Tender at the Bone: Growing Up at the Table - Books

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Editorial Reviews:

Amazon.com Review
New York Times restaurant critic Ruth Reichl reads her (only very slightly abridged) memoir with the same humor, care, and intimacy that she put into its writing. The voices of the chefs, waiters, and gourmands who taught her to love food and its preparation come to life in this audiobook. Particularly compelling is her wonderful tale of "Life on Mars"--boarding school in Montreal might well have been on another planet. We listen as her halting French becomes fluent, as she shares weekend forays for forbidden smoked meat and cream puffs (the cure for all homesickness) with her new friend, Beatrice, and as her encounter with Beatrice's father, Monsieur du Croix, introduces her to a new level of joy in food. Audiobook listeners are also treated to a handy booklet of recipes included with the tapes that represent a dish from each of the main characters we meet in Ruth's life.

Product Description
For better or for worse, almost all of us grow up at the table. It is in this setting that Ruth Reichl's brilliantly written memoir takes its form. For, at a very early age, Reichl discovered that "food could be a way of making sense of the world...if you watched people as they ate, you could find out who they are."

Tender at the Bone is the story of a life determined, enhanced, and defined in equal measure by unforgettable people, the love of tales well-told, and a passion for food. In other words, the stuff of the best literature. The journey begins with Reichl's mother, the notorious food-poisoner known forevermore as the Queen of Mold, and moves on to the fabled Mrs. Peavey, one-time Baltimore socialite millionairess, and, for a brief poignant moment, retained as the Reichls' maid. Then we are introduced to Monsieur du Croix, the gourmand, who so understood and stood somewhat in awe of this prodigious child at his dinner table that when he introduced Ruth to the souffle, he could only exclaim, "What a pleasure to watch a child eat her child eat her first souffle!" Then, fast forward to the politically correct table set in Berkeley in the 1970s, and the food revolution that Ruth watched and participated in as organic became the norm. But this sampling doesn't do this character-rich work justice. And, after all, this is just a taste.

Tender at the Bone is a remembrance of Ruth Reichl's childhood into young adulthood, redolent with the atmosphere, good humor, and angst of a sensualist coming of age.

Customer Reviews: Read 105 more reviews...

5 out of 5 stars

Warm and Engaging November 10, 2008
This is one of those books that will be a permanent addition to the bookcase. Ruth opened my eyes to the fact I barely notice half of what I eat. I feel as if I've been missing out on a huge part of my life and the joy that food can bring. Her stories will make you laugh and at the end of the book, you'll just feel better than before you read it.

2 out of 5 stars

No point... September 15, 2008
I was disappointed. This book is just a book about Ruth Reichl's life before becoming a famous NYT food critic. The problem is that there is absolutely nothing to say!
You would expect a book to make you either dream, travel, think, laugh or anything, even scare you, why not? But in this book, you will have nothing except for a completely normal life with nothing special about it. It was a very flat and pointless read.
I guess the book is worth it when you really want to know about the author, then you probably have some answers, but if you are looking for a good read about food, nothing here, a good read with an interesting point of view on things, or a thrilling biography... dont pick out this book!

4 out of 5 stars

Delicious to read August 31, 2008
I've just finished reading Tender at the Bone: Growing up at the Table, by Ruth Reichl (former restaurant critic for the New York Times), and I feel as satisfied as if I'd just had a good meal.

Reichl guides the reader through her early experiences with food. She tells a good story, detailing her mother's manic entertaining style, the comforting aromas of her grandmother's house, her own initial forays into cooking exotic fare, and the wonderful food she encountered while traveling in Europe and North Africa.

I loved reading about Reichl's early adventures in the world of food, and she has a wonderful, self-deprecating writing style that I really like. It's hard to hate her for having an awesome job where she eats fabulous food all day because she's astonishingly honest about her life, her shortcomings, and all the ugly flaws that make her human.

Because Ruth uses food to bookmark events in her life, recipes that have been particularly memorable to her are interspersed throughout the memoir. Some that I've copied to try later include Milton's Pate (a chicken-liver pate. I've never made pate, but this one looks easy enough to try.), Claritha's Fried Chicken (I can tell from the recipe that it's going to be good.), Coconut Bread (This one just sounds so delicious that I want to give it a go.), and Alice's Apple Dumplings with Hard Sauce (which looks easy, yummy, and infinitely eatable).

I so enjoyed this book, and I'll be reading more of Reichl in the future.

5 out of 5 stars

Warning - lot's of gushing to follow June 8, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful

I was in love with this book from the first words of the introduction, where Reichl tells us about the story telling tradition in her family. She introduces her book thus: "Everything here is true, but it may not be entirely factual. I learned early that the most important thing in life is a good story". She then proceeds to tell her stories so convincingly, with such candor and feeling, that you completely forget that some of it is embellished for story telling purposes.

The recipes are absolutely charming and wonderful, a very genuine addition. They may not be the best recipes, some of them may well be old fashioned, but they are honest and intended as an illustration; she includes no photos after the one on the cover - the recipes serve as photos of her life as told here.

This book is about Reichl's life with food. It is not a true autobiography, but anecdotes that are slices and bites of her life. We feel we know Ruth while realizing that we don't know everything about her. But then isn't that the reality of most friendships? And Ruth does feel like a friend that you are getting to know.

Anyone who loves food and cooking will get great pleasure from this book. It is always charming, always engaging, always entertaining. I ordered her sequel the minute I read the last word.

4 out of 5 stars

!! May 19, 2008
Ruth Reichl's Tender at the Bone opened my eyes to a new way of looking at life. I never imagined that a person could find themselves so entranced by food. Her passion for cooking, tasting, eating, and critiquing food is proudly revealed with each word. Although she began her career as a food critic for the New York Times, she impresses me with her versatility when she writes such an intriguing and personal memoir as Tender at the Bone.
Each important relationship she has is usually documented with a recipe or a dish. When Ruth's mother comes to meet her daughter's new and perpetually tan roommate, she jumps to conclusions: "I guess I'm a prejudiced person. It never occurred to me that your roommate would be negro". Ruth replies, " 'Oh, she's not...Her family is from Guyana...They are not negro.' And to prove it I gave her some of the coconut bread that Serafina's mother had sent" (107). On the following page, the coconut bread recipe is provided. I never would have thought that coconut bread could hold such secrets as family heritage!
Reichl also tends to judge people based on their cooking. Her mother, for example, is outrageous and creates equally outrageous concoctions that Ruth must prevent her loved ones from eating, otherwise they will end up in the hospital with food-sickness (as 26 of the guests at her son's engagement party did). Her Aunt Birdie, who is very set in her ways, has her one dish: potato salad. This lack of culinary diversity characterizes Aunt Birdie as the simple, old-fashioned lady that she is. With this memoir I have no doubt become more aware of people's cooking habits, and what it reveals about their personalities.

Good Grape Wine Company