The year is still young, but the most engaging documentary we’ve seen so far is City of Gold. This film by Laura Gabbert (who previously co-directed No Impact Man) is a profile of Jonathan Gold, the Los Angeles Times food writer who may dress like a homeless person but is the only journalist in history to win a Pulitzer Prize solely for food criticism. The film includes testimonials from the likes of former New York Times restaurant critic Ruth Reichl and celebrity chefs David Chang and Roy Choi. Gold himself is a terrific subject who can rattle on about jazz music (he started out as a music writer) or the old Jewish delis in L.A. and what sort of people went there. Referring to the aliases and throwaway cell phones he uses to disguise his identity while making reservations, he calls it, “the fat man’s version of The Bourne Identity.”
Yet like all great critics, Gold finds higher purpose in his work than running down which restaurants are good or bad. By trawling the unfashionable eateries in out-of-the-way neighborhoods, he draws attention to great, unusual meals to be had and sometimes throws a lifeline to an establishment that might otherwise fail. In the grand melting pot that is his beloved hometown, the various ethnic restaurants from Ethiopian to Burmese give Gold an opportunity to meet the world through its food cultures, and his often lyrical prose invites his readers to do the same.
City of Gold runs Fri-Sun at the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, 3200 Darnell St, FW. Tickets are $7-9. Call 817-738-9215.
