Foodie & Art Day in LA

I've been meaning to check out the Stanley Kubrich exhibit at LACMA, so I decided to make a whole LA day out of it.

The day started off with brunch at Doughboy Cafe, just down the street from LACMA. I've had it bookmarked on Yelp for awhile, so was excited to try it out. I had the Almond Crusted French Roast with strawberries, and my date had the Breakfast Burrito. The french toast was delicious! It wasn't too sweet, and the almonds gave it a nice crunch and extra flavor. I was pleasantly surprised with the breakfast burrito as well. I kind of gave my date crap because I didn't think a burrito at a non-Mexican joint would be good, but it actually was! It had thick slabs of bacon, avocado, crunchy hashbrowns, fluffy eggs and salsa. We always share food and it definitely satisfied my sweet and savory cravings! Next time I want to try the red velvet pancakes or red velvet cake which they're famous for.

After filling our bellies, we headed to LACMA. We try to come every time there's a new exhibit. The last time we came was for the Tim Burton exhibit, which was amazing. The special exhibits are a little more pricey and this one, like the Tim Burton was $20. A little tip, if you want to see the regular exhibits you can actually check them out for free if you come after 3pm on a weekday. In case you don't know who Stanley Kubrick is here are a few of his movies you might recognize:

• Clockwork Orange
• Full Metal Jacket
• Eyes Wide Shut
• The Shining
• Lolita

When you first enter the exhibit, there's a gallery wall of all Kubrick's movies. I recognized the ones listed above, but there were so many that I had never heard of as well. As I went through the exhibit I learned that Kubrick started his career as a photographer for Look Magazine. His photos were very unique in that they captured moments and emotions that most people wouldn't catch. He definitely had an eye for unique images and liked to push the envelope with his noir films. If you watch his movies today, you probably wouldn't think twice about the topics, but back when the movies were originally released, they were definitely controversial. The exhibit had props from his different movies and previews of his films, but it also included interesting pieces such as complaint letters from organizations such as churches who were offended by his movies.


I really enjoyed the exhibit because I learned so much more about Stanley Kubrick and got a glimpse into his thought process for his photographs and movies.Although I've seen the permanent collections already, I still like to do a quick walk through of the other galleries. Above are a few pictures from the Stanley Kubrick exhibit as well as some of the other installations. When you come to LACMA, you also have to take advantage of the awesome photo spots: the Urban Light, the neon yellow string installment, the LACMA Rock, and on top of the Broad Contemporary Art building overlooking LA.

To end our day, we had dinner at Mendocino Farms, down the street from the museum and across The Grove. It was another place I wanted to cross off my Yelp bookmarks. Right when we walked in we were greeted by the friendly staff. I loved the mix of industrial and reclaimed wood decor. Since the hubby and I indulged at Doughboy Cafe, we decided to split a Korobuta Pork Belly Banh Mi Sandwich. They also let you try all of the sides and we settled on half Almond Romesco Shells (has pasta, red pepper, parmesan and spinach) and the Curried Cous Cous (with carrots, artichoke and cauliflower). The sides itself were bomb.com! My favorite was the curried cous cous; who would've thought to mix the two? It was nothing like I've tasted before. It tasted a little bit like Indian Curry, but not spicy, great combo. The almond romesco shells was very light and fresh. Now to the main course. The pickled daikon, carrots, cilantro, cucumbers and jalapenos are all normal banh mi ingredients but the caramelized kurobuta pork and the chili aiolo on the panini grilled ciabatta was a pleasant twist that made my tastebuds sing in joy. Hubby and I agreed we are definitely coming back here. Next time we want to try the Steak BLT and Prosciutto and Free Range Chicken sandwiches.