Garlic and Sapphires: The Secret Life of a Food Critic in Disguise

I quickly got into this book and then couldn’t put it down. I LOVED this writer and the life of a food critic is absolutely fascinating. Ruth Reichl became the New York Times food critic and then started with some disguises after learning every restaurant had her photo posted in the back for staff to be on the lookout. She wanted the true experience so her disguises allowed her to visit 3+ times to try everything. I felt like she was looking out for the normal people knowing that she got the best of the best when arriving as herself.

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I don’t dine at the best restaurants ever, but I do work very closely with them for my event so I could truly picture a lot of this. Ruth also reviewed everything out there…tiny Korean restaurants and toured mom & pop shops. You definitely get the sense of how much she just adores food.

She does a fantastic job at showing what it is like, and how reviewing restaurants is actually work. When her little boy was wanting her home for dinner I can see it become tiresome, also when coupled with her thrift-store & wig shopping to create these personas. I think there’s a fine line for everyone to think of her very first-world problem of going out to eat every night. I get it. I found her warm and the struggle real that she didn’t get to be herself to do her job. She loves to cook and includes a recipe to wrap up each chapter. The reader falls in love with her characters, since the get-ups aren’t just costumes. She takes on the persona and uses her doorman as the tester.

I love her experiences when the food blows her away and when she’s so in the moment that she can’t even speak. I love how many details she shares for the restaurant, food, and service at one she doesn’t love…like an over-priced one that isn’t worth it. She has such a realistic life perspective that makes her experiences very genuine and easy to read.

For some reason, it never crossed my mind that a food critic would go to a restaurant 3-5 times before writing the review. The people and relationships Ruth has with her colleagues and friends at The New York Times was really captivating. I have seen what happens to restaurants and chefs when they’re nominated for prestigious awards. Certain ratings can do some of that as well.

I loved this and would recommend it to anyone who is interested in the restaurant world with a fun reminder that outward appearances aren’t always what they seem.

French Women Don’t Get Fat by Mireille Guiliano

I was intrigued by the title. I know not to judge a book by it’s cover but this one was too cute to pass by.

The Three Bite Rule - Book: French Women Don't Get Fat

I honestly thought this book was going to be a bit more about culture and eating while being less about not-eating and recipes. I guess it was more about food and lifestyle but the recipes didn’t interest me at all and I skimmed past them. I was shocked that she reccomends some crazy-sounding detox of Magic Leek Soup. Apparently French ladies swear by it, but it sounds just like what she’s trying to go against: fad diets.

The author is French, but mainly lives in NYC now, so her credibility is intact of growing up in France but definitely knowing what Americans eat. It starts with tales of her upbringing, her foreign exchange to Massachusetts, and returning to France overweight and then getting more overweight when she moved away to Paris for college. This was when she learned to consider food, exercise, and habits.

The Three Bite Rule - Book: French Women Don't Get Fat

Her suggestions are common sense based (minus the detox of leek soup). She suggests writing down everything you eat for 3 weeks. Lots of diets suggest this. There are apps galore and it definitely sounds like it would be helpful to some people skipping snacks to avoid having to write it down. She wants the dieter to be able to focus on when you’re eating and what you’re eating. She then goes all-in on this 48-hour diuretic of leek soup. I cannot get behind the 2-day detoxing of eating one thing. I am doubtful any dietician would suggest this either.

I do think it makes a ton of sense that she breaks the new ways of thinking about food into 3-month periods. That seems like a justifiable time to change, adopt new habits, and makes it not a crash diet. Her tips are normal, like decreasing some “demons” so that you aren’t cutting them out completely and being more focused on eating more different foods, appropriate portions, eating more fruits/veggies, focusing on seasonal foods, moving more, and drinking more water. All these things make sense, and none would shock anyone wanting to be healthier.

The water is a big one. She writes a ton about water. I’ll pause to sip my water because this really resonated with me.

gulp.

I don’t normally have any water when I wake up, especially before coffee. I also don’t tend to drink much after dinner. I think I drink a lot during the rest of the day, but these were easy times to drink more.

I looove her suggestions about not cutting out the things you love. She adores dessert and french pastries. I think cutting anything out completely is going to make many people reallllly crave it. Her point is very clear for French women with chocolate and wine. They tend to love chocolate and eat it regularly, but eat high quality and small amounts. That makes it seem really do-able. They also keep in check by making up for one day on the next. Again, seems do-able.

It was interesting, easy to read, and a quick read. I don’t think it is life changing, but I’ll keep in mind the water tips and the focus on eating more different things rather than bigger portions of fewer things.

I’ll leave you with this video. I doubt any Paleo-dieters read my blog but this archeologist explains why the fad diet is really all made up, by people who don’t know about what people in the Paleolithic period ate, let alone how diets would have differed by area of the globe. It’s fascinating. Yes whole foods, and real foods are better for you. Nobody fights you on that. I just tire of people thinking that the’s a magic new approach to food.

some other books for foodies I recommend: Kitchen Confidential; Heat; French Kids Eat Everything; The American Way of Eating

any foodie inspired books you suggest for me?

Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain

Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain is my most recent foodie reading.

Anthony Bourdain can definitely rub people the wrong way. I have this likeable/badass impression of him. To me, he seems like the kind of person who you wannnnnt on your side and you’ll have his support for life. I also think if you cross him you should just disappear on your own.
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He reminds me of my old 7th grade math teacher everyone was terrified of. She actually was pretty fun, and she loved me. I think with her help, it was the first time I ever understood math. Those who hadn’t earned any compassion from her, dreaded her voice and class

Do you agree? Is he obnoxious or likable to you?

I read Kitchen Confidential and loved it. He writes like he talks! I have loved No Reservations for years and I can’t bear to see him at a judging panel on The Taste, that is not how I picture him. This account of the ‘Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly’ gives some good background to his interesting ways, the lessons he’s learned, and where he’s come from.

He writes, travels, and eats. I loved learning that he got his start in Massachusetts! He was trained at culinary school before that was such a thing. He started out so young and so enthused. He has such a way to describe some of those unique moments.

I really felt like his first few endeavours were good reminders about growth and progress with successes scattered in. I bet looking back he appreciates those opportunities for what they were, even now that he’s a big shot.

I haven’t worked in many restaurants, but the two I spent some time in definitely helped me picture this culture of the different cultures and the hierarchy behind kitchen doors. It is true! A restaurant and catering company I worked at was known for Jewish specialties that the neighborhood swore by. Who made ‘em? A Chilean guy was the only one allowed to make those matzo balls and noodle kugel. The seasonal fried clam and ice cream shack had a group of guys who couldn’t get drivers’ licenses but where somehow all related or connected. Those guys were much harder workers than some of the slacker 16-year-olds who hadn’t ever used a broom before.
kitch_conf_425_290(I loved his passage, especially since I love pirates)

There were moments when I wanted to cheer right along with what he says. He reminds diners that eating Sunday brunch somewhere that isn’t a breakfast place means the B-team, not the famous Saturday night dinner chef, is whipping up your eggs benedict. Also, that the specials are either something the chef came up with to help with food costs or, it is something the chef would like to move along out of the walk-in before it goes bad. SO TRUE!

I think he’s a bit introspective by nature, but I enjoyed that. He dabbled in some intense habits which he references on his shows too. It is probably a good perspective (and PSA) for young cooks who are having that much fun, spending all their money, and who can be great, if they just know what the heck is happening around them.

Google just showed me it was a short TV series circa 2005 with Bradley Cooper. Umm Bradley Cooper in the kitchen? Yes please! Excuse me while I search Netflix for it…

Heat

Heat by Bill Buford: An Amateur’s Adventures as Kitchen Slave, Line Cook, Pasta-Maker, and Apprentice to a Dante-Quoting Butcher in Tuscany

I haven’t written about a foodie book lately but this one wrapped me right in. I didn’t care that I didn’t know the name. I was intrigued that this guy worked for Mario Batali so I felt like I got to know that star, by way of Bill Buford. He became a kitchen “slave.”

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I learned right along with Bill as he made his way through the stations in Mario Batali’s kitchen. It really sounds like a humbling experience given just what kind of learning curve it was from being a talented home cook to the bottom rung of the food chain chopping carrots for hours on end. Buford provides a lot of insight and life to the “characters” in the restaurant industry. There’s a lot of realness and upfront personalities behind the scenes at a restaurant.

In an effort to round out his education, he goes to Italy to learn pasta. I’d do that right now if you want to fund my trip! Ha! I actually don’t really want to learn to make my own pasta…there are some things I think are better left to the professionals. I haven’t been to Tuscany but I wouldn’t pass up a trip! It would be amazing to eat my way through Europe…not exactly Eat Pray Love style, but I’m sure you can imagine it too.

He goes back seeing an Italian butcher lesson. That is really fascinating because he finds a real talent. It was endearing to read about the culture in a tiny Tuscan village. I think what really made an impression on me was not the picturesque setting, but rather the pure passion they all have. These butchers and pasta makers do everything they can and everything they know to do it the right way.

I had a freak-out moment (#MomentsTurnedMonths) in grad school when I was so desperately unsure of my future. I worried what to do if I had a job that I knew I never loved. I felt claustrophobic. I was living with 3 girls who all hated their jobs/lives/futures. I interned where everyone was constantly annoyed by others around them. It terrified me. I left. I left grad school. I left the publishing industry. I left the terrible roommates. I made the right choice. I wanted to do something I could be good at. I wanted to do something that mattered. I wanted to feel happy at the end of the day.

I don’t want to be a chef. I don’t want to apprentice and work 80-hours-per-week in a kitchen. I’m happy to cook what I like and share that here. I admire that Bill Buford knew it wasn’t too late when he worked his way through the kitchen.

At the end Batali asks him about a restaurant. Buford says what every reader is (probably) hoping he’ll say. No, he doesn’t want his own restaurant. He wants to keep learning from the best. He’s hungry for more knowledge.

Book Review: French Kids Eat Everything

I saw French Kids Eat Everything on A Cup of Jo and knew I had to get my hands on it.

Karen Le Billon relays her experience moving her family from Canada to France, where her husband grew up. She had two picky children and recounts their experiences. They learn what lunch is like in French school, how to shop at French markets (the non-supermarkets), and what they wanted to expect from their own children (and themselves).
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It fascinated me. Before you tell me “it is different when I have kids of my own”, I beg you to hold that thought. I don’t agree. My biggest fear is having children who don’t eat real food.

This family in the memoir finally had to seccum to the French method of exploring food, the parents deciding what was for dinner, and standing firm to “you don’t have to like it, but you do have to try it”. Ahhh! Eureka!

I care about food and I care that my some-day-children learn these lessons. The French are pretty brilliant when it comes to food, and it is quite no-nonsense which I like too. The Le Billon family had to overcome years of feeding whatever the kids dictated to avoid meltdowns.

Her story feels real and emotionally charged. They were in a new country, her husband’s family had different views of their ways of eating (initially), she wasn’t a confident cook, and it was a learning curve for all of them. She was torn between feeling like a dictator and allowing choices to her children.

Here is Le Billon’s interpretation of the French ways of eating (the rules)

1) Parents are in charge of food education.
2) Food is not a reward, punishment or bribe.
3) Parents schedule meals. Kids eat what adults eat.
4) Eat family meals together–and make them feel special.
5) Eat your veggies. Key: Think variety.
6) You don’t have to like it, but you do have to taste it.
7) No snacking. It’s OK to feel hungry between meals.
8) Slow food is happy food. As in, eat slowly.
9) eat real food – treats are ok for special occasions
10) eating is joyful and a time to relax.
French Kids Eat Everything

I have a leg to stand on here because I was brought up with a few of these in place from the start. There were no happy-meals for dinner (1). We ate what my parents ate (3). We didn’t have to finish everything but dinner time was a chance to chat. There wasn’t permission to escape from the table. The thing is, we didn’t mind sitting and talking (10).

We snacked but we also weren’t eating fruit roll-ups (9). At Christmas my sis and I each got a grocery-store present which was a highly coveted item we wouldn’t normally have (like pop-tarts, sugary cereal, Little Debbies). Grandma would buy us Cheetos or Fruit Loops but cereal consisted of Cheerios/Chex/Corn flakes/Rice Krispies (9).

I don’t recall getting these lessons drilled into us. It was just what we did. Dinner was together, at the table, without TV/games/phones/etc but with placemats and real napkins (4). Sandwiches had tomatoes on them and weekend breakfast was accompanied by fruit (5). Dinner often included salad first (5). There was always fruit around. Our bread was always wheat/rye/pumpernickel.

My sis and I each had veggies we didn’t like (her: mushrooms, me: peas) but we were allowed to not like something (6). I don’t think we were force fed things or made to stay at the table. I’m not sure when it started but there were expectations about food. Bursting into tears and bawling about not wanting that for dinner would not have been ok. There weren’t tantrums at the checkout line because we could ask for something (though we wouldn’t have questioned a “no”) and sometimes we got to leave with a ring pop, which also kept them special.

I loved that a family I babysat had “babysitter food” which was a treat for the normally real-food-fed-boys (I got to give them mac & cheese and chicken fingers). They had the three bite rule before they could not like something (the 1st to try it, the 2nd to decide, and the 3rd bite to be sure). They definitely knew the grown-up was in charge of the meal.

Wow, I guess when it comes down to it, the R family appears quite French in terms of food. I love that Mr. J and I sit down for meals together. No matter what we’re eating, it is still a chance to chat and eat off a real plate.

French Kids Eat Everything also included their transition back to Canada after their time in France. I don’t judge this family who had to adapt when returning. Hello, North American schools don’t serve a 4 course lunch! Commerce doesn’t stop so everyone can slowly eat lunch with somebody else! North America isn’t like France so I doubt this is something everyone can replicate. The book was really captivating. I was interested that the “rules” weren’t specific to their family or region with research stats to prove it.

I thought this book was really interesting and I hope I’ll follow these someday. I saw the same sort of thing on Cooking Light. I got to see a lot of families food standards and practices after babysitting for, jeez, probably more than 15 families. I just followed whatever their way was, I never once thought my opinion should factor in there.

I was out to dinner at a fun pizza place and was shocked to see the kiddo behind us had pizza without cheese. Hmm. Maybe that is dietary? Then another table had 1 kid at it who got grilled cheese. At a pizza place? I was surprised. I thought what kid doesn’t like pizza? Or melted mozzarella? It was interesting.

Tell me, what do you think? Do you think these French Rules would help youth nutrition in general? Do you think these “rules” would work for you/somebody you know? Is eating “like a child” a nature versus nurture? Do you think youth eating behavior is an age thing that he/she will grow out of? Is this the least of your worries for your children? Should kids HAVE to eat what they’re given?

(P.S.  Some other foodie books I love: The American Way of Eating; Fortune Cookie Chronicles; Waiter Rant, & The Dirty Life)

Foodie Book Review: American Way of Eating

Do you need a beach book? Grab this book for a whole different side of food! I saw this book somewhere and was instantly interested. The author Tracie McMillan goes “Undercover at Walmart, Applebee’s, Farm Fields and the Dinner Table.” Check out her website for more info.

She tackles the myth of privileged classes being the only ones interested in their meals. The verdict? McMillan says it isn’t true. She explores class relations with food, and eating as a culture in the US. This is no Upton Sinclair Jungle. McMillan goes to the fields to try her hand at harvesting garlic and peaches. She lives the life of the field worker before entering the next experience of late night shifts in Walmart Produce departments. Seeing the goods in their whole forms takes a drastic turn when she works in an Applebee’s kitchen and can’t find a whole food anywhere.
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I loved her stats on grocery space and fresh food access in different parts of NYC. It is true that fresh food costs more but also that it is harder to access in certain areas. McMillan lives the life and tries to afford to eat on her earnings.

The result is really captivating. Her experience trying to make cookies for a holiday swap all the time wondering what other party-goers spent on butter is really interesting. She uses a mix and winds up calculating that flour and sugar themselves would have been cheaper, but more money upfront.

I was most interested in her Applebee’s experience. She works in the kitchen and befriends the other staff. During her time there she sees how they cook and the product they use. I also thought it was endearing that she doesn’t assume the staff want to cook that way. Everything is a packet or pouch of pre-made this or packaged that. It is worth thinking about when dining out. That’s why diners impress me…most of them make everything there, on the spot.
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I’m always interested in what it costs to make dinner. It is just Mr. J and me eating but I’m a penny-pincher by nature yet I really value dinner time and the meal. I grew up eating dinner as a family and it is definitely a priority for my family. That doesn’t mean that Mr. J and I don’t end up whipping up something easy now and then, but it does mean that most nights we eat together and I like to cook.

I started calculating the cost of meals I’ve made. It is really astounding. Chicken, bean & corn enchiladas for $2.12 per person, mashed potato pizza for $1.12 per person, and baked ziti for $1.68 per person are just a sampling. We don’t eat a lot of red meat, or fish at our house which tend to run a bit pricier, but still. Cooking at home is easily attainable for us.

I know we’re lucky, we have professional careers, we each work near farmer’s markets, and we have the means to buy any produce we want, whenever we want.  Reading how hard she had to work and the generosity of the communities really touched me. Those around her also had nothing yet still were including her in family meals, sharing more beans than she could eat, and making sure she survived

Here is a stat I thought was most note-worthy to leave you with: the poorest Americans spend up to 35% of their income on food; the middle-to-upper class spends only 8% to eat (Bureau of Labor Statistics).