Eli Sussman Signed Books, Ate Matzo Balls, Made Latkes On TV

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Eli Sussman, advertising executive-turned-line cook at Brooklyn's Mile End Deli (turned advertising columnist for Food Republic) is having a busy few weeks. Since the release of THIS IS A COOKBOOK with his brother Max (chef de cuisine at Roberta's), he's been on the road quite a bit. Such is the life of a cookbook author with a new release. Last weekend he was in Chicago for book signings, a TV spot involving latkes alongside delicious traif and an awesome camp reunion/wedding.

Where are you just get back from?

My brother Max and I just got back from a quick weekend in Chicago. We got in Friday afternoon and left early Sunday morning.

Business or pleasure?

Both. As far as business, we were filming a holiday recipes segment for ABC7 (we made latkes and pork chops) and also doing a demo/signing at the Michigan Ave. Williams-Sonoma store for THIS IS A COOKBOOK. And for pleasure we were there for the wedding of two of our best friends from our childhood summer camp in Western Michigan (they met there). They married each other Saturday night on Goose Island. It was a beautiful, hilarious, touching ceremony.

Awh. Any highlights or lowlights you'd like to share?

Two highlights. One was definitely the wedding of our camp friends and seeing everyone from back in the day. It was basically a gigantic camp reunion. And the signing at Williams-Sonoma was a pretty big success. There were tons of people that came by. When people you've never met flip through the book and you can see them talking about the recipes and laughing at the jokes and then they decide to pick up a copy, that really makes all the hard work we put into it totally worth it.

What was your best meal on the trip?

We went to Au Cheval for dinner on Friday. We had chicken livers, matzo ball soup, bone marrow, the burger, fried chicken, fries with an egg on it. Every dish was fantastic. I would recommend that restaurant to anyone traveling to Chicago. We definitely over-ordered but I would go back there in a heartbeat.

Which airline did you fly and how was it?

We flew United. Our flight back to LGA was three hours late which was miserable because we were so exhausted from the wedding and just wanted to be back in NYC not sitting at the terminal. And then because of the delay we were both late to work, which was awful too. So we each got off the plane and hopped into separate cabs straight to our jobs.

What did you bring back?

There was a photo booth at the wedding and we got some good ones with a bunch of our old camp friends. Those were better than any store-bought souvenir. Max gets a mug from everywhere he travels so he picked one of those up.

Where are you heading next?

We are heading to Detroit over Thanksgiving for a few signings and to see family and friends. We'll be at the Somerset Mall near our parents house on Black Friday and then heading to Briarwood Mall in Ann Arbor on Saturday. We're having a open house brunch at our parents house to celebrate the book for close family friends (luckily we aren't cooking at this) and hopefully we'll squeeze in one more event while we're home too.

Check out Eli's column, Ad Snacking, every week on Food Republic.

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