Garlic and Sapphires

By Ruth Reichl

When Ruth Reichl accepted the position of restaurant critic at The New York Times, she soon found out that the local restaurants were ready and waiting, with photos posted and staff briefings. The key to reviewing restaurants is to be anonymous, so they can't put their best face on for the critic. So Reichl came up with a strategy: disguises.
With the help of a couple of experts, she developed some characters to hide her true identity behind. First was Molly, a rather staid, older woman. And Brenda, a flamboyant and kind-hearted redhead. And the woman in tweed, who didn't have a kind word for anyone. The disguises worked and Reichl was able to give honest and impartial reviews of area restaurants. But after awhile, she began to question herself and wonder about all these strange women lurking inside her own head.

After reading Reichl's book, I know that she would eat almost anything. She would probably eat a pig fetus. In fact, I bet she has eaten pig fetus and loved it! I bet she has eaten those unhatched ducklings still in the shell and raved about how their little bones cracked between her teeth. But even though her very evocative descriptions of the food she ate left me unmoved I still enjoyed this book very much.

Comfort Me with Apples

By Ruth Reichl

"Comfort me with apples for I am sick of love" is a quote from the "Song of Solomon" from the Bible and it is a pretty apt quote for Reichl's book. In this book she describes her early years as a restaurant critic and featuring prominently are her two love affairs she had while married to her first husband.
She started out wanting to be a writer but she had a passionate interest in food and when the opportunity came along to be the restaurant critic for a locally published magazine she decided to try it out.
In the meantime, her husband, an artist, was becoming a commercial success and he had to travel a lot, which put a strain on their marriage, especially when he revealed that he was no longer sure that he wanted to have children. At this time, Reichl was in her thirties and time was running out for her. Somehow she became involved with her boss and that affair lasted until the boss married someone else. She then fell head over heals in love with Michael, a reporter, and eventually married him.
Of course, the book is about more than Reichl's love life. She talks a lot about food and restaurants and the many chefs she has known and also includes a few recipes: Crab Cakes; Dacquoise; Asparagus with Balsamic Vinegar; Michael McCarty's Pasta and Scallops; La Vieille Maison Soup; Dottie's Spinach; Dry-Fried Shrimp; Soy Sauce Chicken; Channing Way Shrimp Curry; Sweet Potato Pie; Apricot Pie; Big Chocolate Cake; Mushroom Soup; Swiss Pumpkin; Miang Kam; Charlene's Semolina Egg Noodles with Smoked Ham, Asparagus, Onions and Garlic; Warm Salad; Raspberry Ice Cream; Grilled California Goat Cheese on Toast; Chinois Curried Oysters with Cucumber Sauce and Salmon Roe; Danny's Lemon Pasta (based on a recipe of Danny Kaye's); and Fried Capers and Calves' Brains with Sherry Butter Sauce.

This was an interesting and absorbing book and I enjoyed it a lot even though I can't agree with her adulterous lifestyle. She has been there and done that, met a lot of interesting and famous people and travelled to many exotic and far away places. Her life certainly doesn't sound dull. And she tells a good story too.