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I’m on the road in Missouri, eating as much BBQ as is humanely possible, and a little bit stuffed and sick from it. I also just spent two days marveling at the joys of the Nelson-Atkins Museum, the Kemper Museum, the National WWI Museum and the Toy and Miniature Museum in glorious, smoky scented and fountain kissed Kansas City. What to do if you’re back in LA? Probably go to Comicon in San Diego, actually, if you can bear the crowds, and you’ve managed to get the stains out of your Pokemon fursuit, yet. Or hit Jay Bee’s House of Fine Bar-B-Que and get the best LA has to offer on the BBQ front. Join me in my smoke ringed paradise…

Back to art. I’d like to recommend one exhibition for my friends in LA, Looky See (.pdf press release here), at the Ben Maltz Gallery at Otis. A group show featuring lots of excellent folks, featuring Emily de Araújo, Eric Beltz, Barbara Berk, Joe Biel, Sandow Birk, Ann Diener, Roy Dowell, Erin Dunn, Erica Eyres, Iva Gueorguieva, Penelope Gottlieb, Richard Keely and Anna O’Cain, Takehito Koganezawa, Tucker Neel, Claudia Nieto, Aaron Noble, Chris Oatey, Ruby Osorio, Ebony G. Patterson, Ron Santos, Mindy Shapero, Fran Siegel, Coleen Sterritt, Fred Stonehouse, Randal Thurston, Elizabeth Turk and Xawery Wolski. It opens tomorrow, Saturday July 26, and the reception is from 6-8 PM.

At Top: Sneak preview image of Fran Siegel’s installation for Looky See.

Technorati Tags: Emily de Araújo, Eric Beltz, Barbara Berk, Joe Biel, Sandow Birk, Ann Diener, Roy Dowell, Erin Dunn, Erica Eyres, Iva Gueorguieva, Penelope Gottlieb, Richard Keely and Anna O’Cain, Takehito Koganezawa, Tucker Neel, Claudia Nieto, Aaron Noble, Chris Oatey, Ruby Osorio, Ebony G. Patterson, Ron Santos, Mindy Shapero, Fran Siegel, Coleen Sterritt, Fred Stonehouse, Randal Thurston, Elizabeth Turk, Xawery Wolski, Otis, Ben Maltz Gallery, Looky See, LA Art, art, contemporary art

As signs of the end times go, this is a bit of a tiny one. I love good food, sometimes I love bad food related business plans just as much. A while back I discovered Crispycones, which I’m glad I’ve never eaten, and I hope you never have, either. Last night, on our way to the newly un-burned-down Johnny Rebs’ in Long Beach, Michele spotted the words “Kernels, Gourmet Corn on the Cob.” Phill and I, not having seen the sign, had no idea what she was talking about, I think we both thought she was referring to KFC, and therefore “Colonel’s.” Meriting investigation, following our meal, we checked out what we knew was a bad business plan, but I think we all thought that it was some kind of weird flavoured corn on the cob to go place, but the reality turned out even better. Unfortunately they had just shut down as we were entering the parking lot, depriving us of anything further than storefront and web investigation.

Kernels Gourmet Corn on the Cob & Mexican Grill is a business concept, pushing multi-flavoured elote concepts, paired with Mexican (if post Taco Bell chow can still in any way be described as Mexican) fast food. Like all bad ideas with a website, there’s a handy button at top for potential investors/suckers. Take out a loan and spend a few years of your life watching your business fail with us! While, I’m very enthusiastic about chile and mayo covered corn, preferably bought from wandering strangers (although my neighborhood seems to not have any wandering vendors of the elote variety most of the year), but the idea of eating a “French Burrito” or a “Pineapple Quesadilla”, paired with a Apple Cinnamon Corn, or a Mongolian BBQ Corn is about as appealing as eating out of a dumpster, and more expensive. It’s Idiocracy food, man.

Anyways, I figure food this bad requries a BBQ chaser. So here’s some ribs and pulled pork from Johnny Rebs’. Good times, good times.

Technorati Tags: food, food porn, Johnny Rebs’, Long Beach, Kernels, elote, corn, corn on the cob, bad idea, your moment of apocalypse, sign of the end times, pulled pork, ribs, Crispycones

I spent my day hopping by air to Tallahassee. I ate plane and airport food. I ate three sandwiches today, and a pickle. I took pictures. Now I share.

Above - Airplane food! This breaded chicken sandwich actually managed to, kind of, sort of remind me of all that decent airplane tonkatsu I had going to and from Thailand last year. Also, as it was served with mayo as its sole condiment, it was aesthetically pleasing in a monochromatic, white food on white food kind of way. I thought the multiple cooking processes gave it a novel flavour and texture. So now I’m in Tallahassee with a craving for tonkatsu, which isn’t going to get fixed until I get back to LA.

Above - That sandwich was basically my breakfast, and arriving in Houston to change planes, I needed to search out barbecue. Just getting off the plane in the Houston airport, my sensitive nose could detect the faint scent of Texas barbecue. I had a fantasy that “best ribs I’ve ever eaten” Goode Company Barbeque (I mean really, the best short ribs in the country - they need no sauce whatsoever. The most perfect unsauced meat I’ve ever ingested. Go to Houston just to eat there. Order everything on the menu. You won’t regret it!) had an outlet at the airport, but no, I discovered something called a Harlon’s BBQ. The above brisket was surprisingly good, probably the best thing I’ve ever eaten at an airport, but I don’t really eat at airports, so that means nothing.

Above - the “Billy Club” from the Jimmy John’s across from my hotel in Tallahasse. It’s basically a roast beef and ham club on a French roll. The roll was much better than I expected. My only dinner choice, and surprisingly passable. I got a giant pickle with this that was pretty good, and I’m a Jew, so that’s not bad for a goyisher pickle. This meal really made me homesick for Busy Bee, though.

Technorati Tags: food, food porn, sandwich, Jimmy John’s, Harlon’s BBQ, Houston Airport, airport food, airplane food, chicken sandwich, club sandwich, billy club, Tallahasse, travel