سیر و زعفران: زندگی پنهان یک منتقد رستوران در لباس مبدل

A funny, tell-all memoir from the New York Times'most controversial restaurant critic.When Reichl took over from the formidable and aloof Bryan Miller as the New York Times'restaurant reviewer, she promised to shake things up. And so she did. Gone were the days when only posh restaurants with European chefs were reviewed. Reichl, with a highly developed knowledge and love of Asian cuisine from her years as a West Coast food critic, began to review the small simple establishments that abound in Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens. Many loved it, the Establishment hated it, but her influence was significant.She brought a fresh writing style to her reviews and adopted a radical way of getting them. Amassing a wardrobe of wigs and costumes, she deliberately disguised herself so that she would not receive special treatment. As a result, she had a totally different dining experience as say, Miriam the Jewish mother than she did as Ruth Reichl the reviewer, and she wasn't afraid to write about it. The resulting reviews were hilarious and sobering, full of fascinating insights and delicious gossip. Garlic and Sapphires is a wildly entertaining chronicle of Reichl's New York Times years. When Ruth Reichl signed up to be 'The New York Times' restaurant critic, her picture was posted all over town. Yet to be a good critic, anonymity was surely a prerequisite. Ruth adopted a radical way of eating incognito, she amassed a wardrobe of wigs and costumes for her different personas and the resulting reviews are both hilarious and sobering and full of fascinating insights and delicious gossip The editor-in-chief of "Gourmet," a former restaurant critic at the The New York times, recounts her visits to some of the world's most acclaimed restaurants, both as herself and as an anonymous diner in disguise, to offer insight into the differences in her dining experiences