Museum & Dinner

I've lived in L.A. long enough that it is truly embarrassing and shameful that I have never been to a museum here.  So, last week, Hubs and I ventured across town to LACMA.  After 5pm, the museum is free for L.A. County residents, adding further embarrassment for having never been there.

We only made it through a few of the buildings before close, but we saw some great pieces.  Here were my two favorites:



"Balloon Dog" by Jeff Koons


Thought process as I saw Balloon Dog:  "Look at the Balloon Dog!  I love art museums.  Why did I wait so long to come here?"

Joan Miro - I didn't write down the title

There was also a great William Eggleston exhibit going on.  I think I could look at his photographs every day and be inspired.

After the museum we went to The Foundry on Melrose.  Although I don't think Chef Eric Greenspan has made it to "Top Chef" guest status yet, I'm sure he will be there in the foreseeable future.  He's becoming a regular on The Food Network and I immediately recognized him when we were seated.  He even checked in on us at one point, very nice PR.

We sat inside because it was windy and cold out, and we had a prime seat right in front of the open kitchen.

We ordered an appetizer of Tater Tots.  The restaurant was dim, and I only brought the point & shoot so I had to use the flash, aka the photos are crap.  But I will post them anyways.

Blurry Tots

These were awesome.  Incredibly crispy outside, incredibly creamy inside.  This is my favorite kind of food.  When we go back, I will order these.

The Foundry is known for its grilled cheese, so we had to try it.  Was it delicious?  Yes, and the walnut raisin bread was the best part.  Was is the best grilled cheese I've ever had?  I don't know.  Grilled cheese scares the hell out of me, actually, and I rarely order it.  Anything with that much cheese and butter is going to taste good.  So it's the other components that have to set it apart from the average grilled cheese.  In this case, the raisin walnut bread did that.  I can't name a better grilled cheese offhand, but I refuse to believe that this is the best grilled cheese ever.  And it looked a little sad on the plate, so I didn't even take a photo of it.

We shared an entree of duck confit.

This was really good.  There were chestnuts, brussels sprouts, apples, and a not-too-sweet sauce.  Oh, yeah, and a perfect duck leg.  Thoroughly enjoyed it. 

And then for dessert we had the doughnuts. 

The portion was small.  Not that I wanted or needed more food, but I was surprised that there were only 3 little balls when the dessert cost $9.  In comparison, the tots cost $5 and there were 10 of them.  And they tasted better.  All other portions were solid for their price.  The good news: the doughnuts came with a ginger whipped cream that was lovely.  But I wouldn't order them again.

All in all, it was a delicious, romantic meal.  There were so many delicious looking items on the menu.  I look forward to going back, having more tots, and trying a new entree and dessert.