Women, Memories, and Food

Garlic and Sapphires: The Secret Life of a Critic in Disguise

by Ruth Reichl

Penguin Press, 333 pp., $24.95

For years, stories have circulated about various prominent New York restaurant critics disguising themselves with hats and wigs, but it wasn't clear just how far Ruth Reichl was willing to go in the pursuit of a genuinely anonymous dining experience until now. In her third memoir, the former New York Times restaurant critic describes the development of a cast of alternative personas to better perform her dining detective work. Each woman comes complete with hair, make-up, wardrobe, jewelry, and accessories, posture and voice, plus a detailed life history. We watch each new character emerge and see the reaction "she" inspires in everyone from Reichl's young son to the elevator man in her building to head waiters and restaurateurs. Stories about her alters' dining experiences are followed by the reviews they generated. The most famous of these, of course, is Reichl's first review of Le Cirque, where the great disparity in service received by Reichl as herself and her first alter, Molly Hollis, cost the restaurant a star, instilling fear in the hearts of restaurateurs all over New York. As much as I enjoyed the inside dish about restaurant reviewing in the big city (hate mail from her predecessor Bryan Miller, who knew?), this book read like an accomplished work of fiction to me and left me feeling confused. I don't understand why recipes were included, as the stories and reviews stand well without them. I also can't shake the nagging concern about how well I can possibly do my job as a restaurant reviewer in a body so distinctive as to defy effective disguises.