Counter intelligence: Lincoln Del cookbook in the works – again

After years of stops and starts, the elusive cookbook devoted to the late, lamented Lincoln Del has started up once again.

No publisher yet, but Wendi Zelkin Rosenstein, granddaughter of Del founders Morrie and Tess Berenberg, has teamed up with Minneapolis writer Kit Naylor, and the two are plowing ahead.

There's certainly interest. Within 24 hours of posting a plea for customer stories on the Lincoln Del alumni Facebook page, Naylor was inundated with responses.

"The Del was so beloved, and Wendi has been working on this for years," Naylor said. "She considers this her family's legacy, and feels a tremendous responsibility to preserve it."

First, recipes. Yes, Zelkin Rosenstein is in possession of what Naylor estimates are 100 Del recipes, in the form of handwritten notes from a longtime Del cook.

There's just one slight hitch: The ingredient amounts are in restaurant quantities, not home-kitchen quantities, and none of the recipes include directions.

So, roadblock. Interpreting each recipe requires tremendous amounts of research and testing, but the two are making progress.

"I can personally vouch for the Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars, and the C. Everett Koop Cake," Naylor said with a laugh, noting that the latter is an extravaganza of chocolate cake, whipped cream and chocolate icing.

Naturally, some of the most-requested recipes are a challenge because the journey from restaurant kitchen to home kitchen is a bumpy one. Also, in the 15 years since the restaurant closed, certain ingredients have grown scarce or disappeared. Still, "it's amazing what you can find at Amazon," said Naylor.

A search through the Star Tribune archives revealed little beyond an adaptation of the Del's recipe for Meaty Cabbage Borscht, published in Taste shortly after the restaurant closed in 2000, along with a recipe for the Del's Thousand Island Dressing. Find them at Startribune.com/tabletalk.

Do you have a Lincoln Del memory? Go to the Del's alumni Facebook page (http://tinyurl.com/qjcsmr8), and share your story.

Yep, that's the tostada chilaquiles from Hola Arepa (3501 Nicollet Av. S., Mpls., www.holaarepa.com) gracing the cover of the May issue of Food & Wine magazine, heralding the magazine's globally minded "The New Originals" feature. Chef/co-owner Christina Nguyen provides the recipe, but for those who don't feel like cooking, the dish is available on the restaurant's weekend brunch menu for $11 (or $13 if you add pork, highly recommended).

It's F&W's second Minneapolis cover in the past six months; foccacia from the Salty Tart (920 E. Lake St., Mpls., www.saltytart.com) was the November 2014 cover image.

On Saturday, the Minnesota/Dakotas Chapter of the American Immigration Lawyers Association is honoring two Minneapolis food-scene forces with its 2015 Immigrant of Distinction Award: Sameh Wadi, chef/co-owner of Saffron Restaurant & Lounge (123 N. 3rd St., Mpls., www.saffronmpls.com) and World Street Kitchen (2743 Lyndale Av. S., Mpls., www.eatwsk.com), and Enrique Garcia Salazar, co-owner of La Loma Tamales (four locations, including the Midtown Global Market, 920 E. Lake St., Mpls., www.lalomatamales.com). Congratulations.

In a short film, a handful of Twin Cities female chefs and restaurateurs share their thoughts on media, mentoring and more. Find it at Startribune.com/tabletalk.

RICK NELSON