She resides in Florida and shows every one of her Scottish guests the book and they reminisce. Only downside is I’ll never find a better gift for her. Great finds at this store and...