A day in downtown LA

One of the things I love about Grand Central Market is how gritty it feels among the brand new food stalls.  There is always a crowd, sometimes more than others but I am a big believer if there is a long line when it comes to food, get in it.

We didn’t have much but here are the highlights.  Tacos Tumbras a Tomas where they go for the super-sized portions.  This tortas filled with juicy pulled pork and the rest of the makings of a solid submarine sandwich.

Sticky Rice serves up Thai food.  Spicy rice with slices of pork and vegetables.  Can’t go wrong here.

DTLA Cheese serves up a grilled three cheese sandwich that is oozing with flavor.

It was time to take a walk over to MOCA Grand, one of their four locations.   I had never been to this one and it is a gem.  Really wonderful permanent collection.  To get there from Grand Central Market you can climb the stairs next to Angels Flight, the two-car funicular built in 1901.  It has been pretty much out of commission since 1969.  We were all espousing that based on what was happening in LA these days it would only be a matter of time before they fixed it.  Ends up we were right.  It was just announced that the mayor is putting funds behind this piece of history to get up back up and running.  Trust me, walking up those steps isn’t easy.

This is the view when you get to the top of the steps.  You walk through this and on the other side of MOCA Grand.

Here is some of the art we saw.  Max Ernst

Man Ray

Warhol

Christo

Jasper Johns

Rothko

Nicole Eisenman.  I love this piece.

Thomas Hirschhorn

Alice Neel.  She painted this piece at 73 years old.

John Baldessari

We stopped by Birdies where the menu consists of fried chicken and donuts.  Gotta love that.  They were out of chicken and the truth is it was a late afternoon sweet so we came for the donuts.

One more stop before we headed back to the west side at Bottega Louie.  Feels a bit like a European bakery.  Their macarons is one of their specialities.

Great day.  Hit the spots and excited return when that funicular is in action.

Comments (Archived):

  1. kbb

    The Alice Neel. Great. Hadn’t seen that one. And at 73. Wow. I think she is still under-appreciated on a relative basis.

    1. Gotham Gal

      She is. Zwirner has an exhibit now in NYC of her work.

  2. CCjudy

    I didn’t know Ernst did sculpture.

    1. Gotham Gal

      me neither.