When I was 17, I searched out a Oaxacan restaurant because JGold described mole and I knew I had to eat it.
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I learned so much from him. To look for things that may surprise you in the unlikeliest of places. So incredibly sad for for his family, friends, and the world who delighted on the views he had to share.
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The chicken story in his own words:
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Jazz, a voluble woman, came over to their table and started chatting. All she needed to make the restaurant a success, she said, was for Jonathan Gold to review it; she had been praying in her Buddha room every day for him to walk through the door. Did they know him, or know what he looked like? she asked. Stone says, āI was going to throw out a red herringāāHeās tall and thin with a full head of hairāābut Jonathan started laughing and introduced himself.ā
I finally read the LA times tribute to Gold and made me realize and appreciate how profound an impact he had on the food scene in LA and national food media.
I loved his use of the term ātraditional restaurantsā as opposed to āethnicā which always annoyed the heck out of me. Every race is an āethnicā group!!! Just realized too how religiously I read his columns in LA weekly and used his annual ā101 best places to eat in LAā as my guide when I first moved to LA. Like Bourdain he was instrumental in exposing us to restaurant of all types without regard to price, location, origin etc. The food was at the forefront, everything else was secondary.
A great loss, he will be sorely missed - RIP
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& why LA has the most adventurous diners in the country
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Where were you when you heard the tragic news?
I was eating dinner at majordomo and it was so sad watching the reactions of the staff as the news spread through the kitchen.
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Wow. Intense.
SGV
Hot Pot joint.
None of my Taiwanese-born SGV friends I was with had heard of him.
Ironically, in all likelihood, I would not have known them without him.
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Oh wow!!!
I was looking at new topics right here on FTC and it was the first post. Stunned!
I was cooking dinner and read it here.
I was on instagram and caught the news from Providenceās newsfeed.
I was on Twitter and saw Ruth Reichlās tweet.
He changed the food landscape of LA so much. He changed the conversation of the types of restaurants we should be focusing on, pre-Yelp. This one hurts. I think we LA owes a lot to him for changing everyoneās perception of the food scene in LA.
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I was at a dineLA dinner with friends at Fogo de Chao in BH. It made me wish I was at a taco truck instead.
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The Original Farmerās Market. I had just sat down to try a Mageeās corned beef sandwich for the first time. It was bittersweet, in a way - sitting in an LA icon; hearing about the loss of another. He would have enjoyed the sandwich, I think.
What a loss. Really, really tough. Dang.
He will be missed, but his hunger lives on.
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Sad news. I found out via a friendās Facebook post.
My first memory of Jonathan Gold was not from reading his column, but from my mom taking me to a restaurant she read about in his column. We drove from Westchester to Silver Lake for the Cuban sandwich at Cafe Tropical. This was the first time I was conscious of the act of seeking out food, not simply to satiate hunger, to socialize, or for convenience. A few years later, I found myself in Silver Lake with friends more often, and weād make a point to visit Cafe Tropical for sandwiches, guava cheese pie, and cafe con leche. In 2002, I moved a few blocks away and went almost weekly. Now itās a must-stop when Iām hosting out-of-town (or country) friends. It all goes back to Jonathan Gold in a way.
I loved reading his column, I loved that my mom kept so many news clippings of his reviews, and I will greatly miss his presence in food journalism.
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I donāt live in LA. Worked down there for a while. I watched city of gold and said this guy is way cool. Devastating for the family. It is sad that you can never replace someone like that. There are some great people here on this sight that will continue digging for gold. RIP Johnathan
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I was at home and read it on an FTCāerās Facebook pageā¦
I heard it from my partner last night. He had driven out to pickup some Indian take out food for dinner and heard it on KPCC as he was coming back home. Jonathan is irreplaceable.
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