Although it seems that the film is only about the best restaurants of Los Angeles, it is not. It is much more than that. After watching City of Gold, you feel like you love LA more than before. This is how Jonathan Gold’s point of view affects your opinion about the city probably in the same way his food reviews have affected many Americans.
What differentiates Jonathan from other food critics is he goes to every restaurant even the small and hard to find places. And it comes from the fact that he is in love with all the cultures and subcultures of LA and he admires them. He knows every corner of the city and is able to introduce you characteristics of every tiny food places on any street. So, reading his reviews not just make you familiar with some fancy restaurant but shows you a comprehensive picture of food culture in a diverse city like LA.
It is not only his readers who love him but the owners whose restaurant is introduced are amazed by the way Jonathan describes them. One of the owners points out that Jonathan is able to reveal the secrets behind a good recipe just by eating it. This is because how well he is informed about different cultures. For example, he knows a good Korean recipe is not only coming from good ingredients that are mixed together but also has influenced by the way Korean children grow up and what they eat in their childhood.
Watching the film, we get familiar with Jonathan Gold’s personality as much as we learn about food culture of LA. We find him a calm, highly educated man who was born in an educated family where he and his brothers had access to any kind of books more than anything else. He is not only a great writer but also, he is a good cello player who is so experienced in music. And Like his father, he is interested to raise his children in an atmosphere filled with art and music.
The Pulitzer prize winner points out that he rarely takes note when he is at a restaurant and instead is more involved in the music of the meal. So, I believe besides his talent in writing and storytelling and the extensive knowledge of food and culture, what makes him different is how he can capture the soul of a meal rather than only taste of its ingredients.