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July 16, 2006

Ruth Reichl

Earlier this summer, my mother and I both got on a Ruth Riechl kick and read Comfort Me with Apples, followed by her latest book, Garlic and Sapphires (we haven't read Tender at the Bone yet, her first). The first is a fantastic memoir about her introduction to the world of food writing and her rise to LA Times food critic, and then New York Times food critic. The second covers her life at the NY Times, where she developed a number of elaborate disguises in order to review restaurants undetected. Mom and I devoured these books -- staying up way too late and wasting entire summer weekend days in bed, reading, but it was worth it.

I'm so glad I finally read these. Since I love food and writing, I was completely wrapped up in each book. Reichl has a very accessible style, and she's extremely matter-of-fact. She writes about personal struggles in each book, and I feel as if I'm hearing stories from an aunt or older friend whom I adore and who has had a difficult and extraordinary past. She shares these stories with nostalgia and a combination of vulnerability and confidence. I finished reading each chapter feeling as if I could have ended up in many of the same situations (she makes them seem familiar), although some of her turns of fate are incredible.

She also has an extraordinary talent for identifying flavors in food and describing an exceptional dining experience. She is an expert on food and cooking, even early on, but she shares what she knows as if she's just discovering things, so you never feel out of step with her. I think this explains her extremely successful career.

On Thursday, I was looking around for something interesting to do after work and was reminded that she would be at the 92nd St. Y on a panel, so I headed uptown. When I bought my $25 ticket, I got a Gourmet gift bag (Reichl has been the editor in chief there since 1999). It included the current issue, a special summer issue (the focus of the panel), and a mold for four ice pops with an accompanying recipe ("Honeydew Lime Popsicles").

The panel was great. Riechl was joined by various contributors to Gourmet's special "August Summer Reading" issue, which contains a bunch of short, satisfying pieces about writing and food or travel. Leonard Lopate moderated skillfully, engaging each panelist equally and keeping the conversation funny and interesting. Ann Patchett, author of Bel Canto, was there. She provided a nice contrast to the rest, since she professed having no interest in food (she likes, gasp!, Spagetti-Os) and won't eat anything with a hoof. She explained that she had been obsessed with Charlotte's Web as a child and had received the gift of a pig for her ninth birthday, and instituted the hoof rule then. This provided fodder for conversation with David Rakoff, who is hilarious and whose contribution to the issue had been subtitled "What is it about Jews and Pork?" I didn't know anything about Rakoff, but he kept cracking me and everybody else up. I hope he writes a book. The other members of the panel were Jane and Michael Stern, authors of the "Roadfood" column in Gourmet. They finish each other's sentences and have a large collection of funny stories about their visits to backroads American food establishments. Ruth herself wasn't quite what I imagined, but her measured tone and benevolent attitude matched her prose.

The conversation ranged, and I got a glimpse of the panelists' opinions about current culinary trends. For instance, there is an abundance of salt options available now -- sea salt, kosher salt, volcanic salt -- and it's hard to know what to do with them all. David Rakoff responded to a question about an intimidated buyer by saying "you're picking salt, not finding an oncologist!" Ruth countered with facts: these salts do have different tastes, but more importantly, they are shaped differently and so will be absorbed differently.

There was a good deal of talk about organics and "gourmet" food, and how local food really trumps both for sustainability (with organic food now coming from China, local food will be better tasting because it's more fresh, and its transport will have far less impact). There was some discussion about how Americans still don't want to know where their food comes from, at all, and a mention of Michael Pollen's latest book, The Omnivore's Dilemma, where he explores the origins of four meals. When asked about America's best cuisine, Ruth answered by saying that we are the world's best eaters, because we embrace a culturally diverse collection of foods.

I was especially pleased to hear Ruth's condemnation of mass market livestock production, and how it harms both the quality of the meat and the environment, and I was glad that she explained the advantages of eating local food. She may have been preaching to the choir, but she has great influence through Gourmet, and when I flipped through the mag, I saw the same recommendations. This trend has been going on for a while in urban communities, but I wasn't sure if it extended beyond that. I hope it does.

When we left, we were handed ice pops, made from the recipe in our gift bags -- nice touch, no? For more details at the panel, there's a good recap here.

Posted by csageday at July 16, 2006 02:33 PM

Comments

Posted by: Amber at July 17, 2006 11:15 AM