About

About the Joy of Food

The Joy of Food blog celebrates eating well, traveling often, and living la dolce vita. San Diego, CA is home base, but reviews and photos are from all over. Inspiration comes by way of two food and travel heroes.

Jonathan Gold lived and breathed L.A. He grew up eating in the east-side immigrant communities he’d write about later. That sort of ‘holistic’ approach to food writing made his stuff unusually nuanced and colored by the experiences and people he’d feature. He lived where he worked, ate what he talked about, and had a knack for highlighting (and knowing) what was good and what wasn’t. He never, ever trashed places and very rarely gave a bad review. I am not nearly as kind (or restrained), but his experiential style has always stuck with me.

Anthony Bourdain taught us to move, as far as we can and as much as we can whether it’s across an ocean or across a street. His narrative approach to food and travel, often centered on the lesser known and less glamorous, was a gateway to understanding something bigger than ourselves. He leaned into the imperfect, the unpleasant, and the uncomfortable, always with humor, and always with the goal of telling a story. Through him, our own eyes were opened to people, cultures, and parts unknown.

About Joy

I’m not spoiled, I’m Italian.

Joy is a webmaster by day and a self-described foodie, traveler, photographer, and writer by night. Joy is always in pursuit of the good life in its many forms.