Delicious by Ruth Reichl

Lovers of NYC and anyone who has spent even 10 minutes as a foodie will love this book.  Billie Breslin drops out of college for a NYC adventure working for Delicious! magazine.  She doesn't cook but while out looking for the best cheese and other deli and restaurant delights, she discovers she has an amazing palate able to identify the ingredients in any dish.  When the magazine folds, she is left behind to respond to the magazine's guarantee, "Your money back if the recipe doesn't work."  Frequently alone she wanders through the abandoned building and discovers a collection of old letters to James Beard written during the WWII era.  Now we have mystery to add to the wonderful cityscape and mouth watering taste and smells and quirky characters.  Eventually there is even romance.  Reichl's experience as a food critic and editor of Gourmet magazine make every detail spot on. Read the book on the plane to NYC, head for lower Manhattan, and relish (had to make a food reference) every morsel.