Ruth Reichl, in this book as food critic for The New York Times, takes her readers along on her job assignments. To keep people from recognizing her, she changes appearance with the use of make-up, various wigs, and clothing to match each new persona. Oddly enough, she also takes on a new personality with every costume change.

Throughout the book, Reichl visits various restaurants and has vastly different experiences in each. After telling about them in excruciating detail, she adds a matching review for each restaurant. Not all of them were favorable.

I found this book pleasurable reading for a while. Toward the end, however, I was becoming tired of Reichl’s whirlwind restaurant experiences. I most likely felt this way because some of the restaurants that she visited were ones at which I could neither afford to dine nor would I want to. I don’t count duck web, foie gras, steamed skate, fried quail eggs, or squid ink among those foods I’d be eager to try. I’m more of a Deborah Madison-type foodie. Nevertheless, I found this book for the most part to be a light, fun reading experience.

I have to say that the best part of this book by far was the New York Cheesecake recipe on page 20. The author uses recipes in her book instead of pictures. I’m grateful for that as I made two of Reichl’s cheesecakes (both of which were entirely eaten) before I even finished reading the book. ( )

This book picks up about five years after Reichl’s last book, Comfort Me with Apples, left off. I have to admit, I wouldn’t have thought a book basically about eating would appeal to me, but I read Comfort Me with Apples with my book discussion group and enjoyed it, so I thought I would give this one a try, too. Garlic and Sapphires is Reichl’s chronicle of her tenure as the restaurant critic of The New York Times. Apparently this is a huge deal, and even ordinary people on the street care deeply about Reichl’s opinions on food and restaurants. (Personally, I live not that far away from New York City and have never once read a restaurant review in the New York Times, but I guess I’m just not that type of person). As you can imagine, restaurateurs are even more concerned about Reichl’s reviews, and she soon realizes that it is next to impossible for her to be anonymous while dining out. This means that she gets the royal treatment every time she goes out, which does not mesh with Reichl’s aim to be the critic “of the people.” So, Reichl decides to don a variety of costumes to see how the ordinary person would be treated in four-star restaurants. She completely embodies each of the personalities she creates, which, while interesting to read about, is also a bit creepy in my opinion. Reichl also talks about a variety of other things going on in her life besides eating out, although it seems to me that her personal life is less a topic here than in Comfort Me with Apples. Nevertheless, there is enough that this is not solely a book about food. Reichl often turns a pretty phrase, writing in a way that is very evocative. There were often times I wished I could sample the meal she was describing. This a delightful quick read, although I personally enjoyed Comfort Me with Apples more. ( )

Delightful read! It’s obvious she loves writing almost as much as she loves food. We went, hand in hand, with her on her adventure and loved every minute of it. ( )

Garlic and Sapphires by Ruth Reichl, makes you stop and wonder if the "best" restaurants truly have earned their titles by treating all of their customers as four stars restaurant should, or whether, instead, the four star treatment is reserved for "special" patrons. A delight to read and including the recipes will be entertaining to try in my own kitchen. ( )

This book is a witty, funny and informative romp behind the scenes at the NY Times - well sort of. The author is a former food critic at the NY Times and the books starts off with her journey to NYC to search for an apartment and the eye-opening conversation she has with a seat mate. She quickly realizes that being the food critic at the NY Times may be more complicated and fraught with drama than she realized.

In order to ensure she is able to provide unbiased reviews of restaurants, Reichl creates false personas that allow her to eat at some of NY finest establishments undetected; without the cachet of the NY Times behind her. The result is eye-opening and shows that in some NYC restaurants at the time, who were are directly impacted your dining experience.

I was rooting for her when she gave negative reviews to such 4 star establishments as Le Cirque because of their less than stellar service and I was thrilled when she included such below the radar establishments at Korean restaurants in Little Korea. As one fan wrote, Reichl was a reviewer for the rest of us. She pulled back the curtain and revealed the elitism and favoritism at some of NY's "finest" restaurants. I've known for years that Tavern on the Green's food is just not worth the price. It was nice to have the confirmed by Reichl's experience.

We follow Reichl through her various personas laughing and cringing at some of them. She also shares some of the behind the scenes challenges that arose such as the rivalry and enmity of her predecessor and his fans and the illness of a co-worker.

What I found helpful too was that how you are treated was often directly impacted by how you acted. If you walked in expecting and demanding great treatment, you got it. If you walked in timidly as though you didn't belong, that is often how the staff treated you. This book is a short, quick read but I enjoyed it and found myself wanting to read more of Reichl's works. ( )

I couldn't put this down once I picked it up. It gave me a whole new appreciation of food and a new way of approaching food and restaurants critically. I'm not a foodie, more of an amateur but this book made fine dining and not so fine dining experiences so real that I could really imagine the taste of things. Now I want to go back and finish Tender to the Bone which I started a long time ago and never finished. ( )

extremely entertaining and surprisingly moving in places.

Ruth Reichl's writes a wonderful, humorous, refreshing account of her years as the New York Times Food Critic. She often dined incognito, so as to guarantee that no special treatment would occur during her dining experience. Reichl sought out the small ethnic restaurants that previous NYT Critics ignored. The book exposed how many restaurants give inferior service and attention to customers based on appearance. The book includes her original NYT restaurant reviews and several recipes. ( )

Ruth Reichl has a way with words when it comes to describing food. Practially the whole time I was reading this book I was hungry. And a bit jealous. I love to eat and what a wonderful life it must be to eat for a living at the finest restaurants. Anyway, this is an interesting book both about the food and about the life of a critic. Ms. Reichl writes well and keeps the pace up. She's a good story teller and she has some funny and sad stories to tell. What I found especially interesting and sad is the stories she tells about the Window on the World restaurant at the World Trade Center. It was sort of eerie to read a story about an ordinary evening there, knowing that in a few years after the time she is writing about the towers would fall and people would die at that restaurant.
What I particularly admired about this book is that Ms. Reichl does not try to make herself look like a saint. She shows multiple sides of her personality and seems to easily tell stories about herself that are not particularly flattering to her. She seems quite human in this book and that adds an extra layer of appeal to this book, and I might add the same is true of her other two books. If you enjoy food and wonder what it might be like to eat at all the best places as a an actual job, you'll enjoy this book. I myself had to go have Chinese food when I finished this book. And I found myself really trying to experience the food the way Ms. Reichl writes about experiencing food. It was a wonderful experience. ( )

This book was given to me by a friend, and it remained in my 'To Read' stack before I finally picked it up. I really enjoy memoirs, and this fascinating insight into the life of well-known food critic did not disappoint. I'm a lover of fine dining and unique restaurants, and her writing really made the food leap off the page (or maybe it's just that I'm pregnant and ALL food sounds good??). Even sashimi and foie gras, two dishes that I don't particularly enjoy, sounded fantastic! Her quest to remain anonymous in NYC's many restaurants was extremely interesting, not only in her process to create disguises, but how these characters affected her personality and changed the way she was regarded. Reichl also included personal recipes, a nice addition, in every chapter, and there are a couple that I just might try. Garlic and Sapphires is a fun journey that I'd recommend to anyone who enjoys food writing or memoirs in general. ( )

Garlic and Sapphires is a memoir about Ruth Reichl's time as a food critic at the New York Times. The book gives a fascinating look into the New York Food scene. Reich's descriptions of food are always fantastic, you can practically see and taste the food through the pages. The book was funny and personal, chronicling the multiple disguises Reichl used to visit restaurants incognito and the way her job affects her family life. ( )

great reading and recipes ( )

Immerses the reader in the world of restaurants and food in New York City. When Ruth Reichl becomes the restaurant critic at the New York Times, she often wears elaborate disguises so that she is not recognized at restaurants and treated differently. The descriptions of food are so lavish and sensuous that one reviewer wrote, “she can describe a dish in such satisfying detail that it becomes unnecessary for readers to eat.” ( )

A fun book to read; I couldn't put it down. Not only are there some good recipes in the book, the life of a food critic is discussed, and how they eat without being known. It shows how absurd some of the restuarants can be and how devious they are in the foods they serve. Adventures in deception is a perfect description of the critic and the foods.

I tried Reichl's first two memoirs attracted by the food writing connection but, let's face it, I just don't like the grittiness that comes with some memoirs and Reichl's were of that sort to me. This book, however, is nothing like that as Reichl is telling about her struggles to stay "under cover" as when it is announced she will be the next NY Times food critic her photo is plastered all over restaurant kitchens throughout the city. She also tells about her struggles to change the sorts of restaurants that the Times covers, including a hilarious recounting of her interview where she tried her hardest to be so outrageous that they wouldn't offer her the job. This book is a great read for anyone interested in food writing ... or any writing. ( )

May 2007: http://www.3rsblog.com/2007/05/just-f... ( )

Ruth dons multiple disguises to obtain fair reviews as a food writer for the New York Times. As expected, she receives very different treatment depending on whether she is a wealthy looking young blond, bold 60s radical, or old woman of modest means. Unexpectedly, she finds her personality changing to fit each disguise and discovers she is able to inhabit a new personality as well as a new disguise. This in turn impacts her thoughts regarding the food she reviews. An interesting read. ( )

Part three of Reichl's memoir –this one about the time when she worked as a restaurant critic for The New York Times.
I found this part the weakest of the trilogy. Apart from restaurant reviews and descriptions of numerous disguises, it offered little else. It may be because the people Reichl writes about are all still around, all still in the newspaper, magazine business, all difficult to write about when one is an editor-in-chief of one them. Maybe she should have waited a few more years before writing about this part of her life.
In addition, there was one thing that bothered me- she ate much too much fois gras. Not so long ago, I learned how the geese are fattened, and every time she talked about it in the book, I remembered it. I find it impossible that she didn't know, which means she didn't care. ( )

I listened to Ruth Reichl's funny and fascinating account of her years as the New York Times' restaurant critic and truly enjoyed myself! I found myself wanting to check the book out of the library so I could read the names of the different restaurants - and then take a look at their current menus online if they are available. I felt like cooking and eating exotic foods and trying something differnt in my culinary life. I would highlly recommend this to other foodies, or anyone in search of a relaxing, fun read.
Additionally, the reader for the CD was excellent, I can't remember her name, but she was terrific with the different character's voices - I felt like I knew exactly who each character was.
Ruth Reichl's Garlic and Sapphires - Four Stars! ( )

This is another one of those books I read on a flight between Cleveland and Minneapolis, where I frequently travel on business. Since the first scene takes place on an airplane, it seemed appropriate. I am a huge fan of gourmet cooking and fine dining and I love reading about restaurants - even the places I will never be able to afford even if I could get a reservation. Her stories about the restaurants were terrific. She has not only a gourmet palate and an understanding of what makes a restaurants truly "four star", but she has a more common appreciation of what makes for a great restaurant experience. It's not just fancy ingredients and cutting edge techniques, it's being able to put something flavorful on the plate in an atmosphere that encourages people to enjoy their food. I'm definitely going to be looking for more of her books. ( )

I found Garlic and Sapphires: The Secret Life of a Critic in Disguise by former New York Times Restaurant Critic, Ruth Reichel as enjoyable as a warm plate of risotto paired with a glass of red wine.

In Garlic and Sapphires, Reichel recounts the six years she spent contriving clever disguises to hide her identity as she galavanted around New York City’s restaurants and bistros writing reviews for the Times. Reichel’s memoir focuses on three aspects of her life at that time: her personal life as a wife and mother, her restaurant patronizing as a critic, and her life as an employee of the venerable and mighty New York Times. Reichel’s descriptions of her son are touching and heartwarming, her recounting of the extremes she went to in order to create and truly become her aliases are entertaining and amusing, and her telling of the behind-the-scenes goings-on at the Times are fascinating and fulfill the gossipy voyeur in all of us.

Reichel is a talented writer and her truly joyous love of food, cooking, and eating are evident on each page of the book. The book is peppered with Ruth’s favorite recipes and this adds a certain feel-good warmth to the tome.

My only criticism of the book is that I had to be willing to suspend my good reason in order to believe that Ruth truly became the characters she created to the extent she described. According to Ruth, she was so immersed in these characters that she found herself unable to use her own judgment and mannerisms while inhabiting that character’s persona. For example, if she was dressed as “Miriam” she was brash and rude and “Ruth” had no control over the rude things that came out of “Miriam’s” mouth. This was slightly hard to believe – but maybe I just don’t have the same amount of acting chops!

The title Garlic and Sapphires is only briefly alluded to and comes from a poem written by T.S. Eliot.

Overall, Garlic and Sapphires is a delicious romp of a memoir that I truly relished devouring – excuse the puns! ( )

I was having so much fun with the dress-up-into-another-identity stories that I was devastatingly disappointed when she concluded that the whole exercise had been an awful thing when it turned out she was having a little too much fun wearing a distasteful persona. Couldn't she have learned from being bad, dropped the nasty, and had some more fun as some of the more pleasant folks in her repertoire? On the other hand, yum. I wanna eat at those restaurants too, but unfortunately never will I have the wallet for it.

Alas, I kind of wanted to keep this one, but I really, really needed more shelf space. So I figured, I would let the next person enjoy the book.

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. ( )

If you eat in restaurants, I think you'll find this book entertaining. The author tells of her years as food critic for the New York Times and her efforts to hide her identity as she visits some of the city's most famous restaurants. With the help of friends and associates, she creates a variety of disguises, and assumes a particular identity with each one, in order to find out how some of these restaurants treat ordinary customers. It's incredible how badly she is treated in some of Manhattan's most well-known and priciest restaurants when she shows up in some of her disguises. ( )

Garlic and Sapphires: The Secret Life of a Critic in Disguise by Ruth Reichl is a memoir of her days reviewing restaurants for the New York Times. On her first flight to New York she discovers that all the restaurants have descriptions of her and are waiting for her to show up, so she decides to get creative and disguise herself. The book is pretty much what you'd expect from that description- stories of the disguises, the personalities of each, the experiences of each and how it changed her reviews. She goes to a lot of restaurants I'll never go to, eats a LOT of food I'll NEVER eat, and remembers it all in very fine detail.

I don't know if it's the food itself that enthralled me, because honestly I have no desire to eat most of it, but I really really enjoyed this book. The different reactions she got from the same restaurants when she went as her characters vs. herself was amazing. The special treatment money could buy was eye opening. There are recipes spread throughout the book. I did not read them all (so not gonna cook mussels in the middle of South Dakota!) but some of them looked quite tasty. I don't know if this will make my top five for the year, but it was surprisingly good and I'd recommend it to anyone who loves to eat. ( )