Last week, the food blogging community was all agog over Jonathan Gold's 99 Things to Eat in LA Before You Die. Now, I'm a big Gold fan, and I dutifully compiled the list of those 99 that I had tasted (34), but these lists always strike me as mostly a retread job. There was nothing on here particularly unexpected, and a regular Gold reader probably could have come up with more than half the list off the top of her head. (Gold likes Mozza Pizza -- who knew?)
For those of us who aren't as food obsessed or for out of town visitors, I would definitely recommend tucking the list in your pocket and eating your way through, but for those of us who are regular readers, it didn't offer much that was new or interesting. And formatting-wise, it was a pain in the ass, taking 15 clicks to get through the whole thing.
Oh, and is it just me, or did Gold's piece on Oki Dog seem to be channeling our own Mr. Pyrite?
UPDATE: Check out SinoSoul for a similar take (and if you're not reading him already, you should be!)
I believe Jonathan was sharing his "99 Things to Eat in LA Before You Die". My interpretation of this title is that these are foods or meals that he loves so intensely that he couldn't meet his demise before having one last taste. I don't believe these picks were necessarily or remotely an attempt at revealing new culinary finds in LA.
ReplyDeleteIf I was on my death bed, I'd be ordering Sam Woo's won ton noodle soup and a bucket of KFC original recipe. New or interesting? Hardly. Comforting and satisfying? Definitely!
I opted to read the "print version" of this article; it's devoid of photographs, but at least I can easily scroll through all 99 must eats before I die (which, like any "best of" lists, isn't something I agree completely with.)
ReplyDeleteEddie, thanks for your comments. Yeah, I get that it's supposed to be high concept and all, I just thought it was little more than a rehash of old articles. Lazy, lazy, lazy, but understandable for someone who's expected to submit two to three original pieces per week.
ReplyDeleteHC, what is a "print version"? I've never heard of such a thing. In any case, it sounds extremely convenient. It must be an even more highly advanced technology than the web.
I did exactly what henry did!
ReplyDeleteI got tired of clcking to the next page, so you tell it you want to print (click the print icon.) It takes the whole document and shuffles it onto one looooonnnng "page".
MUCH easier to read and, much easier to then save to your hard drive to finish at a later date if you so choose.
Oh, I gotcha Oddlyme, I thought the reference was to the actual print edition of the Weekly, assuming there still is such a thing.
ReplyDelete