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

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More About This Book

Overview

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.

“This wonderful book is funny—at times laugh-out-loud funny—and smart and wise.” —The Washington Post
“Reichl is so gifted . . . the reader remains hungry for more.” —USA Today
“Expansive and funny.” —Entertainment Weekly

Editorial Reviews

From Barnes & Noble
Most of us would love to receive celebrity treatment in restaurants, but for a food critic, such red carpet welcomes can pave the way to ruin. As the New York Times restaurant critic, Ruth Reichl wielded more power than any other food arbiter in the country. It's not surprising, then, that managers circulated her picture and offered bonuses for advance notice of her visits. Knowing that "to be a good restaurant critic, you have to be anonymous," Reichl went undercover, donning frumpy wigs and unstylish outfits, and presenting herself as Molly Hollis, retired Michigan high school teacher. Garlic and Sapphires records Reichl's amusing (and revealing) career as a covert critic in New York's most exclusive eateries.
David Kamp
The meat of the book, its selling point, is its revelation of the elaborate lengths to which Reichl went to conceal her identity as she reviewed restaurants, and how this affected both her work and personal life. Early on, Reichl decided to take a populist approach, shrouding herself in anonymity in order to avoid the amped-up service and extra truffle shavings and cremes brulees that restaurateurs bestow upon V.I.P. guests. In Garlic and Sapphires, she recounts how she enlisted her mother's old friend Claudia Banks, a retired acting coach, to create various non-Ruth personae for reviewing purposes, each with her own back story, wardrobe, wig and name.
— The New York Times
More Reviews (1) Fewer Reviews
From The Critics
… as a memento of her time at the Times she gives us this wonderful book, which is funny -- at times laugh-out-loud funny -- and smart and wise. Maybe a bit too much food talk, but that isn't what matters, which is Reichl, and she's a gas.
— The Washngton Post

Product Details

  • ISBN-13: 9780143036616
  • Publisher: Penguin Group (USA) Incorporated
  • Publication date: 3/28/2006
  • Edition description: Reprint
  • Pages: 352
  • Sales rank: 72,696
  • Product dimensions: 5.60 (w) x 8.44 (h) x 0.79 (d)

Meet the Author

Ruth Reichl
Ruth Reichl
Take equal parts family history and food history, simmer with humor, and you get Ruth Reichl’s irresistible, self-styled genre: the culinary confessional (recipes included). In her two bestselling memoirs, Tender at the Bone and Comfort Me with Apples, renowned restaurant critic turned editor-in-chief at Gourmet magazine Ruth Reichl proves she understands herself -- and human nature -- as well as she does food.

Biography

Take equal parts family history and food history, simmer with humor, and you get Ruth Reichl's irresistible, self-styled genre: the culinary confessional (recipes included). A renowned restaurant critic who left the Los Angeles Times for The New York Times before moving on to the editor-in-chief post at Gourmet magazine, Reichl (pronounced "Rye-shill") understands herself—and human nature—as well as she does food.

Reichl, who arrived at the Times in 1993, changed the way the newspaper reviewed restaurants; her columns were witty, high-spirited, honest, irreverent, and determined, it seemed, to demystify the intimidating world of high-end dining establishments. Although her innovations were maddening to some in the old guard, Dwight Garner, writing in Salon, claimed "Reichl has been a real democratizing force," and lauded her "outsider's perspective about the snobbery and pretension of some well-known New York restaurants, and…the sexism that often confronts women while eating out."

1999's Tender at the Bone: Growing Up at the Table, Reichl's first memoir, was an unsparing look at her chaotic childhood—one that seemed unlikely to produce a first-rate food writer. Reichl's mother, a manic-depressive whom Reichl describes as "dangerous" in the kitchen, was so undone by domestic duties that she poisoned the family with a bacteria-infested dinner meant to celebrate her son's engagement. Reichl got the better of the situation by taking on the cooking tasks herself, and later left New York for California, landing in Berkeley as the co-owner of a collective restaurant and launching a life and that has always revolved around food.

Stylistically, Reichl is a descendant of legendary food writer M. F. K. Fisher, whose essays and memoirs braided personal autobiography with culinary commentary. In Tender at the Bone, Reichl takes the reader from her childhood in New York to her work as a chef in the '70s, her early restaurant writing, and the intersection of her passions for food, writing, and certain men. As The New Yorker put it, "Reichl writes with gusto, and her story has all of the ingredients of a modern fairy tale: hard work, weird food, and endless curiosity."

In Comfort Me With Apples: More Adventures at the Table (2001), Reichl picks up where she left off in the first book, this time covering the dissolution of her first marriage, her father's death, her second marriage, and the birth of her son. The book includes recipes, which may seem incongruous, but for Reichl, for whom all aspects of life—especially the sensual—are interconnected, the combination works. The result is sweet, sad, unruly, and engaging, all at the same time.

Good To Know

To help her sneak undetected into restaurants she was reviewing for The New York Times, Reichl maintained a disguise wardrobe of phony eyeglasses and five wigs.

The cook-turned-critic-turned-memoirist started her working life at the other end of publishing—her earliest job was as a book designer.

    1. Hometown:
      New York, New York
    1. Date of Birth:
      January 16, 1948
    2. Place of Birth:
      New York, New York
    1. Education:
      B.A., University of Michigan, 1968; M.A., University of Michigan, 1970
    2. Website:
      http://www.ruthreichl.com/

Read an Excerpt

"I'm a restaurant critic," I told the woman in the wig shop, "and I need a disguise that will keep me from being recognized."
 "That's a new one on me," she said as my story came to a close. "And are you working on someplace special at the moment?"
 "Lespinasse," I said.  The chef is amazing.  I keep going back and every time he just blows me away.  I've been thinking about giving him four stars, but it's not something I could do casually.  Not only would it be my first four-star review, but it would also be the first time a hotel restaurant ever got four stars from the New York Times.  I can't make a mistake with this.  And here's the thing: I think they made me, even when I was there in disguise.  Everything's just a little too perfect.  So I'm trying to create a new disguise, one that is foolproof."
 "Gotcha," said Shirley, moving to a deep, wide drawer, "I have an idea."  As she opened the drawer, her bulk blocked my view, so I couldn't see what she was holding until she turned around with a cascade of hair the color of Dom Perignon spilling from her hands.  As the wig caught the light, the color changed from pearl to buttercup.  "Try this," said Shirley.
 The wig felt different in my hands-lighter, cooler-and when I put it on, the hair fell across my face as gently as silk.  I squeezed my eyes tight, not wanting to look until it was seated right, holding my breath, wanting this to be the one.  I could feel it settle into place, feel the soft strands graze my shoulders just below my ears.
 "Wait!" said Shirley as I started to open my eyes, and she leaned forward and began tugging the wig, adjusting it.  She slid the hair on my left side behind my ear and pulled the hair on the right forward so that it fell across one eye.  Her hand cradled the hair under my cheek, then let it fall.  "Okay," she said at last, "you can open your eyes now."
 The champagne blonde in the mirror did not seem to be wearing a wig.  The hair looked real, as if it were growing out of the scalp.  Even the dark eyebrows looked right, as if this woman had so much confidence, she didn't care who knew that she dyed her hair.  My mouth dropped open.  "Oh!" I said stupidly.  "Oh my."
 In the mirror, Shirley caught my eye.  "I told you there was a right wig for everyone!" she said, but her face did not match her matter-of-fact tone.  "You look fabulous!" she said, looking absolutely amazed.
 I don't think I would have recognized myself if we had met walking down the street, and I had yet to put on any makeup.  Somehow this cut, this color, made my cheeks pink, my eyes almost violet, my lips seem redder than they had ever been.
 "You were meant to be a blonde!" cried Shirley.  And then, as I watched, her face fell.
 "What's the matter?" I asked.
 She hesitated for a moment, and I was afraid she was going to tell me that the wig was already sold.  "It's real hair," she whispered sadly, and I was so relieved I burst out laughing.
 "Is that all?" I asked.
 Then she told me the price.  It was shocking, but even if Lespinasse had not been in my future, I could never have left without the wig.  I felt new, glamorous, bursting with curiosity.  What would life be like for the woman in the mirror?
 "I wish I could let you have it for less," said Shirley apologetically.  "But it's very good hair, and I've just quoted the price that I paid."
 "I have a feeling it's going to be worth every penny," I said.
 Shirley packed the wig into an old-fashioned hatbox and handed it to me.  "You'll come back and tell me what happens, won't you?" she asked wistfully.
 "You mean whether I fool the restaurant?" I asked.
 "Well," she said, "that too.  But what I mostly want to know is, when you're a blonde, do you have more fun?"
Customer Reviews
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  • Anonymous

    Posted April 15, 2005

    A true delight for a food lover to read

    This book is less autobiographical than Reichl's other two books, 'Tender at the Bone' and 'Comfort me with apples.' Nonetheless, this book is a great read and hilarious. Reichl talks about moving from being the restaraunt critic for the LA Times to the NY Times. It is great to read about how she dresses up and goes undercover t o see how regular, non-rich people get treated at restaraunts. Great stories and pleasant to read beacuse Reichl has the gift of sounding like your friend and that she is right there telling you what happened to her today.

    1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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  • Posted June 19, 2011

    A Must Read for all Food Lovers

    Ruth Reichl takes us through her days as a New York Times Food Critic and the huge task before her -- reviewing restaurants fairly and for the masses, not just the uber rich. Through her reviews she gives everyone a unique and highly descriptive view of the restaurant as a whole from ambiance down to each morsel of food. She makes you feel as if you are right there with her experiencing everything.

    I especially loved how she created all of her aliases to be able to slip into each restaurant covertly. It was also very enlightening and touching to read how each alias brought out hidden depths of her personality. It allowed her to dig deeper than ever, and understand herself better and realize that really wanted to be. It's an experience that I think so may people wish they could have.

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  • Posted May 12, 2010

    I have read everything Ruth Reichl has written and this is the best!

    I talk about this book to others and give copies as gifts. I will bring it to work and have people read certain parts that I loved. I could never express my love of food like Ruth so it is very fun to read her expressions, she is a great wrtier and the reading flows.

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  • Posted April 13, 2010

    I Also Recommend:

    Sad when it was over

    I've thoroughly enjoyed all the Ruth Reichl books I've read. She is honest and forthcoming about her experiences, sometimes not at all pleasant, as a restaurant critic. She's also refreshingly honest about herself, and the things she sometimes sees about herself that she is not so proud of, or happy about.
    As a mom, I can appreciate the balance between her job as a critic and her job as a mother.
    As a wannabe foodie, I especially enjoyed her detailed descriptions of the meals she ate and the experiences she had at the different restaurants.
    I think her writing is very engaging and it just draws you into her life. She seems like she would be a delightful friend to have, and I was sad to reach the end. As a matter of fact, it's been hard to start another book since then.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted January 10, 2010

    Fun Food Insight

    This brought a little gourmet into my not so gourmet existence with some added insight into human character. Fun and fast read.

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  • Posted September 5, 2009

    a read for all those that love food.

    this is the 3rd of a series of 4 books. I read this 1st. It was a good way to proceed with the other books. Reading should make you smile. Reading gives you pleasure. The facts of the book are true and facts of life here are ture as we all know it. I enjoyed this more that the 1st two, howevet I own book 1, 2, and 3 and it's a keeper....waiting for #4 to come out in paper back.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted August 1, 2009

    Fun read!

    I had just finished some intense books and wanted to read a more light hearted book. I thoroughly enjoyed this book on many levels as it was original, funny, insightful and especially delicious!

    0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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  • Posted March 21, 2009

    I Also Recommend:

    Interesting and Funny

    Ruth Reichl's writing of her experiences as the New York Times food critic are hilariously funny and depict New York as the difficult place to live, work and survive that it truly is. The book's descriptions make you hungry both for the food at the restaurants she visits and for more reviews/experiences from the author.

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  • Posted March 9, 2009

    Great for any foodie

    Garlic and Sapphires was a very entertaining book. I found my mouth watering sometimes at the descriptions of some of the dishes she reviewed. I loved that she included recipes in this book as well. I recommend this book to anyone who loves food.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted July 16, 2008

    Worth buying

    Garlic and Sapphires is a lovely read. And funny too.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted January 23, 2008

    A reviewer

    What a fun book to read. You're immediately pulled into the world of Ruth, the food critic and Ruth the person. It was a fun place to be. Fast reading. Ruth also share some recipes as a bonus! Loved this book.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted May 11, 2007

    A delicious romp through NYC's finest (and not so finest) restaurants

    For anyone who loves food, or just a fun read, this book gives insight to the life of what one would think is the world's greatest job - the food critic for the NY Times. Reichl lets us glimpse into the world as she experiences the best and the worse of NY dining, sometimes at the same restaurant! In addition to exploring the great food, the readers also gets to know Ruth, her family & friends and her various sercret personas - all good characters. The great irony is that I read this book on a plane... It was torture to read about the brasied short ribs, perfect has browns, juicy steaks and then look up at my airplane food. Other than that, a great read.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted November 3, 2005

    Eating for a Living

    Who doesn't dream of being someone different every now and then? In Garlic and Sapphires, Ruth Reichl shares her forays into the world of alter egos as she strives for anonymity while preparing restaurant reviews for The New York Times. She uses a diverse array of disguises, and creates stories and personalities for each one. Her alter egos allowed her to get an 'everyman' experience at a restaurant instead of the red-carpet treatment, and she wrote her reviews accordingly. Also refreshing was her introduction of a wider variety of ethnic restaurants into the vaunted Times reviews. Each section packages up a restaurant and a persona along with some personal insights. I thought this book would probably be interesting, but I had no idea I would have such a hard time putting it down. Reichl's writing is humorous and flows well. Her food descriptions are vivid and truly mouth-watering. She really captures not just the food, but also the essence of the dining experience. Meals are not just fuel for the body they also feed the soul. An entertaining and easy read, Reichl leaves you hungry for seconds.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted August 25, 2005

    Delightfully Enjoyable!

    Loved Tender At The Bone, thought Comfort Me With Apples was alright, but this newest book has left me speachless in parts. If it is being herself or one of her many personae, it is like I am sharing the adventure of her going to the restaurants and enjoying the pleasures or unpleasures she experiences. Wonderful addition of the columns and recipes, plus the people she shares the experiences and the people she meets are extroidinary. Gotta love the melting pot that is New York. With the most memorable restaurants, I would give my eye teeth to taste some of those delifghtful dishes.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted July 15, 2005

    Loved this book

    A must for anyone who works in the restaurant business. I'm going to buy it for my daughter who is graduating from college. My husband and I ate at Sparks and it was wonderful but it appears we went AFTER her review - I'm so glad her view moved them to Spark it up a bit I laughed, I laughed out loud - on the bus no less and you will too!

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  • Anonymous

    Posted May 18, 2005

    Disappointing

    I've read Tender at the Bone and should have learned from it, but I bought the hype and picked up this book. All I can say is 'ho hum'. The facts behind the book would seem to promise an entertaining read, however other than the restaurant reviews that accompany the narrative, the book is boring on the whole. For true fans of Ruth R. only.

    0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted June 4, 2005

    Behind-the-Scenes Delight

    Reichl gives us a peek behind the scenes of both the upper-crust New York restaurant world and the New York Times, and it's truly fascinating. This book was addictive.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted May 2, 2010

    No text was provided for this review.

  • Anonymous

    Posted January 3, 2010

    No text was provided for this review.

  • Anonymous

    Posted January 16, 2011

    No text was provided for this review.

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