In a remarkable career that has spanned nearly fifty years, Wini Moranville has witnessed the American restaurant landscape transform from the inside out.

At just shy of fourteen, she began a ten-year stretch working in a kaleidoscope of quintessential Midwestern eateries of the time—from a strait-laced cafeteria to a hippie-run vegetarian restaurant, from a depressing chain coffee shop to an iconic department store tearoom, and later, a formal dining club. Moranville’s hands-on experiences weave a vivid tapestry of the heart, humor—and the unforgettable people—she found on the scene in the 1970s and 1980s.

In the mid-1990s, the tables turned as Moranville became a prolific food and wine writer for national publications and the dining critic for The Des Moines Register, for which she wrote over 700 restaurant reviews.

Interwoven with Moranville’s reflections on bygone restaurants are more recent anecdotes recounting the joys and challenges of restaurant reviewing. From awkward mishaps when she was recognized at dining spots, to repeatedly being cornered by local readers who disagreed with her reviews—not to mention the hate-mail and social-media weirdness—reviewing restaurants could be a minefield.

Moranville also recounts the challenges of writing fairly and honestly about Des Moines restaurants after spending long stretches of each summer in France. Though she kept a razor-sharp focus on what Des Moines did best, she sometimes felt the Des Moines diner deserved better.

Amidst the vast changes that have occurred over the years, Love Is My Favorite Flavor underscores the timelessness of what it is we seek when we entrust restaurateurs with our hard-earned money and our hard-won leisure time. Dining out may have changed dramatically since the 1970s, but the joys of being in the hands of people who care deeply about our time at their tables have not.