Jonathan Gold-Epicurean Angeleno

by Cindi Sutter, Founder & Editor of Spirited Table® - content in italics authored by Lisa Abend

As a writer and editor of food-related content, the article in TIME August 6-13th magazine honoring Jonathan Gold's death on July 21st at 57, made me and every other foodie out there, very sad. I never had the pleasure of meeting him but in 2007 he won a Pulitzer Prize. He was the only food critic ever awarded this great honor. I did know that he literally changed American food writing. My brother-in-law, a long time Angelenos, sent me to one of his hang-outs in about 2008 and it's a meal I will not forget. A portion of the excerpts from TIME's article is in italics below. Please find THE BEST FOOD TRUCKS IN LA by By WILDER SHAW - Thrillist-Los Angeles. 

"It is the coldest night of the year," began one of Jonathan Gold's 2006 reviews, "and I am driving along Olympic Boulevard in East Los Angeles, ravenously hungry, looking for one of the itinerant flame-throwing taco carts that sprout in that neighborhood around midnight." Those words would help him become a Pulitzer Prize winner. 

In his long career reviewing for L.A. Weekly and the Los Angeles Times, he brought his intellect and experience not only to the city's tiny dining rooms but especially to the no-name taquerias, Thai curry joints, and strip-mall noodle houses that crisscross Los Angeles. He was driven by a deep understanding of how food creates community and often said he hoped his reviews would help convince Angelenos to be more adventurous and less afraid of their neighbors. The legacy of this democratizing mission can be seen in the Instagramming foodies who prowl the world now for a taste of fish kidneys or pig-skin pupusas.

In that 2006 review, he paid tribute to the "great brotherhood of taco eaters" in Los Angeles, "huddled around trucks late at night, balancing three ounces of highly spiced meat and drawing furtively from an icy bottle of imported Mexican Coke." If that brotherhood exists, it is in large part because Gold created it. - authored by Lisa Abend.  

Where to get tacos and more great Mexican food from Jonathan Gold's 101 Best Restaurants - from Los Angeles Times - see photos below.