Eating My Words: An Appetite for Life

by Mimi Sheraton

As one of the country's foremost restaurant reviewers, Mimi Sheraton set the standard for food writing and criticism. In this engrossing memoir, the doyenne of food criticism explains how she developed her passion for writing about food and wine, sharing the secrets of her career, including her years at the New York Times. Witty and honest, she talks openly about the importance of anonymity, her battle with weight, and the demands of juggling work with the needs of a husband and son. From fine dining to lunch in New York City public schools, Mimi Sheraton gives readers the big dish on a life in food.

Genres: Memoir, Nonfiction, Food, Food Writing, Foodie, Cookbooks, Biography Memoir

240 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 2004

About the author

In 1975 she became the food critic for the New York Times. She held that position for 8 years after which she became the food critic for Time magazine.

She freelanced for New York Times, Vanity Fair, Food and Wine, and other magazines.

Reviews

[jrendocrine at least reading is good]

Well, that's not happening.

Picked it up because of the wonderful obituary regaling the author in the NYTimes, but gotta agree, that it is a very specific time and place, to which I've never been.

[Alix · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of our faculty members was cleaning out his shelves and gave me this. He knows I love food! I did enjoy the accounts of restaurant reviewing (will she be recognized or not? What strategies does she employ to catch them out?) and the accounts of traveling to discover unfamiliar foods. But this is set in a different place and time (New York, years ago) and so the name dropping that might have titillated me bored me instead. If you are a NY restaurant groupie, you will no doubt enjoy this more than I did.

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved this book! Aside from biographical tales of a famous food writer, it includes a glimpse into life in 1940's and 50's Manhattan, as well as a surprising chapter on institutional-scale food. My favorite part is her categorization of dining companions: everything from the apologizers ("Oh I didn't have breakfast or lunch today, so I can eat this piece of bread.") to the gluttons ("Would it be all right if I ordered a second entree? The steak didn't fill me up."). Hilarious!

[BJ · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a nonfiction account of Mimi's life as a food writer. It was a little too dry for my taste. Although I love foodie-type books, this one was just meh!

[Bradley the social worker · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was my first Mimi Sheraton book. While I’d heard her name before, she finally got on my radar when, well, she died. So while I did not get to enjoy your restaurants reviews “live” in the 70’s and 80’s, I thoroughly enjoyed this memoir of her life in food. Like Ruth Reichl and Frank Bruni, the best food writing makes me remember what I love about food and yearn for flavors I’ve yet to discover. As Sheraton points out, eating in a truly wonderful restaurant can be a breathtaking, magical experience; it can also be dull, chaotic, and boring. Sheraton shares these stories and more throughout the book. Finishing it, I yearned not only for the restaurants of yore but the publishing industry that used to nurture writers like Sheraton. What impressed me most was the way Sheraton democratizes food, making it accessible, human. She dares to point out that food is and always has been political. Consider what is on your plate today and perhaps contrast it with that of a billionaire or a prisoner or a hospital patient or someone living in a shelter. Sheraton believes they all should have good food, that access to good food is a human right.

[Niya · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sheraton's memoir is a pleasant enough read, but it feels like a defense to justify a career of travelling and eating - because those things are so enjoyable that they cannot truly be considered work. I'm not sure if this is informed by a puritanical approach to life (which seems unlikely) or if it's a broader phenomenon that afflicts restaurant reviewers who ate and traveled between 1980-2000. It may ultimately have to do with the fact that Sheraton is a writer who hates to write and claims only to do it because it facilitates her eating and travelling...
There are no real insights here, nothing earth shattering in terms of awareness or trade secrets or insights into journalism or food writing - but it's not an unpleasant reading experience on the whole.

[Celeste Thayer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love memoirs anyhow, but I really love Mimi's. She's got a great vocabulary and has lived an interesting life. She doesn't follow the "I was born, I did this, and now I'm doing this," timeline, which is interesting and perhaps more inviting. She seems to organize her stories somewhat topically, and of course it's always about her travels and love of food and cooking.

By the way, she's been all over, and eaten everything along the way! I loved her descriptions of food in Sweden and Thailand, and her trips to everywhere, including multiple to Cairo (which I hated when I was there, so it was good to read a fresh opinion on the place.)

[Anita Smith · Rating 2 out of 5]

Got about 3/4 of the way and put it aside. It just got kind of boring. I'm not a gourmet eater by any means so I eventually lost interest in the descriptions and preparation styles of foods I've never heard of and probably will never try, like, I don't know, braised calf tongues prepared with ten spices I've never heard of. It's not her fault I'm uncultured, though, and she's a good writer (very amusing and fun), and so take my opinion with a grain of salt, no pun intended.

[Chantal Soeters · Rating 4 out of 5]

Accidentally picked up this book as I found it on a table in a local cafe. As a foodie the title appealed to me and I was quite happy to discover it's a memoir of one of the first female food critics in NY sharing her insider stories of the restaurant business, her love for food, her travels, her criteria for 'rating' food and what's it like to be respected but also despised for her role as a food critic.

[Rosa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sheraton isn't the most compelling or talented writer, but she manages to hold your attention in this memoir of her interesting life. There's less about her stint as the restaurant critic of the New York Times than expected, but there's more to Sheraton than that one job. Sheraton's memoir of her unique professional life makes for a good read.

[xq · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really enjoyed reading this, not just for the food critic parts, but bc Ms Sheraton also touches on the innerworkings of the journalism industry and state of the food critic in NY at that time, as well as highlights some neat projects she worked on (think about food in schools, prisons and on airplanes...).

[Nancy · Rating 5 out of 5]

loved it, and I'm not even a foodie. It's fascinating to hear about how she tried to stay anonymous when she was the NY Times restaurant reviewer... and her insider's perspective on the restaurant business. At the times, she replaced John Canaday, an art critic who wrote some of the best mysteries of the postwar period under the name Matthew Head.

[Megan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I can't say that this book was exceptionally well-written, but it was fairly entertaining, and an ok read. I wouldn't read it again, though. If you really want an excellent food critic memoir, read anything by Ruth Reichl. Amazing!

[Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love non-fiction books, cookbooks, and New York City. While this wasn't a cookbook, it was really interesting to read about the author's experiences as a food critic in NYC. It made me think that I don't know if I'd really like to BE a food critic - raw octopus? Yikes!

[Sandy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this on a remains table for less than $4 for the hardback and didn't have very high expectations, but the writing is done well and the subject matter is entertaining. If you're a foodie you'll appreciate it, most likely.

[Abbey · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have the same complaint with the memoir, as I do with most - MORE information, please. Okay, so I did not say that about Bill Clinton's 600+ soliloquy, but you get my drift. But, for those of your interested in food from more than a casual perspective, I would say it is worth a read.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

Man, I would LOVE to have been Mimi Sheraton. What a great job: eating all over the world and writing about it. Terrific book: great food, great writing, wry wit, and a few juicy tidbits about The New York Times and some of the personalities who ran it over the years.

[Christine · Rating 3 out of 5]

I hadn't heard of Mimi Sheraton (her NY Times restaurant reviews and food reviews ran in the early 80s) but I enjoyed reading of her approach to food and how she made it her life's work. I also found that I liked her - she's a bit of a ball buster and not apologetic about it!

[Danielle McClellan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mimi Sheraton's memoir is fun to read and really places you in the New York of an earlier time. I enjoyed the book, but would not place it in the top tier of food writer memoirs. Ruth Reichl is just much more fun.

[Diana · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have an addiction to books by former food critics

[Dana · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's about a world-famous food critic. What's not to love? Best part? She hates star ratings.

[Kyle McNichols · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was awesome! It's a chronicle of Mimi Sheraton's time as food critic for the NY Times in the 70's and 80's.

[Erin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Second half was kinda boring. Give me Ruth or Gael any day.

[Cece · Rating 2 out of 5]

Heard the author speak and spent time talking to her-I thought the book somewhat off-putting and the author not very gracious.

[Janna · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you enjoyed Tender at the Bone by Ruth Reichl (and her later books when she talks about her work as a NYT Food Critic) you will enjoy this one as well.

[Eriel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Smart, witty, and oh so pretentious Mimi Sheraton writes about her stint as the restaurant reviewer for the New York Times along with her other copious adventures in foodland.

[Marissa Dodgen · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was bored by the book early but the writing was good.

[Summer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved this book; Mimi is a snobby NY Times food critic and the ultimate foodie and shares her "insider" info about the restaurant industry.

[Janelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mimi Sheraton, longtime NYT food critic, has led a pretty extraordinary and passionate life. And she has a knack for sharing it in words.

[Alison · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyable memoir, but written almost as an answer to critics of her work. The descriptions of food are enough to make you hungry, even when you've just finished eating!