Jonathan Gold (1960-2018)

Jonathan Gold (1960-2018)

Guest/Host, Good Food on the Road

Jonathan Gold was the restaurant critic and columnist for the Los Angeles Times. Gold also hosted KCRW's Good Food on the Road.

His love of all things gastronomical has taken him from the LA Weekly (where he started as a proofreader in 1982), to the Los Angeles Times (1990-1996, where he wrote his Counter Intelligence column), to Gourmet (where he was the magazine's New York restaurant critic) and back to the LA Weekly (where he worked for more than a decade). In 2012, he returned to the L.A. Times. If you follow the LA food scene, you know about Gold's ability to find and savor Uzbek, Korean, Peruvian and Islamic Chinese cuisine. He discovered the only Trinidadian restaurant in Inglewood.

In 2007 Gold won the Pulitzer Prize for Criticism — the first win for a food writer – and was a Pulitzer finalist in 2011 as well. He has been honored twice as a National Magazine Award finalist in criticism by the American Society of Magazine Editors.

"He sees Los Angeles as 'the anti-melting pot' — the home of true, undiluted regional cookery — but also has a fondness for what he calls the 'triple carom': the Cajun seafood restaurant that caters to Chinese customers and is run by Vietnamese from Texas," Dana Goodyear wrote in a 2009 profile of Jonathan in the New Yorker. He is, Goodyear added, "sly and erudite, withdrawn in person and in print exuberant."

Photo Credit: Duston Todd

Jonathan Gold (1960-2018) on KCRW

Journalist Jervey Tervalon remembers his long friendship with late food critic Jonathan Gold in a poem.

A lifetime of friendship with Jonathan Gold

Journalist Jervey Tervalon remembers his long friendship with late food critic Jonathan Gold in a poem.

from Good Food on the Road

Zach Brooks talks about what it meant to read Jonathan Gold’s review of Vespertine, one of LA’s more controversial restaurant openings in recent memory.

Zach Brooks: The impact of Jonathan Gold's review of Vespertine

Zach Brooks talks about what it meant to read Jonathan Gold’s review of Vespertine, one of LA’s more controversial restaurant openings in recent memory.

from Good Food on the Road

Writer Tien Nguyen remembers when Jonathan Gold defended his love of the San Gabriel Valley noodle shops against critics.

Tien Nguyen: Jonathan Gold on Nha Trang

Writer Tien Nguyen remembers when Jonathan Gold defended his love of the San Gabriel Valley noodle shops against critics.

from Good Food on the Road

More from KCRW

A large group of supporters stood outside The Original Pantry Cafe on its final day in Downtown Los Angeles.

from KCRW Features

Mandu. Mante. Pelmeni. Gyoza. Gyoza. Xiao long bao. LA is filled with delicious dumpling spots. Here are a few of the best.

from Good Food

The popularity of Shohei Ohtani is encouraging fans to try Japanese food at Dodger Stadium.

from KCRW Features

Designer-turned-food-writer Kristina Cho celebrates her Chinese heritage with delicious and approachable recipes.

from Good Food

The Hollywood slowdown is hurting sales at lots of local businesses. The owners of Chili John’s in Burbank get creative to revive the restaurant.

from KCRW Features

Karen E. Fisher shares stories of Ramadan at Zaatari, the world's largest Syrian refugee camp located in Jordan.

from Good Food

Sarah Ahn's viral food videos of her mom have captivated millions of viewers with their behind-the-scenes look at Korean cooking and multigenerational life.

from Good Food

Tony Ramirez dusts off the barbecue for summer grilling and adds Filipino flair to live fire.

from Good Food

Kiso has opened at the site of the oldest gay bar in the urban core. It’s part of a renaissance of queer spaces in Downtown and across the city.

from KCRW Features