Sure, there had been tacos al pastor before he did them, but after the popularity of King Taco, everybody had tacos al pastor. People had had carnitas before, but, suddenly, everybody had carnitas. It just seemed to form the template of what the modern Los Angeles taqueria should be. 

--Jonathan Gold, 2013

Nine years ago, Los Angeles lost an unsung hero, Raul Martinez Sr., the founder of King Taco. To find out why this man was so important to LA, I shared a taco or two (or three) with the late Pulitzer Prize-winning food writer Jonathan Gold at King Taco #1 in Cypress Park. (Gold died in 2018.)

Support for this podcast comes from Gordon and Dona Crawford, who believe that quality journalism makes Los Angeles a better place to live; and by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a private corporation funded by the American people.

Off-Ramp theme music by Fesliyan Studios.

In 2013, I visited an utterly charming and impish Harlan Ellison at his remarkable home and talked at length with him about his work as a prolific Sci-Fi writer. Then came the dreaded - and expected - phone call from Harlan's alter-ego. (Ellison died in 2018 but I wouldn't be surprised if he sent an angry message from beyond about using his name and "Sci-Fi" in the same sentence.)

Support for this podcast comes from Gordon and Dona Crawford, who believe that quality journalism makes Los Angeles a better place to live; and by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a private corporation funded by the American people.

Off-Ramp theme music by Fesliyan Studios.

Dinner Party Download Launches Its Own Web Site!; Palin the Evangelical Feminist; N.O.W President Introduces Sarah Palin; Colcord Home; All-You-Can't-Eat; Palin Fever; Take A Virtual Trip of the Wasilla Assembly of God; Hard Times; Stone on "W"; Where's the Peace?; Happy Birthday, Philippe's!; With a Wink and a Nod; Letter From Reader

Dinner Party Download Launches Its Own Website!; R.I.P. Paul Newman; The People v. Experts; How to Manage Mismanagement; Spinning Out on The Melt Down; Failing at Bailing Out; Environmental Utopia?; Hard Times, Not End Times; Frangela - The Wisdom of the Crowd; Born Again: The End Times are Coming!; Hard Times II; Hearts of Palm UK; Hard Times III; Urban Homestead; Frank McCourt on the Dodgers

Dinner Party Download; Tom Bradley, in Retrospect; In The Shadows Of History; Peter and the Wolf in 21st Century LA; He Followed in Bradley's Footsteps; The Bradley Effect?; Bradley Good and Bad; Drive-by Driver; Angelenos on Tom Bradley; Chapin Sisters: Born to be Famous; L.A.P.D.: Art Division; The Hollywood Hills are Alive...; To Bail Out or Not To Bail Out; Is Sam Out of Time?

Dinner Party Download; Back on the Tracks; No Smoking...Anywhere; David Foster Wallace, R.I.P; DFW, Telling It Like It Is; Icarus in Outer Space; Charles Perry to the Rescue!; Getting an F in Detention; Historic Art Heist; Celebrating World Sacred Music

Dinner Party Download: Citay Beats; The Wish Tree; Landscape-Goats; The Immigrant's Dream; Give me LHC or Give Me Death!; The LARGE Hadron Collider; Getty Preview; George Putnam R.I.P.; The Lawn Bowling Life; This Citay's Rockin'; Stay Funky, Froggy's; Creating Vintage Photos

Haiku Contest Update!; Dinner Party Download: Barista Throwdown; He's Always Part of the Team; They Wear Their Colors Proud; They Shout Their Voices Loud; McCain's Theme Song; The Titan of Trailers; Ben Vereen: Up Close and Musical; Cut-Throat Coffee; The Sounds of Death Race; Chinese Type-Casting; You're a Good Man, Bill Melendez; Schulz and Baseball; A Labor of Laughs; Congrats, Quinn!; Music Featured on Off-Ramp: Priscilla Ahn's "I Don't Think So"

Welcome to the Coachella Valley!; Dinner Party Download: On Princeton; Jesse Jackson, 20 years ago; Date Shakes in the CV: Part 1; A Good Indian Wife; Date Shakes in the CV: Part 2; Princeton, The Erudite Rockers; She Drew the Line; Racy Dates?; The CV before AC; Stay Away from the Germs!; Music Featured on Off-Ramp:

Dinner Party Download; Rat 'Em Out; "If It's Yellow..." (c'mon you know the rest); Charles Perry: A Man For All Hallucinogens; These Germs Were Catchy; Broncos for Barack; Punch and Judy, Uncensored; Darby Crash, circa 1980; Queen of Disco in LA; Germs Culture; "Hi, Traffic Man!" Debuts