I was a precocious child. Perhaps I’m still a bit funny today. I grew up watching Jeff Smith (the Frugal Gourmet), marveling at all the places Huell Howser got to go and started reading Jonathan Gold when I was 7.

Southern Trollope

They have all inspired me in some way. The dining club, the food crawls, the exploration of LA  stem from a rather culinary sheltered childhood. These three took me on their adventures.

Chef Greenspan's chicken

It was then a bit crazy J Gold mentioned me (and others) in this short blog about Chef Ludo dropping into Chef Eric Greenspan’s kitchen at the Foundry last week. I thought I had spotted J Gold but Elina Shatkin whom I was dining with assured me it was not him.

Chef Ludo's chicken

My universe sort of collapsed upon itself when I read J Gold’s take on the “fried chicken expo.”  I maintain a perfect awareness of folks I consider foodie gods but I like to think they are unaware of me as an individual. Twitter, of all things, brought me much closer to actual friendship with people I admire.

braised mustard greens

If I had not seen Krissy Lefevbre tweet about the chicken match-up, I probably wouldn’t have found out about the match-up until too late. Reservations apparently started pouring in quickly and I am grateful to Gastronomnom for letting me crash his reservation.

I had been secretly bummed I didn’t get any Ludo Fried Chicken at the LA Street Food Fest. Perhaps it’s because I’ve had it before that I wanted it again.

Grilled cheese with short ribs

Did anyone win the match up? I think it was me. I got my fried chicken, greens and booze. Very much like J Gold.