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

Ruth Reichl, world-renowned food critic and editor in chief of Gourmetmagazine, 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

Ruth Reichl is the editor in chief of Gourmet magazine and the author of the bestsellers Tender at the Bone and Comfort Me with Apples. She has been the restaurant critic at the New York Times and the food editor at the Los Angeles Times.

Garlic and Sapphires The Daily Special
Backstory
Molly
The King of Spain
Looking for Umami
Miriam
Meat and Potatoes
Chloe
Brenda
Dinner with Chairman Punch
Betty
Food Warrior
The Missionary of the Delicious
Emily
Ghosts
Recipe Index
Acknowledgments