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Garlic and Sapphires: The Secret Life of a Critic in Disguise
by Ruth Reichl

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<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/80642.Garlic_and_Sapphires_The_Secret_Life_of_a_Critic_in_Disguise?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=blog_review" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img alt="Garlic and Sapphires: The Secret Life of a Critic in Disguise" border="0" src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/photo.goodreads.com/books/1170984667m/80642.jpg" /></a> <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/80642.Garlic_and_Sapphires_The_Secret_Life_of_a_Critic_in_Disguise?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_review">Garlic and Sapphires: The Secret Life of a Critic in Disguise</a> by <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5662.Ruth_Reichl">Ruth Reichl</a> 
 <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/12498884?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_review"><h3>My review</h3></a>
 rating: 5 of 5 stars The title of Gourmet magazine editor Ruth Reichl’s third food memoir comes from TS Eliot’s Four Quartets and is courtesy Ruth’s husband, Michael but the reader doesn’t understand his reasoning for the quote until near the end of this delightful collection of tales of Reichl’s time as food editor of the New York Times.
 
 Filled with stories of her life as a critic, reviews of New York restaurants—well known and some not as well known, as well as recipes, this book is absolutely unputdownable. Imagine, if you will, how Ruth discovers, on a trip to NYC that her photo is plastered on bulletin boards in restaurants all over the city and decides that that she’s not going to be able to go to restaurants as herself and fairly do a critique. Instead she devises a plan. She will go incognito. Ruth enlists an old friend of her mother’s who was an acting coach and with her help she becomes Molly, a middle aged woman from the Midwest; Brenda a vivacious and friendly woman; the sexy Chloe; Betty a plain elderly woman, and even Miriam her own cantankerous mother. As one can well imagine, these women get very different treatment from one another and VERY different treatment from Ruth Reichl, the food critic.
 
 My mouth was watering as I read of Ruth’s experiences in restaurants that I can only dream of eating at in NYC (although I do admit that I will attempt some good sushi again after reading how it is properly eaten) and I know that many a fine eating experience will be enhanced.
 
 I borrowed the three Ruth Reichl books from the library, but will be buying copies of my own for my keeper shelf. I am not sure if I will eventually try any of the recipes, but I sure want to. The only thing that disappointed me was that after reading these three books, one right after another, that there are no more Ruth Reichl books to read. I guess I am going to have to satisfy myself with a subscription to Gourmet magazine and hope she has another book in her future with which to entertain her legions of fans. 
 
 <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/list/146946?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_review">View all my reviews.</a>

Maudeen's review
rating:
recommended for: Chefs, waitresses, those who love to eat good food

The title of Gourmet magazine editor Ruth Reichl’s third food memoir comes from TS Eliot’s Four Quartets and is courtesy Ruth’s husband, Michael but the reader doesn’t understand his reasoning for the quote until near the end of this delightful collection of tales of Reichl’s time as food editor of the New York Times.

Filled with stories of her life as a critic, reviews of New York restaurants—well known and some not as well known, as well as recipes, this book is absolutely unputdownable. Imagine, if you will, how Ruth discovers, on a trip to NYC that her photo is plastered on bulletin boards in restaurants all over the city and decides that that she’s not going to be able to go to restaurants as herself and fairly do a critique. Instead she devises a plan. She will go incognito. Ruth enlists an old friend of her mother’s who was an acting coach and with her help she becomes Molly, a middle aged woman from the Midwest; Brenda a vivacious and friendly woman; the sexy...more The title of Gourmet magazine editor Ruth Reichl’s third food memoir comes from TS Eliot’s Four Quartets and is courtesy Ruth’s husband, Michael but the reader doesn’t understand his reasoning for the quote until near the end of this delightful collection of tales of Reichl’s time as food editor of the New York Times.

Filled with stories of her life as a critic, reviews of New York restaurants—well known and some not as well known, as well as recipes, this book is absolutely unputdownable. Imagine, if you will, how Ruth discovers, on a trip to NYC that her photo is plastered on bulletin boards in restaurants all over the city and decides that that she’s not going to be able to go to restaurants as herself and fairly do a critique. Instead she devises a plan. She will go incognito. Ruth enlists an old friend of her mother’s who was an acting coach and with her help she becomes Molly, a middle aged woman from the Midwest; Brenda a vivacious and friendly woman; the sexy Chloe; Betty a plain elderly woman, and even Miriam her own cantankerous mother. As one can well imagine, these women get very different treatment from one another and VERY different treatment from Ruth Reichl, the food critic.

My mouth was watering as I read of Ruth’s experiences in restaurants that I can only dream of eating at in NYC (although I do admit that I will attempt some good sushi again after reading how it is properly eaten) and I know that many a fine eating experience will be enhanced.

I borrowed the three Ruth Reichl books from the library, but will be buying copies of my own for my keeper shelf. I am not sure if I will eventually try any of the recipes, but I sure want to. The only thing that disappointed me was that after reading these three books, one right after another, that there are no more Ruth Reichl books to read. I guess I am going to have to satisfy myself with a subscription to Gourmet magazine and hope she has another book in her future with which to entertain her legions of fans.
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