I try to read as much as possible – on the subway, before I go to bed, while I’m having dinner – I can usually get through a couple of books a week. My taste is eclectic so I don’t hand out recommendations that readily (hard to believe, I know) but occasionally I will come across something so delicious it would be a shame not to share it.

Ruth Reichl’s Garlic and Sapphires, her memoirs of her tenure as the restaurant critic at the New York Times is one of those books. Donning disguises was not enough for her to escape detection in New York’s most notable eateries; with the help of an acting coach, makeup artist, wig vendor, Thompson Street second-hand shop, and her own wild imagination she actually transformed herself into different characters, visiting the same restaurants over and over again. Besides mouthwatering descriptions of food that made me hungry lying in bed at 2 AM, the story itself never slows as each metamorphosis reveals a different layer of the author’s psyche. Her original reviews are published at the end of each chapter; even though this book was published in 2006 I discovered a restaurant I can’t wait to try: Kuruma Zushi.

This book is particularly interesting to read in light of the upsetting shuttering of Gourmet magazine, of which Reichl was the editor after the Times, and about which she recently chatted with her old alma mater.

Garlic and Sapphires: The Secret Life of a Critic in Disguise, by Ruth Reichl

In Garlic and Sapphires, Ruth Reichl wrote about her tenure as the restaurant critic for The New York Times.  She quickly learned that when she arrived at Tavern on the Green, Windows on the World, or Daniel, all stops were pulled out for her, as happened one evening at Le Cirque, when the owner said to her, “”The King of Spain is waiting in the bar, but your table is ready”.  In order to experience these restaurants as the average diner would, Reichl assumed a series of elaborate disguises, complete with wigs, makeup, and credit cards bearing her assumed name.  As Molly, Chloe, Brenda, Betty, Emily and Miriam, the service and food she received varied considerably, and her reviews highlighted these differences.  Food and undercover detective work all in one book?  My inner Nancy Drew loved it.

A few times while reading this book, I was struck by just how different New York is from Seattle.  Not necessarily better or worse, but certainly a different culture.  How we eat, and what, seem so different. 

Do we have restaurants here where snobbery reigns supreme, tables are assigned based on what one is wearing, and dealing with the staff is a pissing match?  Maybe, but I’ve never been to one.  And frankly, it sounds like a drag to have to engage in a game of one-upmanship with a wine steward. 

I remember standing outside The Metropolitan Grill in downtown Seattle one night after work with Michael and a group of his friends. All of us were professionals in our thirties and forties, and we had just finished our workdays at insurance company, bank, or law offices.  It was a Friday, as in casual Friday, so we were all dressed in jeans.  The Met is an upscale steak place, and I saw a lot of suits and pearls when I looked through the steamy window.  A brief debate about whether we were too underdressed to get a table was cut off by Lian, who tossed his head defiantly, and said, “What the hell are you talking about?  We could be internet millionaires!  Follow me.”  He flung open the door and literally strutted into the restaurant with the rest of us in his wake, and requested a table for six.  We were immediately seated at a round table in a front window, and got great food and impeccable service.  And that’s Seattle–anyone really could be an internet millionaire, or not. 

Then there was the foie gras.  Reichl described many luscious meals in the course of her book, several of which featured foie gras or veal, about which she rhapsodized without the slightest hint of guilt.  I have tasted foie gras (accidentally! I swear, and only once!), and I must admit that it was delicious.  But in Seattle, we just don’t enjoy eating animals that have suffered for our pleasure, or at least hardly anyone admits it.  I imagine that if this book had been written by a Seattle author, she would have digressed into an explanation of the provenance of the veal (ethically raised at a local organic farm) or offered an excuse for the foie gras (I had to eat it, I’m a restaurant critic).

Reichl didn’t pull too many punches when describing the people she interacted with, especially her coworkers.  She disclaimed.  Names were changed.  But still!  Take this description of her editor, Myron: “The Weekend editor was a dumpy little man who wore his gray hair pulled into a ponytail, bit his fingernails to the quick, and dressed in varying shades of brown…He was pleasant enough, in his own tedious fashion, but like many of the minor editors he secretly resented the critics and reporters in his charge.  He took his revenge by cultivating a personal aroma so ferocious that everyone on the third floor routinely plotted alternate routes by his desk.”  Ouch!  The Seattle girl in me was simultaneously amused and a little horrified.  We keep the passive firmly in front of the aggressive here. 

To give Reichl full credit, however, she turned an equally ruthless spotlight on herself.  After a dinner at which Reichl portrayed herself as bragging and unpleasant, she unflinchingly reported the following conversation with her husband:  “‘I couldn’t stay and watch what you were doing.  I hate it when you pretend to be that person.’  ‘What person?’  [she] asked.  ‘The Restaurant Critic of the New York Times.  The Princess of New York.  Ms.-I know I am right about food and don’t argue with me.  Take your pick.’… ‘Last night this line from T.S. Eliot kept running through my head.  It’s from the Four Quartets.  ‘Garlic and sapphires in the mud…’ I remembered that when you got into this it was almost a spiritual thing with you.  You love to eat, you love to write, you love the generosity of cooks and what happens around the table when a great meal is served.  Nothing that went on last night had anything to do with that.’”

All in all, this book was highly enjoyable, and offered a fascinating glimpse into a different lifestyle, perhaps even a different world-the New York food scene. 

I’d make a lousy restaurant reviewer. Here’s why: When I go out to eat I often choose the same dishes I know and love at a favorite eatery. If I’m trying a new (to me) joint, I’ll opt for recommendations from friends or scan reviews before hitting the dining spot to find the best picks off the menu.

Recent case in point: When I check out Burma Superstar in Oakland’s restaurant row in the Temescal neighborhood, a clone of its wildly popular cousins with the same name in San Francisco and Alameda, I simply follow the advice of my lunch companions, who both utter just three words: Tea Leaf Salad.

I’m not a complete sheep.  The menu notes that the Tea Leaf Salad is a customers’ favorite AND featured on the Food Network, no less. Hard to argue with such cred.

The salad promptly arrives and arranged aesthetically around the plate are little groupings of ingredients, including fried garlic, peanuts, sunflower seeds, dried chickpeas, tomato, romaine lettuce and dried shrimp (vegetarian option available). Smack dab in the middle is a wet mound of black and green Burmese tea. The obliging waiter tosses the salad tableside, finishing it with a squeeze of fresh lemon juice.

It doesn’t disappoint. As advertised, it’s an intriguing mix of salt, sweet, crunch, crisp, dried, fresh, all infused with the faint taste of steeped tea. I could eat nothing else and feel completely sated.

In the name of research I also sample the platha and dip appetizer. Platha is a multi-layered bread that’s almost like a pastry, with just the right amount of oil and flakiness to qualify as comfort food when dipped into a little bowl of coconut chicken curry sauce.

For the uninitiated, food from this southeast Asian country (now known as Myanmar) includes Thai, Indian, and Chinese influences; it’s neither too sweet nor too spicy for most palates. At the restaurant, sticklers for authenticity will immediately spot concessions to Cal cuisine to keep the locals happy (hello chopped romaine); most diners just dig in.

On subsequent visits to the busy, bustling spot, which doesn’t take reservations (insider tip: go early), I introduce a few new devotees to THE salad as well. It’s practically got a cult following.  Maybe even its own Facebook page. I venture out a little. Also good is the Rainbow Salad, which boasts 22 ingredients, including noodles, green papaya, tofu, and most notably, tamarind sauce. The Mango Salad with pickled mangos, cabbage, and cucumbers is refreshing and pairs nicely with the bar’s signature muddled and minty mojitos.

Forays into the hot dishes are less successful.  Chicken with Fresh Basil is serviceable but not stunning, Egg Curry with Okra simply doesn’t work. On one visit my fellow diners rave about Bun Tay Kauser (flour noodles, chicken curry coconut sauce, split yellow peas, eggs, and cabbage). I’m less wowed by the combo, though masala adds a welcome spicy undertone.  I know it sounds good but for me the different elements just don’t hang together. On the other hand, you can’t go wrong with the aromatic Coconut Rice.

I guess that makes me a somewhat unadventurous restaurant goer — and, thus, the gal least likely to get the reviewer gig. My standard order at Burma Superstar (no surprises here): Tea Leaf Salad. Platha & Dip. Coconut Rice. I’m reading Ruth Reichl’s Garlic and Sapphires, an amusing account of her days dining out in disguises for the New York Times, and like most epicureans she seems game to try anything. The book got me thinking about what kind of strategy people bring to the table when they go out for a meal.

So, dear readers, when you eat in a restaurant are you a play-it-safe diner or a go-for-it gourmand? Do tell.

Photo by Flickr user mrjoro used under the Creative Commons Attribution License

I’m knee deep into my third book by Ruth Reichl– editor in chief of Gourmet magazine, former New York Times and LA Times food critic, and bestselling author. If you haven’t had the pleasure of reading one of her memoirs, run out to your local library or bookstore and pick up a copy. Reading a Ruth Reichl book is like indulging in a blissful 7 course meal. Her first book (and my favorite), Tender at the Bone, is the best place to start. It is a quick, engaging, honest, and delicious look back on her childhood and coming of age in the gourmet world. We follow along as Ruth rambles through family dynamics, bungled relationships, travel, and most importantly– fortuitous food adventures. Interspersed throughout each chapter of her books are recipes which relate to specific moments in her life.  Reichl makes reading about food a playground for the senses. Case in point– after a long Ruth Reichl hiatus I recently picked up a copy of Garlic and Sapphires. Only one pleasurable evening of lulling myself to sleep with the initial few chapters and I woke in the morning bound and determined to cook, of all things, a cheese cake! Reichl had captured so well the sounds and smells of New York that I couldn’t get the recipe for “New York Cheesecake” out of my head. It seemed so pure, so simple, so indulgent, (so out-of-character for me to cook) and so New York.

And so now I give you– New York Cheesecake, courtesy of Ruth Reichl from Garlic and Sapphires published by Penguin Press:

1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup melted unsalted butter

1 1/2 pounds creamcheese, preferably without gum, at room temperature

4 eggs

3 teaspoons vanilla

Grated zest of 1 lemon

2 cups sour cream

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix the graham crackers with 1/4 cup sugar and the melted butter and press into bottom and sides of a 9 inch ungreased spring-form pan. Chill while preparing filling.

Beat the cream cheese, 1/2 cup sugar, eggs, 2 teaspoons of the vanilla, and lemon zest until smooth. Pour into chilled crust and bake 50 minutes to an hour, or until the cheese is set and starting to turn golden in spots. Remove from the oven (leave oven on) and cool for about 15 minutes on a wire rack.

Stir together the sour cream, remaining 1/4 cup sugar, remaining teaspoon of vanilla and spread over cooled cake. Return to oven fr 12 minutes until glossy and set.

Cool completely, cover, and chill at least 8 hrs.

Serves 8

 

How My Childhood was Spent photo from Norby

 

There are certain things individuals just can’t live without—the morning cup of Joe, an after 5 o’clock alcoholic beverage, sweet and sugary baked goods, exercise (I’ll never be one of these people) or watching the tube. These addictions are fueled by the relief felt by the individuals feels after completing the ritual.  Although I obsess about food compulsively, drink coffee and wine most days, and think I have an unhealthy obsession with food television, my real problem is food literature. My addiction books  began as soon as I could understand the words from the children’s books my wonderful mother  read to me every night of my childhood. From the preschool years on, I think I racked in every certificate, medal, or award that was reading related. I had the most accelerated reader points by well over 500 during my middle school years. That is probably because I read a book a day. Granted, my book worm nature didn’t prevent me from sociability–I played soccer and basketball, ran track, and served as a leader in Beta Club, Student Government, etc. But, reading was my passion. Once I started I couldn’t stop–I just had to know what happens. 

During college I read the typical books early adults use to find a sense of self and enlightenment– On the Road, The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, The Awakening, etc. Books like this made me think outside the books and look at life from outside the middle-class white girl box. My future could be filled with anything, and all I knew was I no longer wanted final destination to be medical school, I needed something less constrained and static. That’s when I started reading cookbooks, food magazines, and all the nutritional literature I could get my hands on. Food is the language that we all speak. It is dynamic and covered all the subjects I love- writing, history, anthropology, nutrition, biology, physiology, sociology, psychology, and the list goes on forever. With food, it seems that the possibilities are endless, there is always a book to be read. What better way to satisfy my addiction. These days, my bookshelves are filled with an assortment of books from top-sellers to history books. But, the ratio of food literature to “normal” literature is a bit out of control. Once I learned that food literature goes far beyond cookbooks, I racked up on food history books, memoirs, anthropological ethnographies, farming books, wine books, food travel…you name it, I probably have it. My most recent purchase was on Tuesday. I went to my favorite used bookstore– McKays. I was there for nearly an hour with my dad, and I never made it out of the food section. Needless to say cheap prices and food books is a deadly combination for my wallet. I’m really thankful that my dad knows how much these books mean to me and my future. He bought them all for me, and I am already halfway through one of them. Thanks pops!

My Foodie Purchases

Tender at the Bone by Ruth Reichl

Garlic and Sapphires by Ruth Reichl

The True History of Chocolate by Sophie D. Coe and Michael D. Coe

The Omnivore’s Dilemma by Michael Pollan

Where Our Food Comes From by Gary Paul Nabham

Food in History by Reay Tannahill (This is a really old edition, but I felt like it’s $2 tag was a steal)

The Turkey by Andrew F. Smith

Why We Eat What We Eat by Raymond Sokolov

Endless Feasts with contributions from over 60 years of Gourmet Magazine edited by Ruth Reichl

Trail of Crumbs by Kim Sunee 

Let me know if you’ve read any of these and what you thought about them. I love discussing literature, especially food related.

Once my book club decided that Laura Claridge’s biography of Emily Post was our next read, the emails between us started flying with almost more speed than usual.  We had already decided to meet on the twenty-second, not realizing that evening was the Academy Awards.

“We could do an Emily Post/Oscars hybrid theme for food,” Sarah wrote. “I’m not really sure what that means. Perhaps finger foods and a fancy drink or tea, and everyone should wear pearls.”

“I love cocktails and pearls,” Stephanie responded, adding, “and that’s kind of like a bachelorette party*, minus the cheesy condom shirts and the stop at Dick’s Last Resort, so yes!  This sounds perfect!”

We quickly started suggesting possible bite-sized snacks for the evening; I had been looking for an excuse to try out a recipe for gougères, so I used the get-together as the reason to give Dorie Greenspan’s version a try — but if I had really been on top of things I would have dug out Ruth Reichl’s recipe from Garlic and Sapphires, since book club had previously read her other memoir, Tender at the Bone.  Oh well.  I mean, I need little justification to make something warm with cheese, and Ms. Greenspan’s puffs came out wonderfully.  Next time, it’s Reichl all the way.

When we gathered at Sarah’s some of us were toting copies of Daughter of the Gilded Age, Mistress of American Manners, ready to discuss etiquette, Oscar ensembles and Emily — though I feel like I have to tell you we spent more the time commenting on Kunio Kato.  Melissa valiantly tried to keep us on track during the commercial breaks, hurriedly addressing Ms. Post’s life and legacy, but really we were all too busy eating to contribute much to the conversation.

I am, of course, talking about myself when I say this.  In my defense: how eager would you be to review the contents of a book — no matter how much you enjoyed it — if there was Champagne, spanikopita, chocolate-dipped strawberries and a twirling Hugh Jackman to distract you?

That’s what I thought.

Gougères, from Dorie Greenspan
Makes about thirty-six puffs

½ cup whole milk
½ cup water
1 stick unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup all-purpose flour
5 large eggs, at room temperature
1 ½ cups coarsely grated cheese, such as Gruyère or Cheddar (or a mixture of smoked and regular cheese)

1. Position the racks to divide the oven into thirds and preheat the oven to 375°.  Line two baking sheets with silicone baking mats or parchment paper.
2. Bring the milk, water, butter, and salt to a rapid boil over high heat in a heavy-bottomed 2-quart saucepan.  Add the flour all at once, lower the heat to medium-low and quickly start stirring energetically with a wooden spoon.  The dough will come together and a light crust will form on the bottom of the pan.  Keep stirring — with vigor — another 2 to 3 minutes to dry the dough.  The dough should now be very smooth.
3. Turn the dough into the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or you can continue by hand).  Add the eggs one by one and beat, beat, beat until the dough is thick and shiny.  Don’t be concerned if the dough falls apart — by the time the third egg goes in, the dough will come together again.  Beat in the grated cheese.  Once the dough is completed, it should be used immediately.
4. Using about 1 tablespoon of dough for each gougère, drop the dough from a spoon onto the lined baking sheets, leaving about 2 inches of puff space between each mound of dough.
5. Slide the baking sheets into the oven, bake for 15 minutes, then rotate the sheets from top to bottom and front to back.  Continue baking until the puffs are golden and firm, another 10 to 15 minutes.  Serve the gougères piping hot as soon as they come from the oven.

Note:  You can shape the gougères and freeze them for up to 2 months before you bake them.  There’s no need to defrost the frozen puffs, just bake them a couple of minutes more.

* We’re planning a book club bachelorette party.  No one’s getting married — we just think it’ll be fun.  And funny.

Last night while reading Ruth Reichl’s delicious memoire, GARLIC AND SAPPHIRES, I got hungry.  It was fairly late, so I didn’t want to eat anything sweet:  late-night sugar leaves me hung-over.  I went rummaging through my pantry and found some unpopped popcorn.  Yes!   Crunch was just the thing.

My favorite lazy-person’s way to prepare popcorn is to coat about 1/4 cup of kernels with a little olive oil.  I pour the coated kernels into a paper bag and fold over the top, then microwave on the popcorn setting, about 2 minutes.  Then I sprinkle on my favorite herb seasoning salt:  Herbamare.

I happily went back to reading Ruth, who was in the midst of describing a rich, highly caloric meal at Le Cirque, and chomped my way through 2 cups of my hi-fiber, low-cal, whole-grain snack, feeling very virtuous.  And no hang-over this morning.

It isn’t often that I find a book that makes me want to read it twice in three months, but I should have known from the review that I’d want to immediately re-read Garlic and Sapphires by Ruth Reichl:

“GARLIC AND SAPPHIRES is Ruth Reichl’s delicious and mischievous account of her time spent as an undercover restaurant critic. Reichl knows that to be a good critic you have to be anonymous. When she lands the much coveted job of the NEW YORK TIMES restaurant critic, she resorts to disguise in order to avoid the inevitable red carpet treatment.”

Have  you ever heard of anything so unusual? A restaurant critic dining in disguise, then writing about her experiences as various alter egos? I love reading about food; that’s a given. But what makes this book really special is how Reichl’s disguises take her on an unexpected journey to discover aspects of herself that she hadn’t been aware of previously. We’re not talking big hat and dark glasses here; Reichl (pronounced ‘Rye-shul’)develops astoundingly three-dimensional characters, adjusting hair, make-up, style and personality to suit each. In the course of the book we meet a frumpy old lady, a come-hither siren, an elegant hippy whom everyone adores and the invisible woman. A huge amount of effort goes into pulling off each of these new personae, but it works, and Reichl successfully avoids being spotted as she gets around the Manhattan dining scene. Sometimes, in the course of her research, Reichl visits a single restaurant multiple times, as both herself and as one of her other selves (not at the same time!), allowing insightful comparisons between how she is treated depending on which of her personalities dines there. Needless to say, the resulting reviews were the subject of some controversy, especially when revered establishments lost a New York Times star or two because they treated the alter ego badly. This is a veritable rollick through gastronomic Manhattan – so much fun!

As a result of so thoroughly enjoying Garlic and Sapphires, I’ve now placed Reichl’s other culinary memoirs, Tender at the Bone and Comfort Me with Apples on my New Year’s reading list. These follow Reichl’s evolution from a New York childhood, through college at Berkeley and on to her career as a food critic. I’m also having fun devouring the odd copy of the magazine food-fest that Reichl edits, Gourmet, which is always crammed with fantastic recipes and inspiration. Check out Reichl’s pumpkin fondue recipe for some truly warming kitchen inspiration. (This said as it approaches 3pm in London, with the light fast disappearing and a particularly chilly office because the boilers failed – again - this morning.)

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

  Ruth Reichl

  The Penguin Press, 2005

Garlic and Sapphires was just plain fun to read. Ruth Reichl has the best job: she gets paid to go to fantastic restaurants and eat amazing food. This book is the true story of her years as the food critic for the New York Times. Prior to actually starting the job she learns that her picture is hanging in all the  restaurant kitchens in New York City. She knows she won’t get the normal experience of a restaurant if they know who she is. She will get the best table, the best service, wine and food. She needs a disguise. So she enlists the help of an old friend of her mothers, Claudia Banks.

Claudia is a retired acting coach who helps Ruth become various characters. She makes Ruth start with the name of the new character. Then she must invent the background of this person: where does she live, what does she do for a living, why is she in New York, and so on. Only then can the decision be made as to what this character looks like. The shop at consignment and used clothing shops, buy wigs and use professionals for make-up.

What was fascinating to both the reader and the author was that once she donned the new disguise she began to talk and act as if she were that new person. Even her voice changed pitch and different accents came out. Most of the time she was shocked by her new behavior when she was in disguise. Here are her own words on the subject:

“. . . getting into character can be eerie. It makes me feel sort of schizophrenic, like my thoughts are mine, but not mine. And people react to me in a whole different way, as if I really were someone else.”

Ruth visited restaurants as her new persona and sometimes as herself – The New York Times Food Critic. Her description of the differences between the two experiences is the whole point of her book. She believes that the review she writes should be a guide for the reader. If she was treated shabbily as one of her anonymous characters, then the average reader is probably going to have the same dismal experience. But she did not always see eye to eye on this subject with the management of the paper. 

The book has more than the discussion of her disguises. After reading about her experiences in the restaurants she includes the review she wrote for The Times. I also love the way she talks about her son and husband and co-workers, especially her friend Carol. And then there are the great recipes in the book. My favorites are her New York Cheesecake (so easy to make yet smooth and rich on the tongue), Hash Browns (made in a cast-iron skillet into a crispy cake) and her son’s favorite Vanilla Cake (the kitchen was a mess afterwards). 

Reading this book is educational and a fun experience. I strongly recommend it.

This book was on my list for the Books About Food Challenge. For more information about the challenge go to here.

I love to cook, and when I’m not cooking, I love to talk about food. Just ask my co-workers. (Right now, I’m thinking about goat cheese croquettes. Or fresh cannolis. Or lemonade iced tea.) It doesn’t hurt that we have a fantastic cookbook collection. You may not know, though, that our cookbook collection also contains books full of stories about food, not just recipes. Here are a few authors who like to talk about food almost as much as I do.

-Andrea

Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver

When Kingsolver and her family move from suburban Arizona to rural Appalachia, they take on a new challenge: to spend a year on a locally produced diet, paying close attention to the provenance of all they consume. “Our highest shopping goal was to get our food from so close to home, we’d know the person who grew it. Often that turned out to be ourselves as we learned to produce what we needed, starting with dirt, seeds, and enough knowledge to muddle through. Or starting with baby animals, and enough sense to refrain from naming them.”

Shark’s Fin and Sichuan Pepper : A Sweet-Sour Memoir of Eating in China by Fuchsia Dunlop

Award-winning food writer Fuchsia Dunlop went to live in China as a student in 1994, and from the very beginning she vowed to eat everything she was offered, no matter how alien and bizarre it seemed. In this extraordinary memoir, Fuchsia recalls her evolving relationship with China and its food, from her first rapturous encounter with the delicious cuisine of Sichuan Province to brushes with corruption, environmental degradation, and greed. In the course of her fascinating journey, Fuchsia undergoes an apprenticeship at China’s premier Sichuan cooking school, where she is the only foreign student in a class of nearly fifty young Chinese men; attempts, hilariously, to persuade Chinese people that “Western food” is neither “simple” nor “bland”; and samples a multitude of exotic ingredients, including sea cucumber, civet cat, scorpion, rabbit-heads, and the ovarian fat of the snow frog. But is it possible for a Westerner to become a true convert to the Chinese way of eating? In an encounter with a caterpillar in an Oxford kitchen, Fuchsia is forced to put this to the test.

The Fortune Cookie Chronicles : Adventures in the World of Chinese Food by Jennifer 8 Lee.

If you think McDonald’s is the most ubiquitous restaurant experience in America, consider that there are more Chinese restaurants in America than McDonalds, Burger Kings, and Wendys combined. New York Times reporter and Chinese-American (or American-born Chinese). In her search, Jennifer 8 Lee traces the history of Chinese-American experience through the lens of the food. In a compelling blend of sociology and history, Jenny Lee exposes the indentured servitude Chinese restaurants expect from illegal immigrant chefs, investigates the relationship between Jews and Chinese food, and weaves a personal narrative about her own relationship with Chinese food. The Fortune Cookie Chronicles speaks to the immigrant experience as a whole, and the way it has shaped our country.

Alone in the Kitchen with an Eggplant by Jenni Lapidus

In this celebration of the meal for one, Ferrari-Adler connects short essays from a diverse set of writers recounting solitary suppers and reflecting on the singular rewards and blissful consolation of indulging no one else’s hungers but one’s own. Marcella Hazan affirms this truth, noting that the single diner tends to disdain nutrition for comfort and familiarity, but without sinking into childhood formulations. Many of these writers address the specific challenges of cooking in the severely limited conditions presented by tiny Manhattan apartments.

Death by Pad Thai: And Other Unforgettable Meals by Douglas Bauer

Some of today’s best writers invite readers to experience life through their taste buds as they reflect on their most unforgettable meals. Contributors include Steve Almond, Andre Dubus III, Aimee Bender, Peter Mayle, and Ann Packer.

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

As the New York Times’s restaurant critic for most of the 1990s, Reichl had what some might consider the best job in town; among her missions were evaluating New York City’s steakhouses, deciding whether Le Cirque deserved four stars and tracking down the best place for authentic Chinese cuisine in Queens. Thankfully, the rest of us can live that life vicariously through this vivacious, fascinating memoir. The book—Reichl’s third—lifts the lid on the city’s storied restaurant culture from the democratic perspective of the everyday diner. Reichl creates wildly innovative getups, becoming Brenda, a red-haired aging hippie, to test the food at Daniel; Chloe, a blonde divorcée, to evaluate Lespinasse; and even her deceased mother, Miriam, to dine at 21.

My Life in France by Julia Child

Amazingly energetic, creative, and ultimately inimitable (despite many attempts), Julia Child brought French cooking to American kitchens. For this book she worked with her husband’s grandnephew Alex Prud’homme to record her experiences between 1948 and 1954 in Paris and Marseille (and a few later adventures), which she terms the best years of her life. Like her life, her book is full of fun and zest. Fans will savor, or devour, this account.

Thanks to Megan and Nancy, I’ve had a bunch of awesome books to read lately. Three of these were The Omnivore’s Dilemma by Michael Pollan, Journey to the Center of the Earth by Jules Verne, and Garlic and Sapphires by Ruth Reichl.

The Omnivore’s Dilemma
I loved this book. A lot of people get bored in the middle when he spends page after page talking about the intricacies of the industrial food chain, but I remained mostly fascinated throughout, and couldn’t put it down towards the end. For those unfamiliar with the book, Michael Pollan essentially embarks on a journey to learn about where food comes from. To do this, he visits a cornfield in Iowa, a concentrated animal feeding operation (CAFO) where they raise cattle for slaughter, a sustainable polyculture farm, and the wild outdoors. He learns that everything we eat comes from corn in some way or another, and learns about the consequences – environmental, health, financial, moral – of the way our food, both plant and animal, is raised. He learns to rotate cattle and chickens on the farm, to kill chickens, and to hunt and forage. He wrestles with the philosophy behind vegetarianism. It’s all quite thought-provoking and written engagingly. At least for me, I’ve always had a foolish and romantic desire to work on a farm and live off the land, so reading Michael Pollan’s descriptions of his experiences only stoked that desire more.

Journey to the Center of the Earth
I’ve always had the impression that books written “back then” are stuffy or boring to read. But Jules Verne’s story is such a fun ride I barely noticed it was written more than 100 years ago! Told from the point of view of Axel, a young man more or less forced onto what seems like a preposterous undertaking by his pretty much crazy uncle, the book keeps you hooked with lively dialogue, cheeky commentary (through the thoughts of Axel) and a plot that keeps you curious what will happen next, and what fate will ultimately befall our poor protagonist. Impressively, Journey also treads very well that fine line of science fiction – enough science (or sciencey talk) to keep you wondering just how much is fiction. But at some point it just doesn’t matter because you’re so caught up in the story!

Garlic and Sapphires
This is an autobiographical account of a popular food writer’s experiences as the restaurant critic for the New York Times. In order to do her job, Ruth Reichl has to adopt a number of disguises, most of them ridiculous, with usually amusing, sometimes shocking, and always interesting results. It’s a fascinating romp through Manhattan’s food culture as well as a commentary on identity, relationships, and being true to yourself. Reichl writes in a way that makes you feel as if you are right alongside her as she comes into her own as a NYT critic, pretends to be different people, navigates the rocky waters of media and power in Manhattan, and slowly realizes that she is losing parts of herself because of what she does. The book is warming and uplifting as well as educational.

I’d wholeheartedly recommend all three books, and especially Omnivore or Garlic if you are into food at all!

Over the summer I picked up former NY Times food critic Ruth Reichel’s book Garlic and Sapphires which offers a behind-the-scenes look at eating out from her perspective.  Inspired by her willingness to eat just about anything, I promised myself to try some new things.

Well, I’ve been putting that resolution into practice; first with my Turkey Chili and second with tonight’s sublime meal at a semi-local (to my house) Italian restaurant called Piccola Italia.  A friend recommended the place to me but neglected to mention that it would be an experience, not only a meal.  

The husbandito and I ate our way through a complimentary crostini with brie, grapes and cranberry gastrique, caesar salad, bibb salad with apples and housemade bacon, salmon with fingerling potatoes in a rich cider jus (husbandito) and homemade black truffle gnocchi (me) that words can’t do justice.  And it didn’t end there, friends.  We hoovered up a vanilla creme brule and coffees too.  We were lulled into a stupor by good food, drinks and service.   Lest you not forget that mere months ago (okay, weeks ago) ketchup was considered a major condiment and spice for me.  I’m really branching out here!

In the spirit of Ruth Reichel and NY Times restaurant reviews, I give Piccola Italia 4 stars!  (And Reichel’s book was great too!)

Thank you to my friend who offered some fascinating comments via email after reading the copy of G&S  that I loaned her.   She has given me permission to post here…  [with slight editing... Ed.]

…developing a book club blog is a great, topical idea. And your questions were thoughtful. 

I just finished G&S (thumbed back through trying to find the quote re garlic and sapphires and couldn’t… have to review that, because I think I didn’t quite get it).  

 I do love food and to cook, but never at the level described in this book.  I guess in every area there are those who enjoy, just to enjoy, and then those who take it to the nth degree.  Horses, airplanes, drag racing, everything I have more than a passing experience with — that’s what seems to happen.  I guess I am a born dabbler, or something.  There are so many worlds out there — one of the things I have always enjoyed and expressed about [having a] real estate [career]– the opportunity to bump into people from so many of those different little worlds.   I would like to have more meals like that, though.  I have had some great ones — in Boston, on Nantucket, on the Cape. East Bay Grille in Plymouth is great and local; Cranebrook Tea Room, Margaret’s in Fairhaven.  But you need someone with you who appreciates it as much as you do, so that’s special companions.  Not [significant other/life companion/good guy/hunk] in that regard, though he will experiment on occasion. 

So this was a great foodie’s book, but also a good book about yet another woman exploring who she really is.  The metaphor of the disguises was not lost on this reader, nor, I suspect, on you. And then today I got to the part where Michael got up and left the dinner — good guy.  Who better to point out where one is going astray than one’s best beloved?  And Nicky is going to grow into a fabulous guy.

Thank you “L” for your sharing your thoughts!  Most appreciated!!

Garlic & Sapphires by Ruth Reichl  – Care Rate 3+ Stars

Review Part 1

Review Part 2

Ruth Reichl’s Garlic and Sapphires is a fun read, a delicious read!   I thoroughly enjoyed learning her approach to reviewing restaurants, discovering so many interesting foods, and especially, her descriptions of how she felt during her ‘character dress ups’.    The way her personality would adjust to fit the outfit, how thoroughly she became another person, and her ability to bring me along – very skilled.  She is a talented writer.  

I’m also wondering if I have ever had truffles.     Shaved truffles?   I admit, truffles to me mean CHOCOLATE.   Round tasty dark chocolate balls with dark creme inside are my favorite and I usually ask chocolatiers if they have any with cinnamon.   Not often do I find cinnamon/chocolate truffles…

But white truffles on pasta?   black truffles on… foie gras?  (I can’t even spell goose liver… excuse me while I flip through my book and find the passages that defend my comments, correct my spellings… OK.)    Now, I have – in my life somewhere – experienced foie gras – but I have no idea if I’ve ever had truffles.   I’m thinking probably, just didn’t know it.

Which is why I would LOVE to have the chance to win Ms Reichl in a benefit!   How divine and educational would that be!   Have her to guide me through a menu and explain  what to eat, why it’s special, and if that particular dish is cooked to perfection or not!    I promise I would not be one of those know-it-alls who would try to show off my food and wine knowledge.   I would be an attentive student!   Pleasant and maybe even interesting!   Well, maybe that is stretching it…

I love that the book includes recipes.    I thought the concept of this book and how each segment was presented was brilliant.   Truly.      And, back to the recipes, I am new to a lot of these – maybe not in name;  but certainly, I have not nor my husband have cooked some of these dishes.    I would read through the ingredients and salivate, “I gotta try this!”  and again, “I think I really could fix this!”

But alas, once home (I read this entire book in 2 days while visiting my parents and then friends the next day, before flying home to Mass), I am just not as inspired as I was by the recipes.    At least not today.  Today was grocery day.    Could change – I don’t even own the correct pan for cheesecake…

That said,  and knowing that I promised a review of the book AND a recipe or two, I can tell you that I do indeed have something right now baking away:   Page 291  Nicky’s Vanilla Cake.   All the ingredients on hand and the time to whip it up.    And the inclination to make a mess.     (For those of you not yet completing the book or not yet purchasing…   you can feel good that a Recipe Index is included.  Hurray!)

I loved this book!   It is a memorable enjoyable read, one that will stay with me and influence my ‘eating out’ choices and my ATTENTION to the food I am being served…     

OOOOooo!  the cake is out of the oven and smells heavenly!    do I have to wait until it cools?!