Cookbook store spotlight: Brooklyn’s Archestratus

We value the independent cookbook stores that we feature on our Cookbook Stores Around the World page, and do our best to promote these small shops. The owners are always enthusiastic and knowledgeable about our favorite subject. One of the newer entrants in the space is Brooklyn’s Archestratus, owned by Paige Lipari. Recently, Taste interviewed the 34-year-old, getting the low-down about her expansion plans and more.

Lipari’s love of food and cookbooks blossomed after a trip to Sicily, where she met extended family members. When she came back, she began collecting cookbooks and learned as much as she could from her grandmother before dementia made that impossible. She says that “cooking Sicilian food is now my greatest passion and makes me feel close to my heritage and my culture.” Shortly after she embarked on her culinary journey, Lipari knew that her future involved a store that featured food-related books.

In the article we learn about Lipari’s plans for expanding her small shop, and we also discover four of this fall’s upcoming cookbooks she is most looking forward to reading. One of these is Black Food: Stories, Art, and Recipes from Across the African Diaspora by Bryant Terry. “He’s just oozing with genuine good energy. And it comes through the food. And I mean, what is food but this energy transmission healing art form?” Lipari asks. The other books that pinged her radar are That Sounds So Good by Carla Lalli Music, From Gujarat, With Love by Vina Patel, and Take One Fish by Josh Niland.