Garlic and Sapphires

Garlic and Sapphires by Ruth Reichl. Much to my surprise, this turned out to be one of the better books of the summer so far. Reichl is one of the top dining critics in the country. This book is sort of her memoir covering the period when, while the restaurant critic of the LA Times, she is approached about taking over the restaurant column of the New York Times. This is considered the highest that a critic can aspire to -- the head food columnist for the best newspaper in the best restaurant city in the country. She ends up taking the job, but learns on her flight from LA to New York that the word is already out that she is coming. Her picture and description have been plastered all over every kitchen in New York. Obviously, it'd be hard to get an objective view of service and food if you were being served by people who knew you were reviewing them for the Times.

That sets off a couple of years of inventing new personas - complete with disguises -- that won't be known in New York restaurants. To make each guise she adopts believable, she has to invent a personality and a backstory to go with it. The people she invents are totally different, but she finds herself becoming the disguise. She learns how differently, at least in some establishments, is the treatment that can be expected by a drab old lady and an elegant younger woman. At La Cirque, for example, she's shuffled off to a corner table in her disguise. The only way she was able to even get a wine list was when other waiters dumped extra copies on the bench next to her. Even then, her waiter actually has the nerve to come up to her and demand the wine list back -- presumably to give to one of the "important" customers. On a return trip, undisguised, with a Times editor in tow, she receives the kind of food and service that you would expect from a four star restaurant. Unfortunately for La Cirque, the "who you are matters" attitude eventually costs La Cirque their treasured fourth star.

This kind of effort gave Reichl the reputation in New York of being the "people's critic". While it cost her some supporters among the hoi-poloi, she gathered a big following among the average joe who might get in to a restaurant like Lespenasse once in a lifetime. She also became known for opening the times to a whole new range of ethnic foods. Before her, French food was about as far afield as the Times' critics ever went. Under Reichl, she reviewed a steady stream of Korean, Japanase (before the sushi craze) and all kinds of other foods.

This book was just a lot of fun to read. One warning though. She describes her meals so lovingly that you can almost taste each bite she described. Be prepared to have a strong craving to find the best restaurants around as soon as you finish this book. If you love to eat (or drink wine for that matter), this is terrific read.