Garlic and Sapphires: The Secret Life of a Critic in Disguise
By Ruth Reichl
Garlic and Sapphires is a quick read about Ruth Reichl’s years as a food critic for the New York Times. Each chapter begins with a one or more personal stories about a food, a restaurant, or her personal life, and goes on to include a recipe or two and a restaurant review.
I enjoyed Reichl’s incredible, elaborate descriptions about the food and her service in the various restaurants. The thing that amazed me was how she seemed to be able to identify almost every flavor in a dish. (As a fellow foodie, I hope to someday know food that well!) It was clear that the good dishes really transported Reichl to another world.
At the same time, Reichl struggled against critics to sample and review all types of food (instead of the traditional high-class French food of the previous critics) and struggled to come up with an honest review – how does the restaurant treat people who are not restaurant critics or wealthy persons? To achieve this latter goal, Reichl created characters to disguise herself, such as her mother or hippie Brenda. Its incredible to think that restaurant service and food depends in part on your appearance and I applaud Reichl for standing up and giving these restaurants poor reviews because of it. These characters also helped Reichl find and better understand herself.
Overall, this was a great book for food-lovers.
Grade: B+