Counter Intelligence: Where to Eat in the Real Los Angeles [Paperback]

Jonathan Gold (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1, 2000

Jonathan Gold has eaten it all. Counter Intelligence collects over 200 of Gold's best restaurant discoveries--from inexpensive lunch counters you won't find on your own to the perfect undiscovered dish at a beaten-path establishment. He reveals the hidden kitchens where Los Angeles' ethnic communities feed their own, including the best of cuisine from: Argentina, Armenia, Brazil, Burma, Canton, Colombia, Cuba, Guatemala, India, Indonesia, Iran, Italy, Japan, Korea, Mexico, the Middle East, Nicaragua, Pakistan, Peru, Thailand, Vietnam and more. (set as bulletted list?) Not to mention the perfectly prepared hamburger and Los Angeles' quintessential hot dog.

Counter Intelligence is the richest and most complete guide to eating in Los Angeles. The listings include where to find it and how much you'll pay (in many cases, not very much) with appendices that cover food types and feeding by neighborhood.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Jonathan Gold, former restaurant critic for Los Angeles magazine, California magazine, and the Los Angeles Times, began writing the Counter Intelligence column for the L.A. Weekly in 1986. He is currently the New York restaurant critic for Gourmet.

Product Details

• Paperback: 432 pages
• Publisher: L.A. Weekly Books; 1st edition (December 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312267231
• ISBN-13: 978-0312267230
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #438,448 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great culinary and cultural tour!, December 29, 2000

By 

John J. Flynn (Culver City, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Counter Intelligence: Where to Eat in the Real Los Angeles (Paperback)

To paraphrase the author, Angelenos are uniquely afflicted with people who jet in here and try and explain the city and its contents (and discontents) from the safety of their own presuppositions. Jonathan Gold takes you through LA the only way that makes sense: by hop-scotching about the city, trying every dish in every corner and reporting passionately and wittily about what he finds. Gold began his quest many years ago by setting himself to eat his way along Pico Boulevard (a major east-west street that cuts through all sorts of cultures and cuisines), and in this book he shares all that and more.

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 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Walt Whitman of restaraunt reviews, February 15, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Counter Intelligence: Where to Eat in the Real Los Angeles (Paperback)

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 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Zen Master of LA Dining, August 31, 2001

By 

"jyorke5" (Los Angeles, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Counter Intelligence: Where to Eat in the Real Los Angeles (Paperback)

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.