‘Los Angeles Times’ Entertainment Editor Laurie Ochoa

I Can Tell You Exactly How Much Your Levi’s Will Shrink

Laurie Ochoa is arts and entertainment editor at the Los Angeles Times. Before participating in a panel on the rise of downtown L.A., she talked about her strangest job (managing a men’s department store), what she’s reading (a book about a demented form of journalism set in Ukraine), and her favorite condiment (Dijon mustard) in the Zócalo green room.

Q:

What’s the strangest job you’ve ever had?


A:

In college, I was the men’s department store manager at Miller’s Outpost, so I sold Levi’s and had to know how much 501s shrank. I still remember: 1 inch in the waist, 2-3 inches in the length.


Q:

What word or phrase do you use most often?


A:

Cool.


Q:

What are you reading right now?


A:

I just got off the plane from Chicago and was reading Andrey Kurkov’s Death and the Penguin, which was fantastic. It’s kind of about a demented form of journalism and paranoia, set in the Ukraine.


Q:

When’s the last time you got a traffic ticket—and why?


A:

I was stopped recently because my husband [restaurant critic Jonathan Gold] was sitting in the back seat and didn’t have his seatbelt on. So that was an odd ticket. He got the ticket, I didn’t—he’s an adult and should know better.


Q:

What’s your favorite plant or flower?


A:

I like sunflowers a lot.


Q:

What was the first album you bought?


A:

Aerosmith, Rocks.


Q:

What’s hanging on your living room walls?


A:

Pictures by our friend Virginia Hoge, who’s a painter. Some family pictures. Odd things like that.


Q:

How do you procrastinate?


A:

Many, many ways. Email. Radio. TV. Magazines.


Q:

What’s your favorite condiment?


A:

I guess Dijon mustard, because you can use it in salad dressing, sandwiches.


Q:

What’s the worst thing about being married to a restaurant critic?


A:

[Laughs.] There are times where it can be hard to get through a meal without someone coming up and wanting to talk. Which is usually OK. But if you’re in the middle of a conversation, it can be a little distracting.