The Hotel del Coronado Cookbook

This California coastal institution, which opened in 1888, is a Victorian enormity--complete with cupolas, dormer windows, Deco menus and many memories; a photo, circa 1958, shows Ronald Reagan's tousled family on the beach, ready for anything. (The menu for a lunch Reagan hosted is duly reproduced, from chilled avocado soup with caviar dot to almond petits fours.) And so the appeal of a book collecting recipes from the hotel's first century is bound to seize nostalgists who appreciate rather quaint American ideas of elegance, whether this means Boursin-stuffed strawberries (with caviar), Milton Berle's vodka-steamed lobster with Dijon sauce, or a colossal chocolate truffle tree. Recipes in profusion will entertain readers, and provide a good starting point for entertaining in the old style. Color photos of famous visitors are fetchingly naive. Bass was food and beverage director of the Coronado for 12 years. Photos not seen by PW . (Aug.)