Review: Documentary 'City of Gold' Celebrates Los Angeles Food Culture And Its Biggest Fan

This documentary about Los Angeles Times restaurant critic Jonathan Gold sets the bar high by opening with a quote from one of America's greatest food writers, MFK Fisher. However, “City of Gold” offers a convincing, wholly entertaining argument that Gold deserves to be included in the same sentence as that culinary writing giant. Not only is he a master of prose, but he is also someone who has changed the LA food (and foodie) scene, as well as the lives of the restaurateurs he writes about.

What sets Gold apart from his contemporaries — other than truly gifted writing — is his ability to go beyond the city’s most expensive restaurants and find the best undiscovered gems in oft-overlooked neighborhoods. Though this is a less revolutionary approach in 2016, “City of Gold” casts the critic as a pioneer, bringing the attention of the masses to tiny spots in Little Ethiopia, Tehrangeles and Alhambra. His reviews in LA Weekly and the LA Times not only introduce people to...