eShop USA > Books > Garlic and Sapphires: The Secret Life of a Critic in Disguise
Garlic and Sapphires: The Secret Life of a Critic in Disguise
List Price: $24.95Price: $10.54 You Save: $14.41 (58%)Prices subject to change.
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Binding: Hardcover
Dewey Decimal Number: 641.5092
Format: Bargain Price
Label: Penguin Press HC, The
Manufacturer: Penguin Press HC, The
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 352
Publication Date: April 07, 2005
Publisher: Penguin Press HC, The
Studio: Penguin Press HC, The
Related Items: Featured Listmania!
Editorial Review:
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 worlda 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 usalong with some of her favorite recipes and reviewsher remarkable reflections on how ones outer appearance can influence ones inner character, expectations, and appetites, not to mention the quality of service one receives. This wonderful book is funnyat times laugh-out-loud funnyand smart and wise. The Washington Post
Reichl is so gifted . . . the reader remains hungry for more. USA Today
Expansive and funny. Entertainment Weekly
Fans of Tender at the Bone and Comfort Me with Apples know that Ruth Reichl is a wonderful memoirist--a funny, poignant, and candid storyteller whose books contain a happy mix of memories, recipes, and personal revelations. Amazon.com Interview
 We chewed the fat with Ruth. Read our interview. | | What they might not fully appreciate is that Reichl is an absolute marvel when it comes to writing about food--she can describe a dish in such satisfying detail that it becomes unnecessary for readers to eat. In her third memoir, Garlic and Sapphires: The Secret Life of a Critic in Disguise, Reichl focuses on her life as a food critic, dishing up a feast of fabulous meals enjoyed during her tenure at The New York Times. As a critic, Reichl was determined to review the "true" nature of each restaurant she visited, so she often dined incognito--each chapter of her book highlights a new disguise, a different restaurant (including the original reviews from the Times), and a fresh culinary adventure. Garlic and Sapphires is another delicious and delightful book, sure to satisfy Reichl's foodie fans and leave admirerers looking forward to her next book, hopefully about her life with Gourmet. --Daphne Durham
More from Ruth Reichl 
Tender at the Bone | 
Comfort Me with Apples | 
The Gourmet Cookbook | 
Remembrance of Things Paris | 
Endless Feasts | 
Gourmet magazine | 
Amazon.com's The Significant Seven
Ruth Reichl answers the seven questions we ask every author.
Q: What book has had the most significant impact on your life?
A: Kate Simons New York Places and Pleasures. I read it as a little girl and then went out and wandered the city. She was a wonderful writer, and she taught me not only to see New York in a whole new way, but to look, and taste, beneath the surface. Q: You are stranded on a desert island with only one book, one CD, and one DVD--what are they?
A: Ulysses by James Joyce. What better place to finally get through it? Keith Jarrett's The Köln Concert. If youre going to listen to one piece over and over, this is one that doesnt get tiresome. How to Build a Boat in Five Easy Steps. Since Im going to be watching one movie over and over, it might as well be useful. Q: What is the worst lie you've ever told?
A: Im such a good liar, I wouldnt know where to begin. Q: Describe the perfect writing environment.
A: I can write pretty much anywhere. But I prefer small, cozy spaces, with a good view over a lake or a forest, and room for the cats to curl up. Q: If you could write your own epitaph, what would it say?
A: "Shell be right back." Q: Who is the one person living or dead that you would like to have dinner with?
A: Elizabeth I. She fascinates me. She had a great mind, enormous appetites--and she was a survivor. The most interesting woman of an interesting time, and I have a million questions Id like to ask her. Q: If you could have one superpower, what would it be?
A: You mean after creating world peace? This is a hard one. But Ive always wanted to be able to fly.
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Rating:  - Yum!
Ruth Reichl is excellent at writing about food. She really captures tastes in poetic language.
Rating: - I loved this book!
I read this book for our book club and thoroughly enjoyed it. It was meant to be somewhat lighter than some things we'd been reading lately and it was that; but it was also enlightening about ourselves and how we treat others. The recipes are wonderful! I've highlighted the recipe index so I can turn right to them!
Rating:  - Audio CD review: overly dramatic narrative grates on the nerves
I was very disappointed in this audio CD book. First of all, something about this book seems very self-indulgent. For example, CD1 goes on endlessly about how the author doesn't really want this top job, but of course, she interviews and ends up with it. It seems very disingenous. Second, stories from a job of eating out at mostly very fancy restaurants seems pretty irrelevant in 2008, when most people are struggling to pay their monthly bills and save for retirement. Listening for 20 minutes to ... Read More
Rating: - Entertaining and delicious
I loved this engaging memoir by the New York Times food critic. I particularly enjoy Reichl's egalitarian view of fine dining (everyone should have the same great experience, famous or not). As a lover of good food and fine dining, I found this to be a very entertaining read.
Rating: - This is nonfiction that is fun, entertaining, educational and enlightening. It shows people judging a book by its cover.
During the 1990s, Ruth Reichel was the restaurant critic for the New York Times. When she began the job, she realized that a majority of the restaurants she would be reviewing knew what she looked like and were on the lookout for her. Therefore, she created a number of disguises for herself using clothing, wigs, and makeup. I highly recommend this book for an enlightening look at how Ruth's costumes changed the way people treated her as well as the effect on Ruth herself.
I found it ... Read More
Related Categories:
|
