I read this book in 2014, and loveloveloved it. I recommended it to loads of people, until finally I thought, maybe I should reread this and see if it’s actually as good as I remembered before I continue spreading it.

So I did.

And it was.

Garlic and Sapphires is Ruth Reichl’s story of being the restaurant critic for the New York Times. As a reluctant foodie and an enthusiastic NYC lover myself, that in itself is enough to make it interesting for me, but there’s more.

When Ruth moved to New York City to be the critic, she discovered that restaurant owners were posting her picture, and offering rewards to the employees who spotted her, so they could give her excellent service and get good reviews. Since she didn’t want to give unfair reviews, there was only one thing left to do. Go undercover!

The book is full of stories of her disguises, and the characters she invented to go along with them. It’s naturally also filled with fantastic food descriptions and reviews, and recipes are sprinkled throughout. Ruth can make liver and squid ink sound delicious, which I have to say speaks pretty highly for her writing skills.

If you’re looking for a fun vacation read, or for food inspiration, or for stories of how to go about life in disguise (you know, for all the celebrities reading my blog 😀 ), then this is the book for you. You can buy it here as a hard copy, or here in Kindle format. But let me warn you:

Do not read it hungry.