Homage

This blog pays homage to one of the great LA writers of all time, the LA Weekly’s venerable restaurant critic Jonathan Gold. I submit that Mr. Gold not only writes about food, he brings the world to your doorstep. Vietnam, Mexico, China, El Salvador, Malaysia, and Uzbekistan (Uzbekistan?) are among the many countries’ cuisines that have been showcased in Gold’s columns. Jonathan Gold demystifies the unknown and the “spooky,” those regions that were once only in our imagination. When we eat nam kao tod at a Thai joint that he recommends, we are a step closer to our brethren from the Far East. After breathing in the silky mole of the city of Bell’s La Casita Mexicana, our friends to the South seem far less hostile. For this reason, Gold is a civic treasure and worthy of respect.
Gold also gives us the “essentials,” restaurants that speak more than most, those places that tell us who we are as Angelenos and where we are going. These serve great food and reflect the character of Los Angeles. Each year he compiles and updates a list of ninety nine of those restaurants. This year, I’m visiting all ninety nine. If Mr. Gold tells me to eat extra-spicy grasshoppers at an Oaxacan eatery, I’ll consume them with bells in tow. If he writes of the wonders of live prawns, I’ll smile, close my eyes and pretend they’re caramelized onions. And I’ll eat them. There are those who grouse, saying some restaurants on the list are unworthy or that Gold seems misinformed about the “latest” fad or trend. To these I reply: when you win a Pulitzer, come up with your own #%@! list.