a day of art and food in downtown los angeles (moca, pompeii, kazunori sushi and grand central market)

(Los Angeles, CA).  I recently had the most lovely Saturday with my husband in Downtown Los Angeles.  We wanted to see the Andy Warhol "Shadows" exhibit at the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) and the Pompeii exhibit at the California Science Center.  Since both exhibits were located in DTLA, we decided to squeeze in both exhibits in one day (and get some tasty grub while we were at it)!  

Andy Warhol Exhibit:   This exhibit is open until February 2, 2015.  It's essentially an installation of a 102 part series of silk-screened canvases - repetitive images with different color combinations.  I was a bit underwhelmed by the description, but I have to admit that seeing the pieces in person was an oddly eerie and haunting experience.  If you like contemporary art, this is worth checking out.

If I recall correctly, the tickets were about $12 each.  We found metered street parking for about $4 an hour.  Tip!  On Thursday evenings, you can visit MOCA for free!  

Pompeii Exhibit:  Yes, I know I just returned from Italy where I was actually at Pompeii, but it was still worth seeing the artifacts first-hand.  When you are at Pompeii in Italy, note that all of the artifacts have been removed and placed in the museum at Naples, and the few remaining statutes and mosaics on display there are probably reproductions.  

 

I really enjoyed how this exhibit provided video reconstructions of what the city "really" looked like and how people lived in ancient times.  (It was also amusing that they were playing the theme song from HBO's Rome in the background, but to be fair, that TV show provided an amazingly realistic depiction of life in ancient Rome.)  The artistry, ingenuity and advancement of that ancient civilization cannot be denied.  In fact I remain in constant awe.

Tip!  To visit the exhibit, you need to reserve tickets (and an entry time) online ($43.50 for two tickets).  Parking at the California Science Center was $10.

After all this "culture" we were starving!!!!  We wanted to try KazuNori Sushi - a newish restaurant from the people who brought us SugarFish - where they only serve handrolls.  The menu is pretty short but tasty.  

We each had the 5 hand roll set - which included:  yellowtail, salmon, bay scallops, lobster and blue crab.  Simple, fresh and yummy!  I'm definitely coming back!

We would have eaten more hand rolls, except we also wanted to visit Grand Central Market, which has so many exciting new additions.  I haven't tried them all yet, but so far, I'm really enjoying:

• G&B Coffee
• Belcampo - great burgers, sandwiches (lamb belly yum!)
• Valerie Confections (pastries)
• Sticky Rice - decent chicken rice (but no where as good as in Singapore)

I still need to try Eggslut (the lines are too long) and the Oyster Gourmet and the Horse Thief BBQ (texas bbq)!

Tip!  The Grand Central Market is pretty close to MOCA so you can check out the museum and then pop over to the Grand Central Market for lunch or dinner.  If Angel's Flight is operational, you can take it to and from the market.