Woohoo! The Other Art Fair has made it to LA, thanks Saatchi! I’m pretty sure I saw this in LA weekly and was stoked. I’ve been in London and loved it. For some reason I think it was free in London, but I may have made that up. Anyway, it wasn’t expensive in LA.
Because I don’t think you should peruse art on an empty stomach, we hit up Baco Mercat first, which was recommended by a chef buddy. You can go here for a very reasonable lunch by getting one of their delicious looking sandwiches. This was absolutely, not what we did. Katie and I opted to pick a stack of amazing dishes and politely asked “have we ordered enough?” Spoiler alert: we had. Even though I know how much we had to doggie bag, there’s part of me that thinks we should have ordered more.
Ricotta fritters: why are fritters so good? Deep fried deliciousness. With a hint of sweetness from the saffron honey so you aren’t even thinking about how the fat you’re eating.
Caramelized cauliflower: I am obsessed with cauliflower right now and this did not disappoint. You could taste the mint, garlic and chili. So good. 
Caesar Brussels sprouts pretty much what it says on the tin. Nice way to get your Brussels in. Lots of anchovy taste.
Roasted broccoli: umami bomb! The anchovy & pecorino helped the broccoli max out. Totally worth it, if the fritters weren’t there this would be the standout.
Double mushroom coca: a chewy flat bread which I think is a Latino pizza. Whatever it is, it’s divine. Just order one, I’m confident they will all be great. Hmm, turns out I can’t pick a winning dish.
Oh yeah, we were talking about the art.
The building they hosted in was beautiful, The Majestic in DTLA, it’s worth it for the building.
I enjoyed the fair, got introduced to some artists that were interesting. But here’s where they went wrong with LA- there wasn’t enough diversity in the price points ie it all started too high. The London one went from £50-5000. Here in LA I think the very few pieces started at $500, and the lack of sold tickets tells me I’m right. You need the diversity in price points to make a big impact. Plus it gives a greater range of artists a chance. I’m not sure who curated for Saatchi, but if you need an independent 3rd party next year to look over it, I’m your gal.
So here’s what I liked:
Annique Delphine: for her homage to boobs.
Eliot Super for his stenciled literal music. Googling him, I’m more familiar with his work than I knew- I love it when this happens.
Bryan Valenzuela: for the detail of words that create a picture. The effort in this is immense, and I love it.
Lisa Schule for the neon. I just love neon. Massive fan. In the UK I’m obsessed with Gods Own Junkyard and Rebecca Mason.
So will I go again? yup. I hope next year they find their groove more, but we need to support them for that to happen.
Jilltopia 