Counter Intelligence: Where to Eat in the Real Los Angeles Paperback – December 1, 2000

I still read this book even though many of the restaurants are closed, and I have no plans to visit LA. It's a beautiful book. It's like a collection of portraits. It's like urban street photography, and the subjects are surprising little dishes and immigrant restauranteurs. It's comfort reading similar to reading old Roger Ebert movie reviews.

Great price on used book. Super-quick delivery and book looked like new! Would recommend sellersanytime!

I am sad that the author has passed away. His prose is precise when he describes the tastes, textures and flavours. RIP, Jonathan Gold. I will miss your writing.

Purchased this book in hopes of having a compilation of Jonathan Gold's reviews, which is essentially what it is. Having never lived in LA, I enjoy that Gold's writing gives me such a great sense of what it's like to eat at places he visited. Someone else wrote that his reviews are like snapshots, and I think that's a nice way to put it. There's a reason his writing is so appreciated. I really like that about this book. However, the reviews are organized alphabetically by name of restaurant. I get it--if you want to look up a restaurant by name, that makes sense. I would imagine anyone purchasing the book in this century isn't doing that, though. The index in the back groups restaurants by type of food, again alphabetically. There are no publication dates included for the reviews, which is also kind of too bad, I think. I would love to see a new edition organized maybe chronologically or something. The introduction itself is worth the purchase.

Wonderful slices of life in the reviews of traditional restaurants of LA, by one of the greatest food writers of our time.

Jonathan Gold's work is to gastronomic writing what Alan Moore is to the graphic novel.That's pretty much all I have to say. His work is inspired. Any writer, be it fiction or screenwriting or poetry should read his stuff. His sensory descriptions are phenomenal, and he clearly possesses the pathos of a true artist.Not surprising he won the Pulitzer.

This is an incredible book, with incredible reviews and culinary insights, no doubt. BUT it is so poorly edited and organized. Instead of a neighborhood reference or food groups by chapter, the book is organized in alphabetical order: it would be such an easy editorial fix. To find food by style/ethnicity, you must check the index in the back, which isn't so bad. But doubly frustrating, is that none of the spots are organized by area in the Los Angeles area, so...after getting excited for a new Burmese restaurant to check out, you are let down to realize that after getting your hopes up, the place is XX miles away in Riverside. No searching for a local spot, you've gotta dig. Maybe this was the intention to make us all go out an explore for ourselves.

This is both a useful (if you have access to Los Angeles) and an entertaining read.