- Richland Library
- Friday, January 27, 2023
What could be better for our biscuit-loving bibliophiles than reading recommendations that pair perfectly with your favorite Rambo's Fat Cat menu items?
Why Rambo's? You ask. Well because they're the new operators of our Cafe space at Richland Library Main.
And while the title of this post may say biscuits, make no mistake, we're all in on the avocado toast and grits too. So regardless of what you're in the mood for, our resident taste testers and readers' advisory gurus have you covered. Stop by Richland Library Main to boost your appetite for reading (and possibly a few other menu items too.)
BISCUITS:
🍽️ Heirloom Tomato BLT
🕮 Devil in a Blue Dress by Walter Mosley
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Chantal Wilson, Research and Readers’ Advisory
The BLT gained popularity in the U.S.A in the post-war period so pairing the Heirloom Tomato BLT with Walter Mosley’s page turning historical mystery set in post-war L.A. feels like a natural fit.
Set in 1948, Devil in a Blue Dress introduces Ezekiel “Easy” Rawlins, a WWII vet turned unwilling amateur detective from the Watts section of Los Angeles. The language and setting are gritty and matches well with the spicy bacon and crispness of the heirloom tomato and complemented by the creaminess of Duke’s Mayo. Refresh yourself with the Heirloom Tomato BLT biscuit, a cold bottle of Coca-Cola, and this modern American classic.
🍽️ Biscuits & Gravy
🕮 The Elephant in the Room by Tommy Tomlinson
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Leighan Cazier, Collection Development
One-time Columbia resident Tomlinson’s memoir is an loving ode to his hard-working parents who’d experienced poverty and hunger, and explores how his family’s past Is part of his own complicated relationship with food.
Food equaled love and care, beginning with his mother, who inherited parenting her five siblings at age 12 when her own mother had a stroke:
Every morning she got up and made three dozen biscuits with white gravy—basically, flour and bacon grease. Those seven people would eat every one of those biscuits—five or six apiece.
You may be tempted to try and eat five or six Fat Cat biscuits & gravy yourself after reading this (though Tomlinson would urge you to pace yourself.)
🍽️ Brie & Fig Jam Biscuit
🕮 A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers
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Sara McBride, Research and Readers’ Advisory
This biscuit is both rich and buttery with brie and sweet and bright with fig jam - and so is like Becky Chambers' gentle sci-fi novella about a tea monk seeking clarity and direction. Set in a post-apocalyptic utopia with little conflict and a lot of introspection, this book will make you want to pour yourself a cup of tea and snuggle up with a good biscuit!
🍽️ Herbed Goat Cheese & Egg
🕮 Who Moved My Goat Cheese? by Lynn Cahoon
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Ariel Hackett, Research and Readers’ Advisory
Looking for an adventurous take on a classic biscuit sandwich? Pair the Herbed Goat Cheese & Egg Biscuit with the cozy mystery, Who Moved My Goat Cheese?, by Lynn Cahoon. With three weeks until opening night for their restaurant, the County Seat, Angie and her best friend and business partner Felicia are scrambling to line up local vendors all while helping to solve a murder. The sandwich is a perfect blend of herbs, creamy goat cheese, and a scrambled egg and will truly be complemented by this lively and fun mystery.
🍽️ Spicy Sausage and Chipotle Pimiento Cheese Biscuit
🕮 The Once and Future Witches by Alix Harrow
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Sarah Cameron, Research and Readers’ Advisory
This boldly flavored biscuit needs a fiery book to match! The three Eastwood sisters, each brave and powerful on her own, come together as a ferocious force to be reckoned with in this historical fantasy. Finding themselves destitute after the death of their father, the three young women amass a magical army in their fight to make New Salem a place where women can thrive. Like the sisters, the individual flavors of spicy sausage, smoky pimiento cheese, and buttery biscuit combine to form something spellbinding.
AVOCADO TOAST:
🍽️ The Bee’s Knees
🕮 The Great Santini by Pat Conroy
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Leighan Cazier, Collection Development
O be the wildflower, O come the wildflower, come the rose, come the sweet daffodil, come the good honey, come the ripe berry, come the wildflower.
So sings Toomer as he and his mule-drawn wagon travel the streets of Ravenel, selling honey from his bees and flowers he’s gathered. The Bee's Knees, avocado toast redolent with goat cheese, honey, bee pollen and edible flowers, brings to mind Toomer's love of nature and his ability to coax beauty from everything he touches. Ben, son of the Great Santini, learns to become a man different from his tyrannical father through Toomer’s friendship, though his coming-of-age is brought to a climax by tragedy. (The film adaptation of this novel is also highly recommended!)
🍽️ Avocado Toast with Goat Cheese, Honey, and Everything Seasoning
🕮 Matrix by Lauren Groff
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Sarah Cameron, Research and Readers’ Advisory
At first glance, both the toppings on this toast and the elements of this book seem oddly matched. Honey on avocado toast? A sensual, feminist book about a 12th century abbess? Brave tasters and readers will be richly rewarded for testing out these unusual combinations – a heavenly blend of flavors and textures and a gorgeous illumination of ancient religious life await. Both the toast and the book are experiences to be savored.
GRITS:
🍽️ Blue Corn Grits with Pimento Cheese
🕮 Rafe: A Buff Male Nanny by Rebekah Weatherspoon
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Sara McBride, Research and Readers’ Advisory
This savory side has a lot of flavor - the locally sourced blue grits play off the chipotle pimento cheese, which delivers a lot of spice! Something else that delivers a lot of spice is this romance novella by Rebekah Weatherspoon about a doctor who needs a nanny with good references and the live-in nanny who takes good care of her kids... and great care of her!
🍽️ Build Your Own Grit Bowl
🕮 Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
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Leighan Cazier, Collection Development
Dr. Frankenstein and his monster are a cautionary tale to take the responsibility and freedom inherent in building a whole from various elements very seriously. Here’s hoping your grit bowl creation ends in culinary bliss rather than horror!
The library's café program connects the community with local restauranteurs like Rambo's Fat Cat Biscuits—giving them a rotating taste of the Midland's thriving culinary scene. Owned and operated by husband and wife team Renee and Todd Adams, Rambo's got its start at Soda City Market and opened its first brick-and-mortar location on North Main in 2020. Learn more about the library's cafe project, here.