Dana Goodyear’s “The Scavenger”

From The New Yorker's archive: a vivid profile of the late Pulitzer Prize-winning food critic Jonathan Gold.  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌   View in browser | Update your preferences     Annals of Gastronomy The Most Adventurous Eater in America For nearly twenty-five years, Jonathan Gold, the high-low priest of the Los Angeles food scene, has been chronicling the city's carts and stands and dives and holes-in-mini-malls. By Dana Goodyear The writer Tom Mueller once remarked that Dana Goodyear has "a poet's empathy and a reporter's nose for story." Since 2000, Goodyear has contributed more than three hundred and forty pieces to The New Yorker. She has written on a variety of subjects, including the lives of students at the progressive, all-male Deep Springs College, the colossal art works of Michael Heizer, the innovative fiction of Lydia Davis, and California's secret supper-club movement. She has also published three books, including "The Oracle of Hollywood Boulevard" and "Anything That Moves." In the past decade, Goodyear has become well known for her skillful food writing, among other work. One of my favorite articles by Goodyear is "The Scavenger," a vivid profile of the late Pulitzer Prize-winning food critic Jonathan Gold. The piece, published in 2009, traces Gold's obsessive journey through Los Angeles's culinary landscape. Gold spent decades learning the ins and outs of the city's food scene; his eclectic tastes often inspired him to seek out the best places to try such singular dishes as fried grasshopper or live octopus. His intricate depictions of savory street food and traditional cuisines influenced a generation of food writers and gourmands. Gold "abides by George Orwell's rule of thumb: the fancier the restaurant, the more people who have dripped sweat into your food," Goodyear writes. "Interesting cuisine, he believes, often comes out of poverty. 'I have my thing,' he says. 'Traditional—I hate the word "ethnic"—restaurants that serve some actual hunger people have, rather than something they tell themselves they must have.' " Goodyear writes with dazzling intensity as she traces Gold's persistent quest for ever more varied and intriguing fare. At one point, while visiting a strip-mall restaurant with Gold, she compares crab claws with a sticky glaze to a Jeff Koons ceramic sculpture. Gold's expeditions are ultimately about revealing the true nature of traditional cuisine—and expanding our perception of the multifaceted cultures that create such ingenious dishes. Goodyear's piece is a joy to revisit at a time when we're all limited in our ability to traverse both culinary and geographic terrains.  —Erin Overbey, archive editor More from the Archive     Annals of the West The Searchers The fate of progressive education at Deep Springs College. By Dana Goodyear     Annals of Gastronomy Don't Eat Before Reading This A New York chef spills some trade secrets. By Anthony Bourdain This e-mail was sent to you by The New Yorker. To ensure delivery, we recommend adding newyorker@newsletters.newyorker.com to your contacts, while noting that it is a no-reply address. Please send all newsletter feedback to tnyinbox@newyorker.com.    For more from The New Yorker, sign up for our newsletters, shop the store, and sign in to newyorker.com, where subscribers always have unlimited access. Contact us with questions.   View our Privacy Policy. Unsubscribe.   Copyright © Condé Nast 2020. One World Trade Center, New York, NY 10007. All rights reserved.