The Seaside Café Metropolis
by Antanas Sileika Pub date: September 27, 2025
Humour and food, what more could one ask from a novel?

"Antanas Sileika has invented a new genre: the culinary picaresque. Throw in the Cold War, dissident shenanigans, an ideologue mother, knife-fighting love story, iron curtain Bohemians, and more than half a dozen traditional and innovative Lithuanian recipes and you get a sense of the many flavors Sileika blends to perfection in this sad, funny, insightful, propulsive banquet of a novel. This is a rare dish served by a master chef." — Tamas Dobozy

Reluctant Canadian restaurateur Emmet Argentine is stuck in Khrushchev-era Vilnius, Lithuania, trapped under the tyranny of two equally formidable forces — the Soviet Union, and his staunchly socialist mother.

Raised in the kitchens of Toronto's Royal York Hotel, Emmet's talent for hospitality catches the attention of a high-ranking architect, who hires Emmet to helm a magnificent new restaurant. The Seaside Café Metropolis, though located neither by the sea nor in a major metropolitan area, aspires toward elegance without pretention, bohemianism without vulgarity. Evading the repressive communist regime through guile, wit, and charm, Emmet assembles the menu and the staff to create a sophisticated and atmospheric fine dining experience in the heart of the Soviet Union — all while KGB operatives listen in on the restaurant from the basement.

Each chapter opens with a narratively relevant, restaurant-quality recipe, such as recipes for apple compote, chicken Kiev, and Napoleon cake.

Marketing Plans
* launch at the Lithuanian Cultural Centre October 21st
* interest from The Walrus, SubTerrain, Scout Magazine and various other publications
* Advertising in the Literary Review of Canada
* Canadian review mailing, particularly CBC, Globe and Mail, Quill & Quire, Toronto Star, Post Media
* American review mailing, particularly Kirkus, Booklist, Library Journal, NY Times, Boston Globe, LA Times
* Submitting to regional and national awards

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