Garlic and Sapphires (Ruth Reichel)

The title comes from a line in T.S. Eliot's Four Cantos. That came as a surprise to me in the middle of the book. I have yet to read that poem. This a nonfiction work written by the woman who was the food critic of the New York Times during the late 80's and 90's. It is the story of her work on the Times. The reader comes along with Ruth as she eats in some of the finest resturants in New York, often in disguise.

I loved this book for many reasons. I enjoyed her discussion of the culture of the Times and the spirit of New York during this time. I loved her descriptions of food and the world within a resturant. I learned about lots of kinds of food I had never heard of. I also like her discussion of what it means to be a writer, a wife, and a Mother. I found her to be a very real person on the page. I person I would like to sit down and share a meal with.