Jonathan Gold was the first food critic to win a Pulitzer Prize. He's an explorer, a trailblazer, a popularizer, an ethnographer and a damn good writer. Gold's career started in the 1980s, and has been linked to Los Angeles for almost its entirety. Gold broke ground by focusing on L.A.'s ethnic neighborhoods and investigating not just their food but also their people and the cultures hidden from common journalistic tastes.
But that was then. In 2016, Gold is a former punk, a procrastinating writer, an old critic in a world where Yelp and the web have opened the world to countless voices — and constant awareness of what is new and exciting. What role does a critic of his kind play? What is the totality of his influence? “City of Gold” is an intimate, but sometimes haphazard, look at Gold and and the philosophy of criticism.
“City of Gold” is at its best when following Gold through some of his favorite restaurants like Guerrilla Tacos, Earlez Dogs and Chengdu Taste. Sure, it feels a bit like a high-end episode of a Food Network show, but Gold himself is interesting and genuine, fully engaged with the people he meets and the career he has carved for himself.
“You wouldn't take notes while having sex. You'd miss out on something.” he says, when asked whether he takes notes while dining at a new restaurant. The first hour of “City of Gold” feels like one of Gold's articles made into a film; it's delightful.
The film then takes a shift into biography mode, a little jarringly, and the last 30 minutes are a bit of a letdown. Gold as a travel guide is far more interesting than Gold as a person, although that isn't to disparage him. "City of Gold" is constructed in a very bizarre way, wherein the biographical information is largely pushed to the last third of the film and presented non-chronologically. We learn about his parents, his environmentalist brother (who wants to save the animals Gold eats) and his troubles with meeting deadlines. It feels like being trapped in a long car ride with someone who wants to tell you their life story, but doesn't rally know where to start. Or stop. And you didn't need to hear it anyway. Simply put, "City of Gold" captures the feeling of an entire city and by the time it focuses on Gold, it isn't quite as compelling.
Despite the dropoff at the end of the movie, there is something reaffirming about how “City of Gold” presents the art of criticism. Gold's relevance is questioned but constantly reaffirmed. The key isn't just the resources he has at his disposal but the enormous talent he's honed through years of experience. Amateur criticism has worth, but even in a world of Yelp and Rotten Tomatoes and blogs, there is still value in experts voicing their opinions with wit and mastery. “City of Gold” is, overall, a pleasant look at L.A. food culture and the importance of professional criticism.