Book Review

This time it's Garlic and Sapphires by Ruth Reichl. I will say that this is a tough one to review because it's all about her being a restaurant critic and here I am critiquing her book. I feel I will do a poor job relating to you her various experiences. It's quite a daunting task but I'll face it head on.

I loved this book. I don't really consider myself a foodie (and many of the dishes she discusses I've never heard of) but I love to try new things and read about good food and wine. This book was perfect for that. Reichl, who is now the editor in chief for Gourmet, was the restaurant critic for the New York Times. She got to eat in some of the most famous (and not-so-famous) restaurants in the city. As the critic, though, she was highly recognizable and was forced to don many disguises to truly "try on" a restaurant, including dressing up as her own mother.

When S and I lived in New Orleans, a city known for its fabulous food, we made it a point to try as many restaurants as we could. Our objective, however, was not to try all the famous restaurants (like Emeril's and Commander's Palace) but to try some of the hole-in-the-wall places serving delicious food off the beaten path. We did try Emeril's, as it was just around the corner from our apartment, and were a bit disappointed. For all the hype it's just okay. We found some much better places for half the price. This is what I found so appealing about Garlic and Sapphires: Reichl was looking for the same thing. While she did review some of the most well-known restaurants in NYC, she also found those that not everyone else would.

My favorite element of the book is Reichl's descriptions of her food. While I may not know what some of the foods are, I get a full sense of what she's eating. Her language is so descriptive that I feel as though I'm eating the food myself.

If you're into food at all, or just really want an entertaining book, I highly recommend this one!

Thanks to Mod Girl for recommending this one to me. Good job!