I reread Ruth Reichl's memoir Garlic and Sapphires: The Secret Life of a Critic in Disguise. I had read it years ago and liked it, and when I found it in a Little Free Library box, I brought it back home again. It recounts her experience as the New York Times' restaurant reviewer. She had been at the LA Times and was reluctant to move back to New York (where she grew up) at first, but took on the challenge. When she realized that restaurants all over New York had her picture and were on the lookout for her visits, she started wearing wigs and creating characters so she could have anonymous dining experiences; early on she got to see what it was like to be poorly treated when staff perceived her to be an older woman on her own.
The book includes some reviews and recipes at the end of each chapter. Before this book she had already published Tender at the Bone, about her childhood and experiences with food growing up, and Comfort Me With Apples, about her early years as food writer and critic. She's an excellent writer, able to entertain and communicate so effectively about the experiences of cooking and eating. I will have to read her story of her ten years as editor Gourmet before the magazine was so stupidly closed down by Condé Nast. Here's a really great interview:
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