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| Garlic and Sapphires: The Secret Life of a Critic in Disguise | 
 enlarge | Author: Ruth Reichl
Publisher: Penguin Press HC, The
Category: Book
List Price: $24.95
Buy New: $10.55
You Save: $14.40 (58%)
New (6) Used (10) from $7.75
Avg. Customer Rating:  131 reviews
Sales Rank: 328002
Format: Bargain Price
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 352
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.1
Dimensions (in): 9.3 x 6.3 x 1.5
Dewey Decimal Number: 641.5092
ASIN: B0013VXVMO
Publication Date: April 7, 2005
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
 Fun for Foodies and Everyone Else August 4, 2008
I am not a foodie. However, Reichl's writing is so vivid I found myself thinking about the dishes she describes. Her style is easy to follow without dumbing the language down. The novel is one part funny anecdotes, one part food, and one part introspection. A great read!
If you love restaurants - you'll love this book August 4, 2008
Reichl is one of my favorite authors and I think I've read everyone of her books. Perhaps that is why I especially enjoyed this book. It was so much fun! I feel like I know Ruth from reading all of her auto-biographies. This book definitely gives you a different view of the competitive world of restaurants. I think I've enjoyed fine dining even more since reading her latest book. When's the next book??!
Foodtastic July 25, 2008
If you are a food fanatic you will love this humorous yet informative book. Written with great insight and imagination it is a splendid true story. It is worthy of a Michelin star or two!
Delightful May 5, 2008
A truly enjoyable read. Ruth Reichl is more than an epicurean, she is a poet. Her memoir takes you through an intensively personal account of what it means to become the foremost food critic in America.
People who love food will salivate reading her descriptions of many varied types of cuisine she enjoys in its best form,
People who don't dine out at fine dining restaurants very often could learn a few things, namely:DON'T DINE AT A TOURIST TRAP
 Personality Disorder May 5, 2008
2 out of 8 found this review helpful
Reichl is a knowledgable food critic and a talented writer, however I was uncomfortable with her use of alter egos to get restaurant reviews. Her disguises went far beyond seeking anonimity; her true personality quirks were allowed out of their cages, where they normally are housed in polite society. Most of this was harmless, although there were times when she became quite catty. She belittled a person who had purchased her dining companionship for the benefit of charity. Even though the person was a bore, it was her duty to see the evening through without compaint, or she should have never auctioned herself off. I would have expected her to set some ground rules for the evening, rather than letting herself be abused (restaurant choice, length of the committment, etc.),then becoming resentful. It would have been easier for her to write the charity a check and excuse herself. On another occassion she dressed vampishly and led a man on. She was married and deceived a gentleman over the possibility of a deepening relationship, even though she paid for her own dinner. Her husband was uncomfortable with the deception, as was I.
This book is a display of Reichl's self-absorbed, brattish behavior. Her reviews were fair and even inspired, however her behavior was not.
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