lunch + art, part 1.

When I Get Old I Would Like a Drink, Marilyn Manson

I spent a large part of last week driving to and from Cedars Sinai, for a certain medical procedure that required many brief ten- minute visits. On my drives, I realized how much of this city I miss--most of it west of LaBrea. Plus, I've been in such a grind with work and food--basically, I work all the time and eat the same damn thing. So I decided that Fridays would be about getting out and seeing things and eating some place new.

I started off with a visit to the Khastoo Gallery on Sunset Boulevard, just across the street and up a block from Guitar Center. "Oh, the Khastoo," you say. "I go there all the time!" I had no idea this place existed, a blacked out store front tucked between tattoo parlors and vegan restaurants. Inside was the exhibit, The Alchemy of Things Unknown: a visual meditation on transformation, featuring original works by William Blake, Aleister Crowley, Kenneth Anger and Marilyn Manson, among others.

Side note: I just googled "Aleister Crowley" to make sure I spelled it right and Google suggested, in this order, Aleister Crowley, Aleister Crowley quotes, Aleister Crowley Barbara Bush. Note that "Aleister Crowley Barbara Bush" came way before "Aleister Crowley Jimmy Page." Must look into this.

So, I'm generally not down with the 666, heightened awareness, altered states of consciousness (read: druggie) crowd, but the exhibit interested me, because I had just been to see Jung's Red Book exhibit at the Hammer, again with lots of artwork inspired by dreams, which resulted in paintings of mandalas, which confuses me. Who dreams of mandalas? The other night I dreamt I had a newborn baby, and was really excited to name it, but couldn't, because I had to get ready to take it (I don't remember if it was a him or her) on a plane with it's two newborn baby friends. I guess this could make an interesting piece of art. I don't know.

But anyway, it was kind of cool to see original pieces by these whacked-out masters, but I wish there was a little more exegesis to the exhibit--I'm sorry, I'm just a literal kind of gal. I felt like I was just stepping into someone's acid trip. But I do have to say, I really liked the painting by Marilyn Manson--you can see more of his work here.


Then it was off to a place I've wanted to try for awhile--The Mercantile Market on Sunset, just a stone's throw from Amoeba Records. It's part of a group of restaurants that line Sunset on either side of Vine, including The Delancey, Mission Cantina, The Bowery Bar and Tamarind Deli--a gourmet sandwich and soda pop extravaganza.

Mercantile is like an authentic French brasserie, patisserie, charcuterie, etc, etc., with fancy food stuffs, macaroons, wines, cheeses, pretty blue and white flowered wallpaper, utensils and drinks in jelly jars and even buttered popcorn ice cream on occasion. And guess what? It's delicious, and I'm totally coming back. I splurged and used up my once-a-month meat allotment on a BLT with butter lettuce, tomatillo jam, jalapeno goat cheese and pickled red onions. I also defied my dentist's orders to never let soda coat my thinly-enameled, cavity-prone teeth and tried a dandelion and burdock concoction that tasted like rich, anisette-flavored cola.

To all work peeps--this is a nice alternative to Baja Fresh and Togo's (and I know Chipolte just opened, but that's going to get boring, too). Let me know if you want to check it out.