GARLIC AND SAPPHIRES is Ruth Reichl's riotous account of the many disguises she employs to dine anonymously. There is her stint as Molly Hollis, a frumpy blond with manicured nails and an off-beige Armani suit that Ruth takes on when reviewing Le Cirque. The result: her famous double review of the restaurant: first she ate there as Molly; and then as she was coddled and pampered on her visit there as Ruth, New York Times food critic.
What is even more remarkable about Reichl's spy games is that as she takes on these various disguises, she finds herself changed not just superficially, but in character as well. She gives a remarkable account of how one's outer appearance can very much influence one's inner character, expectations, and appetites.
As she writes, "Every restaurant is a theater . . . even the modest restaurants offer the opportunity to become someone else, at least for a little while." GARLIC AND SAPPHIRES is a reflection on personal identity and role playing in the decadent, epicurean theaters of the restaurant world.
Dining out, Reichl observes, is a theatrical experience. It's even more theatrical when, as the New York Times food critic, you must wear disguises to avoid waiterly "hoverage" and special treatment. Reichl's stories about reviewing restaurants incognito require narrator Bernadette Dunne to create a variety of voices for Reichl's alter egos. Dunne not only excels at this task (meet Molly, reticent Midwesterner, or stylish Chloe, blonde sophisticate), she expertly creates a variety of other characters as well, including the voices of Reichl's quirky Times colleagues, her doorman, Irish nanny, and son, Nicky. In fact, Dunne slips so neatly and convincingly inside Reichl's voice that listening to the author's concluding interview comes as an interesting surprise. J.C.G. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award (c) AudioFile 2005, Portland, Maine
