Garlic and Sapphires by Ruth Reichl

by Laura Torres | More from this Blogger

01 Aug 2006 08:27 PM

I just finished the former New York Times restaurant critic's book, Garlic and Sapphires, and found myself craving a fine dining experience. Although I'll skip the foie gras, Reichl's book had me pining for a three-hour, seven course tasting menu full of exotic foods.

Reichl's book is full of her dining experiences in New York, where she never judged a restaurant unless she visited it at least three times, usually more. Her gift for helping the reader experience a meal is unbeatable, and I appreciated her fair reviews of smaller, ethnic places ignored by her predecessor. The heat she took for giving a small Asian "noodle house" three stars didn't deter her from her own principles of fine dining.

This is not just a book of restaurant experiences, though, which makes it interesting to an audience beyond a devoted group of foodies. The story is a personal journey, and a study in contrasts in how she is treated when she is recognized as a powerful restaurant critic, and how she is treated when she is disguised as poorly dressed, older woman, or one of her other characters she has devised to stay anonymous.

The book as a whole however, was a bit of a clumsy read, mostly because her dialogue was contrived and not very believable. In the end notes of the book, she says that scenes are reconstructed to the best of her memory, but it's obvious that the true dialogue was not. Reichl has a lot of interesting characters in her book, but they fall flat because they all sound the same, and none believable at that.

But it is a small flaw in a book that otherwise satisfies, and it has some recipes that I'll be trying this week. I have high hopes for recipes from a woman who eats for a living.

Garlic and Sapphires 2 stars

Learn more about Laura Torres

Laura Torres is the best-selling author of many books for kids and teens, and a party planner. Check out her website at lauratorres.com.

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