Really Surprised!

not as good as all the hype

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

Just thought this documentary, directed by Laura Gabbert, was enjoyable as well as informative. It centers on Jonathan Gold, acclaimed food critic for the L.A. Times, and winner of the first Pulitzer Prize for food criticism, in 2007.We follow Gold as he cruises through the streets of Los Angeles, describing or visiting the many multi-cultural restaurants, or street vendors, along the way. Gold specializes in reviewing the smaller ethnically oriented establishments, often surprisingly located in small mini malls or even based out of food trucks. Based on interviews with his colleagues, Gold has a reputation of being extremely fair and empathetic towards those that he critiques, with Gold stating himself that he'll visit an establishment a minimum of 4 to 5 times before he'll write a review.The movie is not all food, as we learn about Gold's remarkable history and upbringing, and we'll get to meet his family as well. They'll also be quite a lot of humor in the film, as well as some heartfelt interviews with several of the restaurant owners. Finally, for those concerned about such, there is explicit language laced throughout the doc.All in all, I thought this film was quite interesting, and one of the better documentaries I've seen in s while.

Still not sure what the director or writer was going after here, except for a clever play on words that goes nowhere since we are quite frustrated by the end of the film. L.A. still remains a scattered mess with no design or purpose, and Gold's influence on the local scene looks at least, limited. Worse, it's hard to see the connections between his upbringing and the type of person he became.It's hard to appreciate a place like Los Angeles, with his scattered design, plenty of roads that go nowhere, freeways that shine for their lack of mobility, and poor public transportation. One struggles to go from place to another, but if you know where you're going and what you want, you might be rewarded. The documentary focuses on specific areas in the city, and for what we see, there might be four five types of cuisine in L.A., and it becomes pretty clear which one he favors. One of the pluses of living in a big urban setting is that you can find many types of offerings simply by crossing the street. According to the movie, there are only two countries in Latin America, one in Africa, and Asian cuisine is represented by three choices in Los Angeles.It is clear he loves to eat, and his followers are desperate to hear about the latest trend. Apparently, food trucks are one of the best signs of food offerings we can find. How would anyone like to wait in lines and love to stand up while eating goes beyond any comprehension. When we are lucky to actually see the inside of a restaurant, things are simplified to the point that we hear a family story, but this could have happened in any setting, and his presence would have been superfluous. The only time he shows much interest is when he's around Mexican fast food, and the culinary descriptions are minimal at best. He makes a big deal about spicy food, but we have no reference as to what makes the dish special or about its ingredients.Instead, the film indulges in his musical background??? Not sure how classical music is related to his appreciation for his favorite Latin American food, and I wonder if his rebellious procrastination originates from his punk music days. Truly, all this time I was wondering about the rest of Central American offerings, South America must have disappeared in the last ice age, and other than Ethiopia, you would think Africa doesn't exist. Worse is ignoring the varied and delicious Asian restaurants one can find all over the city. It's not like you blink you miss. I was confused.Ang Lee manages to show his love of food in his films, and one can look around cable shows to see how food critics travel all over the world and bring back a social experience where food is the star, and we understand its origins and its influence on society. "Gold" whatever its intentions might have been never succeeds at any of that.

"A hundred different dishes can be good in a hundred different ways." Jonathan Gold Although Los Angeles is many things to many people, most of us who know it more than in passing can agree its place for diverse ethnic food is about numero uno in the universe. It's the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow those of us who long for Korean one day and American the next, one day Thai the next Mexican, and so it goes. The true LA Gold is Jonathan Gold, the food critic who elevated mom and pop to king and queen. Who'd have thought the home of film glamour was also the home of casual, strip mall dining elevated to Oscar worthy.The new documentary, City of Gold, follows Jonathan Gold around the city and its ethnic enclaves where he started his culinary journey to The LA Times. Did you ever stop at a Salvadoran stand on Pico Blvd. for a pupusas? Gold makes you wish you had. Are you aware that he made us aware of the greatness of Marisco Jalisco and Jitlada? Guelaguetza's barbacoa tacos live in glory because of Gold.This robust raconteur can write about a taco as if it were a truffle. Not because he embellishes but because he gets to the heart of the experience of social sharing found in the food's tasty essence. Although he never fully explains why certain food is worthy of his exaltation, his Odyssey around town, punctuated by shots inside his car while he passes little restaurants and comments on their merits, or rarely the lack thereof, is more about ethnic diversity than tasty dining.More often than not he is praising the food until you long for a moment of real truth that exposes it for the crap it might taste like. Perhaps he has reserved his negative criticism for passing comments about the effects of the infamous Watts riots. Maybe that's the point—this sunshiny critic saves his negativity for the one non-food disaster everyone can agree on. Only in that instance can you feel he is fully objective about this checkered city.In the end, City of Gold is a paean to a melting-pot town of such food glamour that you forget the monumental traffic and epic social clashes. It is a rousing depiction of one critic's ability to bring a city together around one table. Robust and inclusive, Gold doesn't so much deconstruct food as he infuses it with energy: "Taco should be a verb." Gold

Greetings again from the darkness. "First we eat. Then we do everything else". Filmmaker Laura Gabbert's film kicks off with that quote from MFK Fisher, author of "The Art of Eating". If Ms. Fisher looked at eating as art, then Jonathan Gold views it as a crucial piece of society that brings diverse cultures together.As the subject of the film, Mr. Gold is a pretty interesting character. Sure, he is a food critic for the LA Times, an author and a Pulitzer Prize winner; but, more than that, he is a man of the streets of Los Angeles, and is described as providing a new vision of the city while also changing the food critic world. He spurns the traditional idea of anonymity that typically cloaks food critics, and mostly ignores the hoity-toity French restaurants for the Taco Trucks and mom & pop joints scattered around LA.The real core of the story and of Mr. Gold is the cultural diversity that exists within the boundaries of an area that most TV shows and movies would have us believe is sterile, white and rich. The reality is that LA is a conglomerate of cities filled with migrants who have brought their culture, talents and especially their diverse homeland cuisine. Gold relishes the chance to explore every "hole-in-the-wall" … taste their food and learn their story. He takes us through Boyle Heights, Hollywood, the San Gabriel Valley and the full 15 mile stretch of Pico Blvd.As a reporter, Gold struggles with structure and deadlines, but as a writer his words are as tasty as the food of which he writes. In a day where Yelp and Twitter allow everyone to pretend they are an expert, Gold reminds us of the value real critics bring to a topic … experience, knowledge and a descriptive way with words.The film gets a bit loose in the second half as director Gabbert tries to cram in all there is to know about Gold. His background with music: cello, classical, punk, blues and hip-hop probably get more time than is necessary. The contrast with his environmentalist brother is worth it for no other reason than hearing the line: "he is eating everything I'm trying to save".Gold's legacy will be the culinary map of the region he has created with his work. He encourages us not just to sample new cuisine, but also to better understand the people that make up one of the most diverse and fascinating metropolitan areas in the world. Now how about a taco?!?!