A Sumptuous Experience

There is a certain experience, when you have just finished a delicious meal. Not an ordinary weekday dinner, but a special one, with well prepared food, shared with interesting people. At the end of the meal you are full, but not uncomfortably so. You are delighted to have found some new food to love, and the conversation around the table is so wonderful, that nothing is as important as sitting at the table to prolong the experience. Your mouth, mind and stomach have been sated. We have all had this experience (I hope). That was the exact feeling I had after finishing Ruth Reichl's memoir, "Tender at the Bone". When I finished the book, I sat on the chair and hugged it to my chest, trying to avoid my re-entry into real life.

The story was Ruth Reichl's life from early childhood to early twenties. She went on to become a celebrated food writer; a restaurant critic for the New York Times and editor of Gourmet Magazine. Her writing is exquisite! It is funny, and sad, and descriptive. She recounts her life with her manic-depressive mother but never accepts pity. She carefully chronicles how life funneled her into food. I was jealous of some of her experiences, like her extensive traveling and identified closely with others like trying to heal the world, and myself, by cooking. I too was raised by a terrible cook, and I too understand the power of food. My only complaint, and it is slight, is the food descriptions didn't always match the tone of the book. I loved the recipes, though, and I may have to buy the book so I can have copies of them. I was so delighted with this book, borrowed from the library, that I immediately got on Amazon.com to order her next book"Comfort me With Apples". It covers the next twenty or so years in Ruth Reichl's life. I can barely wait. I believe I will read "The Onivore's Dilemna" next.