Serious Eats - seriouseats.com

When Ruth Reichl came to the Los Angeles Times, the prim, elitist past was banished. Revues exploded off the page and helped the local restaurant scene awaken from a long slumber. She was the Anais Nin of food, her words oozed with juice, spice and savor. This was a woman who lived in her body and embraced the pleasure of eating. And there was nary a hint of snobbery - even when she was telling us about quaffing a Chassagne-Montrachet while slurping Malpeques. She was one of us. We could picture her working in the garden all afternoon, then scrubbing the dirt from under her nails and heading off, famished, to L'Hermitage for some foie gras. She took us with her, and we belonged there, too.