Reed’s matter-of-fact memoir features tempting sides of Italian food, fashion, and wine. Her book’s main course is not only the ride-or-die job; it’s also a meditation on approaching midlife and the need for true friendship and love.
Reed’s down-to-earth memoir is a wistful insider’s view of working in a high-powered restaurant job in New York. It will be popular among foodies and fans of business histories.
... the candor of this memoir is just one sign of Reed's personal transformation—a long, painful coming-of-age that led her to confront and break patterns that could have made her miserable for the rest of her life ... A generously detailed, juicy restaurant industry tell-all and a cautionary tale for young workaholics.
... exhilarating if perplexing ... there’s surprisingly little talk of food and wine ... Her horror as men leapt to B&B’s defense lends resonance to her experience in a way that her earlier attempts to analyze a job that allowed her to sit 'squarely in the fray of someone else’s life' never quite do. While it offers a juicy behind-the-scenes look at the high life, it’s difficult not to see this as a dark morality tale.
