Jonathan Gold — Los Angeles loses a great writer, a champion of the city, and a Motörhead fan

The great Los Angeles food writer Jonathan Gold has died.  For several years, I used his book Counter Intelligence to plan out my weekends, which challenged you not only to try new types of food but to discover new corners of the city. Through him, I found restaurants that are still my favorites today, from El Sazon Oaxaqueño to the Apple Pan, from Casa Bianca Pizza Pie to Pollo a la Brasa.

Gustavo Arellano in the LAT: He deserves a spot in the pantheon of Los Angeles writers, alongside Charles Bukowski, Walter Mosley and Luis J. Rodriguez. 

Daniel Hernandez in L.A. Taco: Gold’s love of Mexican cuisines in particular was immeasurable; he used the phrase “taco lifestyle” in his work.

He was also a music writer and an aficionado of punk and hard rock, having contributed to the SPIN Alternative Record Guide, which served the same role in my musical life as Counter Intelligence did in my culinary life.

Here’s Gold in that book: “Motörhead was the loud, wet fart punctuating the Mentos commercial of late-’70’s British rock.”