Richman is also the author of three murder mysteries set in the restaurant world, and many articles written for such publications as Gourmet, Bon Appétit, and Food Arts.
It also led to the movie Three Brave Men (with Ernest Borgnine playing the role of the Chasanow-like character) and to a Pulitzer Prize-winning article in the Washington Daily News by Anthony Lewis.
When Richman was very young, the family moved to the cooperative town of Greenbelt, Maryland, where she grew up in a progressive environment.
[6][7] Richman began her career as a food critic at the Baltimore Jewish Times, where she worked for two years.
As a restaurant critic, Richman "kept a low profile, was rarely photographed, and often wore a silk scarf over the bottom of her face when she went out in public".
Publishers Weekly reviewed it: "Richman's prose is as smooth and easy to swallow as premium ice cream... She brings a welcome angle and authenticity to the expanding menu of culinary mysteries.