On Sunday, my mom and I had the pleasure of hearing former restaurant critic of the New York Times, former editor-in-chief of Gourmet Magazine, and author Ruth Reichl speak.
That isn't what Ruth looks like in real life. But I thought sharing this picture would be fun because one of the reasons Ruth became so renowned was because during her time as the NY Times restaurant critic, she would go to restaurants incognito so as not to be recognized and to get the treatment that regular folks would get. This meant that sometimes she would get treated very badly in certain hoity toity restaurants around the city. If they only knew who they were ignoring...
I loved what Ruth had to say about the tradition of going out to eat. As a restaurant critic she found it very important to inform and give people a better way to appreciate their restaurant experience. When one goes out to eat at a nice restaurant, they have the opportunity to step out of their everyday lives and become anyone they want to be. It is a special experience; so dress up! Order a bottle of wine! As Ruth said, "we all have a contract when we go out to an expensive restaurant..." Expect to get what you pay for: amazing service, along with amazing food. Canlis comes to mind when I'm writing this.
I loooove going out to eat. It is really fun. I love getting dressed up, ordering more than one course, getting treated well by waitstaff. Sure, I may not have a lot of money to go out to nice places often, but when I do have that opportunity, I always try to embrace it.
I'm excited to start reading Ruth's memoirs: Garlic and Sapphires, Tender to the Bone, and Comfort Me With Apples. She's a wonderful speaker, and a thoughtful and passionate woman.
