City of Gold

Documentary following legendary Los Angeles Times food critic Jonathan Gold. The Pulitzer Prize-winner takes director Laura Gabbert on his daily edible odysseys through the city as he seeks out authentic cuisine in all corners of the sprawling metropolis. There’s nothing elitist about Gold’s obsession, taking in everything from chic Beverly Hills eateries to taco trucks and suburban strip mall joints, and no doubt whetting audience appetites in the process.

“Bombing through colorful neighborhoods in his green pickup truck, Gold is sniffing out his next strip-mall discovery—whether Oaxacan grasshopper soup, hand-cut tonkotsu ramen, or a particularly unctuous pad see ew. As piping-hot platters are served up, so are stories of immigrants whose secret family recipes are like sacred offerings pledged for the opportunity to build their American Dream. With eternal curiosity, razor-sharp intellect, and existential longing, Gold is a culinary geographer taking us where no critic has gone before. Like the film, Gold makes low culture high and high culture relevant, teasing out the meaning of life from a Korean taco, and pondering all that makes us different and all that makes us exactly the same.” (Sundance Film Festival)

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