I had to go to LA to apply for a visa at the German consulate for my upcoming research residency in Berlin, and even though I was only going to be there for a little over 24 hours, I planned to eat some good food and learn a bit about the area where I was staying, which was close to Beverly Hills. So, I walked a lot–down to République for Sunday Brunch, which came with primo baked goods and even better people-watching (NB: it’s crucial to set your Prada handbag on the table in front of you while you’re eating and not on the bench beside you because otherwise, how can the other brunchers see that you own a Prada handbag?) And, I took the bus for free because LA has suspended bus fares during the pandemic (ends on the 10th)! I really enjoyed rolling past the Bentley and Lamborghini dealerships on a city bus. I debarked at Rodeo Drive and then wove my way through throngs of tourists, past high-end boutiques, to a seat by the fire at Mírame where I snacked on delicious salmon-skin chicharrones while gawking at botoxed, be-furred locals mincing their way down the street with their drivers trailing behind them practically engulfed in Louis Vuitton, Dior, and Bulgari shopping bags. The joke was on me, though, when the bill came and the $15 cocktail I thought I ordered turned out to be $75. (NB: Make sure to bring your glasses when dining in Beverly Hills.) Heh heh. Oops. At least it was a great cocktail; certainly it was a memorable one.
On Monday after I finished up at the consulate, I whiled away a few pleasant hours at LACMA. A lot of their galleries are closed for construction, but the Broad collection and Resnick Pavilion are open, and so I got to see Mariana Castillo Deball and Sandy Rodriguez’s Mixpantli installation, Richard Serra’s Band, the Ai Weiwei zodiac heads, and an incredible collection of portraits of Black Americans (just missed the Obama portraits TT). A favorite was this incredible quilted portrait by Bisa Butler (detail below). I rested my feet while knocking back a few good, fresh hand rolls at KazuNori, and then it was time to catch my Lyft back to LAX.
LA is insane and fun, and I look forward to going back–probably not to Beverly Hills, but I’m glad I got to see it. It’ll provide a lot of good context for the second season of Bling Empire.
The Rookery 