The only thing I didn't like about this book is that the organization of the index is only by style of food (Tawainese, Cuban, Mexican, etc)...hence only 4 stars. But the descriptions of food are excellent! Since it's 2007 now the content is a little outdated and some restaurants are no longer there. Make sure you check if the restaurant is still there before driving to it.

The only thing I didn't like about this book is that the organization of the index is only by style of food (Tawainese, Cuban, Mexican, etc)...hence only 4 stars. But the descriptions of food are excellent! Since it's 2007 now the content is a little outdated and some restaurants are no longer there. Make sure you check if the restaurant is still there before driving to it.

author of Cooking Jewish: 532 Great Recipes from the Rabinowitz Family

from the Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles
October 4, 2002

Jonathan Gold knows his pastrami. He should. As restaurant critic to Gourmet magazine, he has sampled delis from coast to coast (by his count, 20 last week in New York alone). In his book "Counter Intelligence: Where to Eat in the Real Los Angeles" (St. Martin's Press) this James Beard Award-winner writes, "The fact is inescapable: Langer's probably serves the best pastrami sandwich in America."

So what better place to meet than Langer's (over pastrami, of course) to discuss the deli scene as Gold prepares for the panel discussion he will host with Los Angeles' top deli owners in conjunction with the Yiddishkayt festival.

The Jewish Journal: Today the egg roll, taco and pizza are thought of as American food. Do you think deli food is still considered Jewish food?

Jonathan Gold: Sure, it is. At Junior's in Brooklyn you have African American and Caribbean and Asian people, and the place is completely hopping at 1 a.m. I'm not sure there's a Jew in the room, but they're all completely aware of what they're eating, even if they're having a patty melt instead of a pastrami sandwich. People know what deli means.

Sixty years ago in Los Angeles probably the biggest concentration of Jews was in Boyle Heights, but there's still generations and generations of people who grew up having Canter's in the neighborhood, having pastrami in the neighborhood, and they're hungry for it.

There's a fast food stand called Oki Dog on Pico [Boulevard] near La Brea [Avenue] owned by Okinawans where you have people doing Mexican versions of Jewish food with Okinawan-style cabbage and serving the entire thing to African Americans. It's just great.

JJ: How do you think the deli plays in Peoria, Ill.?

JG: I don't think the deli does play in Middle America. One of my favorite delis anywhere is Shapiro's in downtown Indianapolis, which is great, but it's hard to sustain a restaurant when the people who know what the food is really supposed to taste like aren't there.

JJ: How has our health consciousness affected delis in general?

JG: The successful delis have everything on the menu. I think the biggest seller at Junior's is Chinese Chicken Salad. They probably go through a half-ton a week.

JJ: Which dish is the benchmark by which you rate a deli?

JG: Pastrami on rye. If you can't do pastrami on rye, you have no reason to exist. There's something great about how much attention Langer's pays to its pastrami and its bread. There's not any less detail to the food here than somebody like Wolfgang Puck will have to the food at Spago's. When your basic core item is good, it's like a steakhouse having great steak. Everything else is gravy.

They all get pastrami out of the same package and steam it, but these guys steam it a lot longer, so it becomes denser, but also more tender, and there's more shrinkage. Most places don't do that because it's expensive.

If you're going to serve eight pounds instead of 10, there's a huge difference in your bottom line.

And there's something about hand slicing that gives with the shape of the muscle. It's like the difference between eating sushi and eating a chunk of fish.

JJ: Why do deli patrons put up with, even welcome, rudeness from servers they would never tolerate elsewhere?

JG: It's part of our culture, isn't it? We want what we want when we want it, and the deli has the first shot at that. It sounds weird, but I feel more Jewish when I walk into a deli than when I walk into a shul, because it's the smells, it's the people, it's the way they dress, it's the whole L.A. Jewish thing rolled up into one long wait in line at Junior's.

JJ: What do you see as the future of the deli?

JG: I don't know. As long as we're around, there will be delis. The delis tend to follow us Jewish people wherever we move. Brent's deli in Northridge is in an area that wasn't especially Jewish 15 years ago or so, but enough Jews are suddenly brought together by the possibility of some decent chopped liver ... because even if they marry outside of the religion or never go to shul, that's the one thing they can't give up.

JJ: How do you think L.A. delis compare to those in New York?

JG: I think Los Angeles might be the best deli town in the country right now. I have spent my entire life being sneered at by New Yorkers for living some inferior version of Jewish life here, and then I move to New York and find out that, gosh sakes, it's right here in Los Angeles.

Nate `n' Al's is a great place. It has Beverly Hills hard-wired. It knows everything about Beverly Hills. The same people have been coming, sitting at the same counter at the same time in the morning, for 40 years.

Art's has real energy to it. There's a lot of show biz guys, and it's fancy in a way that sometimes feels a little absurd when you realize you're in there for a corned beef sandwich.

The delis here are not theme parks the way they are in New York. In New York you go to the Stage, and if there's one regular patron to every 10 tourists, it would surprise me.

Some of the delis in New York's outer boroughs are really good places, but they don't exist as cultural centers, because there's enough Jewish cultural resonance everywhere you go in New York that you don't necessarily need to have it confirmed by a restaurant. But in Los Angeles, places like Brent's, Junior's, Art's, they're real in a certain way. They're what the owners want them to be. They're what the neighborhood wants them to be. They're indivisible from the people around them, who are -- let's face it -- us. And there's something great about that.

author of Cooking Jewish: 532 Great Recipes from the Rabinowitz Family

from the Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles
October 4, 2002

Jonathan Gold knows his pastrami. He should. As restaurant critic to Gourmet magazine, he has sampled delis from coast to coast (by his count, 20 last week in New York alone). In his book "Counter Intelligence: Where to Eat in the Real Los Angeles" (St. Martin's Press) this James Beard Award-winner writes, "The fact is inescapable: Langer's probably serves the best pastrami sandwich in America."

So what better place to meet than Langer's (over pastrami, of course) to discuss the deli scene as Gold prepares for the panel discussion he will host with Los Angeles' top deli owners in conjunction with the Yiddishkayt festival.

The Jewish Journal: Today the egg roll, taco and pizza are thought of as American food. Do you think deli food is still considered Jewish food?

Jonathan Gold: Sure, it is. At Junior's in Brooklyn you have African American and Caribbean and Asian people, and the place is completely hopping at 1 a.m. I'm not sure there's a Jew in the room, but they're all completely aware of what they're eating, even if they're having a patty melt instead of a pastrami sandwich. People know what deli means.

Sixty years ago in Los Angeles probably the biggest concentration of Jews was in Boyle Heights, but there's still generations and generations of people who grew up having Canter's in the neighborhood, having pastrami in the neighborhood, and they're hungry for it.

There's a fast food stand called Oki Dog on Pico [Boulevard] near La Brea [Avenue] owned by Okinawans where you have people doing Mexican versions of Jewish food with Okinawan-style cabbage and serving the entire thing to African Americans. It's just great.

JJ: How do you think the deli plays in Peoria, Ill.?

JG: I don't think the deli does play in Middle America. One of my favorite delis anywhere is Shapiro's in downtown Indianapolis, which is great, but it's hard to sustain a restaurant when the people who know what the food is really supposed to taste like aren't there.

JJ: How has our health consciousness affected delis in general?

JG: The successful delis have everything on the menu. I think the biggest seller at Junior's is Chinese Chicken Salad. They probably go through a half-ton a week.

JJ: Which dish is the benchmark by which you rate a deli?

JG: Pastrami on rye. If you can't do pastrami on rye, you have no reason to exist. There's something great about how much attention Langer's pays to its pastrami and its bread. There's not any less detail to the food here than somebody like Wolfgang Puck will have to the food at Spago's. When your basic core item is good, it's like a steakhouse having great steak. Everything else is gravy.

They all get pastrami out of the same package and steam it, but these guys steam it a lot longer, so it becomes denser, but also more tender, and there's more shrinkage. Most places don't do that because it's expensive.

If you're going to serve eight pounds instead of 10, there's a huge difference in your bottom line.

And there's something about hand slicing that gives with the shape of the muscle. It's like the difference between eating sushi and eating a chunk of fish.

JJ: Why do deli patrons put up with, even welcome, rudeness from servers they would never tolerate elsewhere?

JG: It's part of our culture, isn't it? We want what we want when we want it, and the deli has the first shot at that. It sounds weird, but I feel more Jewish when I walk into a deli than when I walk into a shul, because it's the smells, it's the people, it's the way they dress, it's the whole L.A. Jewish thing rolled up into one long wait in line at Junior's.

JJ: What do you see as the future of the deli?

JG: I don't know. As long as we're around, there will be delis. The delis tend to follow us Jewish people wherever we move. Brent's deli in Northridge is in an area that wasn't especially Jewish 15 years ago or so, but enough Jews are suddenly brought together by the possibility of some decent chopped liver ... because even if they marry outside of the religion or never go to shul, that's the one thing they can't give up.

JJ: How do you think L.A. delis compare to those in New York?

JG: I think Los Angeles might be the best deli town in the country right now. I have spent my entire life being sneered at by New Yorkers for living some inferior version of Jewish life here, and then I move to New York and find out that, gosh sakes, it's right here in Los Angeles.

Nate `n' Al's is a great place. It has Beverly Hills hard-wired. It knows everything about Beverly Hills. The same people have been coming, sitting at the same counter at the same time in the morning, for 40 years.

Art's has real energy to it. There's a lot of show biz guys, and it's fancy in a way that sometimes feels a little absurd when you realize you're in there for a corned beef sandwich.

The delis here are not theme parks the way they are in New York. In New York you go to the Stage, and if there's one regular patron to every 10 tourists, it would surprise me.

Some of the delis in New York's outer boroughs are really good places, but they don't exist as cultural centers, because there's enough Jewish cultural resonance everywhere you go in New York that you don't necessarily need to have it confirmed by a restaurant. But in Los Angeles, places like Brent's, Junior's, Art's, they're real in a certain way. They're what the owners want them to be. They're what the neighborhood wants them to be. They're indivisible from the people around them, who are -- let's face it -- us. And there's something great about that.

author of Cooking Jewish: 532 Great Recipes from the Rabinowitz Family

from the Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles
October 4, 2002

Jonathan Gold knows his pastrami. He should. As restaurant critic to Gourmet magazine, he has sampled delis from coast to coast (by his count, 20 last week in New York alone). In his book "Counter Intelligence: Where to Eat in the Real Los Angeles" (St. Martin's Press) this James Beard Award-winner writes, "The fact is inescapable: Langer's probably serves the best pastrami sandwich in America."

So what better place to meet than Langer's (over pastrami, of course) to discuss the deli scene as Gold prepares for the panel discussion he will host with Los Angeles' top deli owners in conjunction with the Yiddishkayt festival.

The Jewish Journal: Today the egg roll, taco and pizza are thought of as American food. Do you think deli food is still considered Jewish food?

Jonathan Gold: Sure, it is. At Junior's in Brooklyn you have African American and Caribbean and Asian people, and the place is completely hopping at 1 a.m. I'm not sure there's a Jew in the room, but they're all completely aware of what they're eating, even if they're having a patty melt instead of a pastrami sandwich. People know what deli means.

Sixty years ago in Los Angeles probably the biggest concentration of Jews was in Boyle Heights, but there's still generations and generations of people who grew up having Canter's in the neighborhood, having pastrami in the neighborhood, and they're hungry for it.

There's a fast food stand called Oki Dog on Pico [Boulevard] near La Brea [Avenue] owned by Okinawans where you have people doing Mexican versions of Jewish food with Okinawan-style cabbage and serving the entire thing to African Americans. It's just great.

JJ: How do you think the deli plays in Peoria, Ill.?

JG: I don't think the deli does play in Middle America. One of my favorite delis anywhere is Shapiro's in downtown Indianapolis, which is great, but it's hard to sustain a restaurant when the people who know what the food is really supposed to taste like aren't there.

JJ: How has our health consciousness affected delis in general?

JG: The successful delis have everything on the menu. I think the biggest seller at Junior's is Chinese Chicken Salad. They probably go through a half-ton a week.

JJ: Which dish is the benchmark by which you rate a deli?

JG: Pastrami on rye. If you can't do pastrami on rye, you have no reason to exist. There's something great about how much attention Langer's pays to its pastrami and its bread. There's not any less detail to the food here than somebody like Wolfgang Puck will have to the food at Spago's. When your basic core item is good, it's like a steakhouse having great steak. Everything else is gravy.

They all get pastrami out of the same package and steam it, but these guys steam it a lot longer, so it becomes denser, but also more tender, and there's more shrinkage. Most places don't do that because it's expensive.

If you're going to serve eight pounds instead of 10, there's a huge difference in your bottom line.

And there's something about hand slicing that gives with the shape of the muscle. It's like the difference between eating sushi and eating a chunk of fish.

JJ: Why do deli patrons put up with, even welcome, rudeness from servers they would never tolerate elsewhere?

JG: It's part of our culture, isn't it? We want what we want when we want it, and the deli has the first shot at that. It sounds weird, but I feel more Jewish when I walk into a deli than when I walk into a shul, because it's the smells, it's the people, it's the way they dress, it's the whole L.A. Jewish thing rolled up into one long wait in line at Junior's.

JJ: What do you see as the future of the deli?

JG: I don't know. As long as we're around, there will be delis. The delis tend to follow us Jewish people wherever we move. Brent's deli in Northridge is in an area that wasn't especially Jewish 15 years ago or so, but enough Jews are suddenly brought together by the possibility of some decent chopped liver ... because even if they marry outside of the religion or never go to shul, that's the one thing they can't give up.

JJ: How do you think L.A. delis compare to those in New York?

JG: I think Los Angeles might be the best deli town in the country right now. I have spent my entire life being sneered at by New Yorkers for living some inferior version of Jewish life here, and then I move to New York and find out that, gosh sakes, it's right here in Los Angeles.

Nate `n' Al's is a great place. It has Beverly Hills hard-wired. It knows everything about Beverly Hills. The same people have been coming, sitting at the same counter at the same time in the morning, for 40 years.

Art's has real energy to it. There's a lot of show biz guys, and it's fancy in a way that sometimes feels a little absurd when you realize you're in there for a corned beef sandwich.

The delis here are not theme parks the way they are in New York. In New York you go to the Stage, and if there's one regular patron to every 10 tourists, it would surprise me.

Some of the delis in New York's outer boroughs are really good places, but they don't exist as cultural centers, because there's enough Jewish cultural resonance everywhere you go in New York that you don't necessarily need to have it confirmed by a restaurant. But in Los Angeles, places like Brent's, Junior's, Art's, they're real in a certain way. They're what the owners want them to be. They're what the neighborhood wants them to be. They're indivisible from the people around them, who are -- let's face it -- us. And there's something great about that.

Jonathan Gold just won a Pulitzer (4/07) for his food writing, and he deserved it. Read it for the writing, even if you never go out. He makes a Shackburger sound better than it tastes, although no one should go through life without eating at the Shack at least once.

One problem: The book is seven years old, so a few of the places have closed their doors.

Not a guide to LA's best or most famous eateries, but a guide to the best ethnic places in working-class neighborhoods (Sort of. Calling the Shack ethnic stretches the adjective to breaking but most of the restaurants do fit that category.)

Be forewarned: Jonathan Gold's culinary prose is compelling reading, but any attempts to use this as an actual guidebook for restaurants in Los Angeles should be heavily researched first. Perhaps I just have extraordinarily bad luck, but each time I've tried to visit one of the restaurants, something's gone wrong. Aladdin Falafel (p. 2) no longer exists, though its sign is still up there on the corner mini-mall placard. India's Tandoori (p. 137) no longer serves Tandoori pizza, so temptingly describe in Rich's essay. Gagnier's Creole Kitchen (p. 109) in Santa Monica disappeared years ago. With that said, I would still recommend the book as a fun read for those who enjoy learning more about the culinary diversity available in Los Angeles.

Some key spots were missing and that's a shame, but overall a good buy

Jonathan Gold is the "go to" guy to learn more about food! And the cool thing is, he is even kind enough to donate his time and expertise to those interested in supporting a cause and getting the chance to meet with him. EAT WITH JONATHAN GOLD at an L.A. restaurant that he is researching! Bid on it at [...] -- BEFORE May 16, 2006. You'll get a chance to meet this food critic and great writer of culinary explorations AND support a great cause! Enjoy the book and enjoy the chance to meet him!

For all the griping about how Gold feeds hipsters just enough information to be dangerous, the fact of the matter is that this man is an impresario. No one else -- NO ONE -- writes restaurant reviews with the sort of artistry that Gold does. Yet he is accessible to the everyman as much as the hipsters. Gold's column in the LA Weekly (free newspaper) has reviewed everything from Peruvian sushi dives to $5 ramen houses to Providence, a $50-a-dish seafood experience that may be the finest restaurant in Los Angeles at the moment. I wouldn't know -- I learned from Gold that several lifetimes' worth of ethnic food can be had in the San Gabriel valley.

Placing a tick mark next to yet another restaurant in the book is always satisfying, even if it sometimes is accompanied by "went out of business" or "never eat here again". Let's face it, it's more fun to gamble in Vegas than to buy a bunch of T-bills. (Having Gold's book in your glove compartment is not unlike having Raymond Babbit along for the ride, incidentally.)

Flaming Sichuan goose intestines? Check. Armenian sausages in grape molasses, sumac and cinnamon? Check. 7 courses of beef? Snake salad? Dinosaur-sized beef ribs in incendiary sauce? Check, check, and check again! Several times it has been mentioned by other reviewers that the book is badly in need of an update. This is true, however the LA weekly's Food section (www.laweekly.com/eat+drink/) has an archive of Gold's many Counter Intelligence columns, and the attentive reader will quickly pick up many of the changes (JZY no longer exists, but the excellent Lu Din Gee now operates in the same location). By and large, however, the restaurants that Gold chooses to include not only have survived, but provide an excellent base from which to branch out and explore the city's many ethnic restaurants.

If you live in Los Angeles, and you don't have a copy of this book, you are missing out on one of the world's great foodie cities.

I've been using this book since it was published and its led me to some really great and INEXPENSIVE meals. L.A. has lots of great restaurants, and many of them will cause your credit card to melt. But you can eat some amazing, authentic ethnic food in Los Angeles for almost nothing, and Jonathan Gold will lead you to the best of these places. Two caveats; this book was published four years ago and that is forever in restaurant years. It is in serious need of an update. And, it also needs to be indexed by neighborhood, much like the Zagat. I went through it and wrote the name of the neighborhood at the top of each page. Nitpicking? Yes, buy it and eat.

I've been using this book since it was published and its led me to some really great and INEXPENSIVE meals. L.A. has lots of great restaurants, and many of them will cause your credit card to melt. But you can eat some amazing, authentic ethnic food in Los Angeles for almost nothing, and Jonathan Gold will lead you to the best of these places. Two caveats; this book was published four years ago and that is forever in restaurant years. It is in serious need of an update. And, it also needs to be indexed by neighborhood, much like the Zagat. I went through it and wrote the name of the neighborhood at the top of each page. Nitpicking? Yes, buy it and eat.

Like the Pauline Kael of food. His descriptions of LA's ethnic eateries are vivid, perceptive, and hilarious. Unfortunately, many great places have gone under since publication. (RIP FuRaiBo Little Tokyo!)

Few maps necessary though, since 90% of the restaurants are within a couple miles of each other (Alhambra/San Gabriel/Moneterey Park). Even though many of these reviews were written long ago, I've found that most of the restaurants are still around. Literally a lifetime's worth of discoveries await... . What you learn reading this book will help you in exploring new places as well.