As a restaurant critic for the New York Times in the 1990s, legendary food writer Ruth Reichl gained renown for her acerbic observations and penchant for donning disguises to maintain her anonymity in restaurants, and she went on to become the editor in chief of the now-defunct <em>Gourmet</em> magazine. Reichl has since penned several best-selling memoirs as well as cookbooks and a novel, has won four James Beard Awards, and is known for her warm voice and fierce advocacy of home cooking. In her newest book, Save Me the Plums, she shares recipes alongside stories about her time at Gourmet. by Julianne Bell