This encyclopedia of great (and mostly cheap) eats is full of great advice, great finds, and hunger-inducing prose. If only the indexing were a little more complete, this would be The Perfect Los Angeles Restaurant Guide. As it is, the only way to read it is in a straight line, from start to finish...which is actually terrific! Gold is a tremendously entertaining and nimble writer.

I have this final compliment to offer: OK, Jonathan, I WILL try BIRRIA! Thanks for a terrific book!

JJF

12 of 12 found the following review helpful:


The Walt Whitman of restaraunt reviews  Feb 15, 2002
Gold, who now writes about the New York restaraunt scene for Gourmet magazine, is a wordsmith beyond compare. Before I found this book (thank the lord I did!)I would repeatedly read and re-read his reviews in back issues of LA Weekly- I hungered for his words about food almost as much as I did for food itself! Gold is a true poet of food- in the same vein as MFK Fisher or Brillat-Savarin, and that is good company. He takes as his subject (for the most part)the obscure ethnic cuisines and restaraunts of L.A., from Afgahn to Uzbeki. He takes his food seriously, only in this book could you find recommendations for thai frog legs, corndogs and tongue tacos. For restaraunt reviews that read like great literature, and that will absolutely make your mouth water with uncannily poetic descriptions and wonderful, mature prose- this is what you are looking for.

11 of 11 found the following review helpful:


The Zen Master of LA Dining  Aug 31, 2001
Anyone worth their stuff on underground dining in LA knows Jonathan Gold from his days as a LA Times food critic. His counter intelligence reviews are still proudly displayed by restraunters all over LA. Mr. Gold will introduce you to the astonishing variety of authentic multi-ethnic cuisines that are hidden by LA's huge geographical expanse. The book is heavy on regional Asian and Latin cuisines. The columns are very entertaining. If you are looking for trendy dining experiences, then this book isn't for you. It could use an index that sorts the restaurants by geography. I grew up in LA and make the effort to find out of the way dining experiences, but Mr. Gold takes it to another level. He is the master. I just wish he would bring back his counter intelligence column and make my life a bit easier.

10 of 10 found the following review helpful:


Excellent writing but wildly unreliable  Aug 15, 2006 By Sylvia Bagley "sylstral"
Be forewarned: Jonathan Gold's culinary prose is compelling reading, but any attempts to use this as an actual guidebook for restaurants in Los Angeles should be heavily researched first. Perhaps I just have extraordinarily bad luck, but each time I've tried to visit one of the restaurants, something's gone wrong. Aladdin Falafel (p. 2) no longer exists, though its sign is still up there on the corner mini-mall placard. India's Tandoori (p. 137) no longer serves Tandoori pizza, so temptingly describe in Rich's essay. Gagnier's Creole Kitchen (p. 109) in Santa Monica disappeared years ago. With that said, I would still recommend the book as a fun read for those who enjoy learning more about the culinary diversity available in Los Angeles.

9 of 9 found the following review helpful:


Indispensable as Thomas Map  Jan 04, 2003 By R. Williams "code slubber"
Few maps necessary though, since 90% of the restaurants are within a couple miles of each other (Alhambra/San Gabriel/Moneterey Park). Even though many of these reviews were written long ago, I've found that most of the restaurants are still around. Literally a lifetime's worth of discoveries await... . What you learn reading this book will help you in exploring new places as well.

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