Rare Cookbooks And Vintage Cookbooks At Bonnie Slotnick Cookbooks Shop In The West Village, New York City

With Black Friday past and only a couple of weeks left to shop, it's a challenge to find unique, inexpensive gifts for food lovers. But for rare, unconventional and sentimental discoveries, Bonnie Slotnick Cookbooks is the ultimate treasure trove.

This tiny West Village shop stocks everything from famous first editions to back issues of culinary magazines to (unintentionally hilarious) midcentury recipe pamphlets. There's also a selection of vintage kitchenware, aprons and artwork, and if you still can't find the perfect present for your cookbook-hoarding mother, just ask: The friendly Slotnick is a masterful matchmaker.

Here are a few great finds:

-For the retro-housewife aficionado: Electric Blender Recipes ($12), a 1950s cookbook with recipes for every meal of the week-all of which require an electric blender.

-For the locavore-scrounger: The Guide to Picking Wild Asparagus ($14).

-For the hopeless romantic: Cuisine d'Amour ($22), written in 1952 by an eccentric New Orleans chef, with recipes for perfume, love potions and aphrodisiacs.

A tip to the wise: Be sure to call ahead, as store hours change weekly.

Bonnie Slotnick Cookbooks, 163 W. 10th St. (between Waverly Pl. and Seventh Ave.); 212-989-8962 or bonnieslotnickcookbooks.com