I'm pinching myself, because Ruth Reichl -- former editor-in-chief of Gourmet Magazine, author of countless books (including "Tender at the Bone," "Comfort Me with Apples," "Garlic and Sapphires," and "Save Me The Plums), and the former food critic for both the L.A. Times and The New York Times -- is my patient today on Lunch Therapy. We cover her childhood in Greenwich Village, growing up with a mentally ill mother, learning to cook as a means of survival, and her resistance to being taken care of as an adult and how that informed her job as a restaurant critic. We also cover the role of criticism in general, why Alice Waters is such a polarizing figure, the heightened nature of her stories, knowing MFK Fisher and James Beard, and where she likes to eat in L.A. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit amateurgourmet.substack.com/subscribe Our GDPR privacy policy was updated on August 8, 2022. Visit acast.com/privacy for more information.