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

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

(150 customer reviews)

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Features

ISBN13: 9780143036616
Condition: New
Notes: BUY WITH CONFIDENCE, Over one million books sold! 98% Positive feedback. Compare our books, prices and service to the competition. 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed

Description

Ruth Reichl, world-renowned food critic and editor in chief of Gourmet magazine, knows a thing or two about food. She also knows that as the most important food critic in the country, you need to be anonymous when reviewing some of the most high-profile establishments in the biggest restaurant town in the world—a charge she took very seriously, taking on the guise of a series of eccentric personalities. In Garlic and Sapphires, Reichl reveals the comic absurdity, artifice, and excellence to be found in the sumptuously appointed stages of the epicurean world and gives us—along with some of her favorite recipes and reviews—her remarkable reflections on how one’s outer appearance can influence one’s inner character, expectations, and appetites, not to mention the quality of service one receives.

Product Details

Author:	Ruth Reichl
Paperback:	352 pages
Publisher:	Penguin (Non-Classics)
Publication Date:	March 28, 2006
ISBN:	0143036610
Package Length:	8.4 inches
Package Width:	5.4 inches
Package Height:	0.9 inches
Package Weight:	0.7 pounds
Average Customer Rating:	based on 150 reviews

Customer Reviews

Average Customer Review: 4.0

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Over-appreciated tosh Aug 21, 2010
Annoying, trite, and painfully over-exaggerated.

That is all. This short review is about the perfect length the book should be.

Part restaurant review...part spy novel Aug 17, 2010
This book was intriguing from the very beginning, when Ruth is recognized by a complete stranger as the incoming restaurant critic of the New York Times. To Ruth's utter shock, she learns that important restaurants in the city have virtually compiled a dossier on her, complete with photographs and background information. In that stomach-dropping moment, Ruth realizes that the job she hasn't even started yet is in jeopardy. Just as suddenly, she decides that she can outfox the foxes. Her mother's old friend is an acting coach who teaches Ruth the ropes in disguising herself so completely that even her personality undergoes change with each new "character."

Unlike her predecessor, Ruth aimed to review restaurants on how they catered to the average patron, not a powerful critic. As you might guess, there is a big difference. For me, hearing about those differences were the most entertaining portions of this book. Although Ruth's descriptions of delectable dishes were colorful enough that they practically leapt onto my taste buds, many ingredients and techniques are so foreign to my far-from-Manhattan experiences that I couldn't savor them the way a food aficionado would. (But they did underscore what I'm missing from chain restaurants.)

Toward the end, as Ruth grows disenchanted with her job, the memoir wanders from the restaurant to the specialty food shop. Here, it adopts an almost "I heart New York" theme that bored me. Clearly, my enjoyment of her book corresponds to the periods when Ruth most enjoyed her job. Luckily for us readers and listeners, those periods comprise the bulk of this engaging book.

Pretty good...an inside look at the restaurant world. Jun 27, 2010
I thought it was pretty good....not the finest piece of literature I've ever read, but it was good...and sort of an inside look at the world of restaurants and their proprietors and the class of people who go to the very best and finest restaurants and how they are treated as compared to how a frumpily clad person would get treated. I'd say if you are in-between books and need something 'lighter' to read..or in need of a fast read....this would be perfect. Some good recipes, too!

So much fun! Apr 06, 2010
Oh to go undercover with Ruth to various restaurants in New York City in the 90s wearing wigs and costumes, what a perfect delight! It is quite obvious how profound an impact she had on the food revolution, daring to give legitimacy to Asian noodle restaurants when no one else would dare. This book is so entertaining to read, I loved every second of shadowing her on her food adventures. I will be attempting to make her recipe for Sort-of Thai Noodles very soon. For a foodie, this book is fantastic escapism to one of the food capitals of the world. To see the life of the most powerful woman in that industry in action? Pure bliss.

Great Book - Just Like Her Others! Mar 02, 2010
If you liked Ruth Reichl's other books, you will definitely like this one. The description of foods is amazing and literally leaves your mouth watering for more! Needless to say, I eagerly await her next release.