Counter Intelligence: Where to Eat in the Real Los Angeles (Paperback)

~ (Author) "The overeducated misfits who frequent East Hollywood's ethnic restaurants have their well-known favorites: Zankou for chicken; Sanamluang for Thai noodles; Marouch for hummus, grilled quail,..." (more)
Key Phrases: gook soo, pork pump, nam sod, Los Angeles, San Gabriel, Santa Monica (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

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.

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: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #2,695 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 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 "johnjflynn06" (Culver City, CA United States) - See all my reviews

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

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

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

By A Customer

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.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Indispensable as Thomas Map, January 4, 2003

By	R. Williams "code slubber" (Los Angeles, CA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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.