paul discoe – zen architecture / la mar

we went to paul discoe’s book signing last night at greens.   “zen architecture: the building process as practice” illuminates paul’s considerable understanding of traditional japanese architecture as well as documenting about 10 of his beautiful projects.   paul is a buddhist monk, a japanese-trained specialist in temple construction and a lovely man.    the book is beautifully done and though the photographs do not do paul’s projects justice, anyone interested in traditional japanese architecture or buddhism will want to read it.

then we ate at the new peruvian restaurant in san francisco, la mar.   gaston acurio is the most famous chef in peru, with restaurants in lima, costa rica, santiago de chile and mexico city.    la mar is his much-hyped first u.s. venture.   a friend had eaten there at a couple of the pre-opening events and liked it quite a lot and patty recently gave it a good (though not glowing) review.    we were disappointed.

it’s an enormous restaurant on the redevloped pier 1 1/2.   the first two of the three rooms (seemingly both bars) are the most most pleasant — clean, nicely scaled, urban.   the main dining room is noisy, over-lit and feels corporate.   i ate there with three architects and the only positive comment was “i really like the pendant lamps in the bar.”    i’d compare it to the newly-opened cavallo point hotel at fort baker…   cavallo point is constructed in refurbished residences and offices constructed by the army at the turn of the last century.   both la mar and cavallo point take fairly interesting old construction in gorgeous san francisco bay settings and rehab them in the most pedestrian way.    restoration hardware anyone?    the architects did too little to make the project really interesting and too much to retain the romance of the old materials and construction.    hasn’t anyone seen david ireland’s capp street house?  or leonard hunter and mark cavagnero’s beautiful headlands center for the arts?

the food was good, not great.   5 of the 6 dishes we tried were too salty.  the menu is extensive and daunting and no effort was made on the part of the server to guide us.   we left saying we’d done it and didn’t need to again…

rabih alameddine, “i, the divine”

i loved hakawati, so ordered alamaddine’s earlier (2001) novel, “i, the divine,” subtitled “a novel in first chapters.”      i was dubious.   a gimmick, i thought.   each chapter is a different beginning of a memoir by sarah nour el-din, a lebanese woman living in america.   the first few chapters were interesting enough to keep me reading, but not earth-shattering.    about 50 pages in i was hooked, by 100, smitten.   sarah is a fascinating character, beautifully drawn through the stories she tells about her family and friends.   each re-writing of her story reveals a different perspective until she finally ends with “who am i if not where i fit in the world, where i fit in the lives of the people dear to me?”    it’s a lovely book.   i’m now an official rabih alamadinne fan.

favorite restaurants in san francisco

i read one of those ridiculous “favorites” lists and the poor schmuck actually listed zuni as his favorite restaurant.      louis has been proclaiming for years that “zuni is the ernie’s of our generation.”  don’t know ernie’s?    watch “vertigo.”    it’s the “in” spot frequented by kim novak.   what was glamorous in 1958, was beyond tired when it closed in the late ’90’s,  yet the same crowd frequenting ernie’s in it’s prime, haunted it until the end.    eighteen years ago, zuni was hip.    unfortunately the same people are still swilling cosmos at the bar…     and the place is full of tourists.     every time louis makes the ernie’s analogy to one of our friends, they sheepishly mumble, “but the food is good.”     the food at zuni is pretty good.    particularly if you’re the kind of person who hates change.    don’t get me wrong, the menu is seasonal and the ingredients are fresh and of extremely high quality.   it’s just that every season for the last 15 years it’s been the same stuff on the menu fixed with the same judy rogers rusticity.    there’s something to be said for  consistent.       but the last time we were dragged there by a friend, the service was beyond horrible.  completely incompetent.  enough of that.

part of problem is that living in the bay area kind of ruins you food-wise for most other places (excepting italy, france and possibly australia).    the quality of the ingredients and the level of craft is extreme.     so that no one goes to zuni thinking they’re getting the best of san francisco, i thought i’d make a list for you…  i’m completely biased toward family-owned businesses, seasonal, local and organic ingredients and against food that’s been handled a lot in the kitchen…     here goes…

favorite restaurant:    woodward’s garden (1700 mission).     like home cooking if you were extremely talented,  had all the best ingredients and all the time in the world.   intimate and retains a whiff of the funkiness that defined san francisco before union square and fillmore street were nothing but chain stores.   save room for dessert.

runners up:   la ciccia (291 30th @ church) is sardinian.  so it’s like italian, but not.  it’s great food (i’d suggest several first courses and pastas instead of entrees) with an impressive wine list.      bar jules (609 hayes).   a pretty room and  a crowd that’s as hip and good looking as zuni’s was in its heyday.   the chalk board menu changes daily and the food is simple and delicious.    it’s a bit noisy when it’s full.   we love sunday brunch.

pizza:  gialina (2842 diamond).   hands-down best pizza.   tender and crispy thin-crust pizza  with traditional toppings  as well as more experimental combinations.   the menu changes daily.   salads — sized individually or served family-style are some of the best in town.

indian:  roti (53 west portal).   better than most of the food i’ve eaten in india.   though my favorite nan comes from the stand at the alameda flea market on the first sunday of every month.

bread: there’s a lot of great bread in the bay area.    a favorite at our house is noe valley bakery’s (4073 24th street) organic dried fig bread.

french fries:    hayes street grill (320 hayes).   which is also the best fish restaurant in town.    it’s an institution with the opera/symphony crowd.  avoid performance nights.    as much as i love you patty, the room needs some freshening up.

hamburger:   slow club (2501 mariposa).    another place that’s been around for a long time.    somehow, this one still seems hip.   maybe because it’s not trying so hard and the bridge and tunnelers would never be able to find it.

caesar salad:  probably zuni.   i haven’t had one in years…  but slow club’s may be as good.

dim sum:   lucky fortune (5715 geary) — recommended by patty unterman — is a dump.     really, just awful.    but the food is awesome.   instead of bringing carts or trays around, you order from a menu, which means you get what you want, not what they happen to bring.    and that it’s really, really fresh.    when they bring you your ticket, you’re likely to think there’s been some mistake.    a lucky one.

ice cream:  bi rite creamery (3692 18th).    organic, local (strauss family creamery) ingredients and small batches make for the best (in my opinion) ice cream in the u.s.  mint chip is my favorite.    runners up – vanilla or salted caramel.   the fresh fruit juice (often with chunks of fruit) pop cycles are also fantastic.

mexican chocolate ice cream:      mitchell’s (688 san jose avenue) beats bi rite’s (bi rite adds salted peanuts to theirs).  a crime.

lunch: boulette’s larder (ferry building).   it’s like eating in the kitchen of a 5-star restaurant in france.     a few seats around a big table.   unbeatable food.    pricey.

sushi:  kiss seafood (1700 laguna street).    the best sushi i’ve ever eaten (admittedly i have never been in japan).    there are two tables and 4 seats at the bar.   you must make a reservation — he only buys enough fish for the people he knows are coming that night.

cambodian:  angkor borei (3471 mission).  family owned.   fresh and wonderful.

donuts:    bob’s donuts (1621 polk) — get the raised glazed.

high tea:  lovejoy’s tea room (1351 church).   a little tattered, but completely authentic.   beats the hell out of the high teas at the hotels down town.

chinese dumplings:  just won ton (1241 vicente).   another patty unterman recommended hell-hole.   and getting there…  it’s out in the sunset about 10 blocks past where you thought the ocean started…     but the dumplings are to die for.

macaroons:  tartine (600 guerrero).   tartine is not my favorite bakery.   too much fat.  and god, how do i hate their lemon meringue cake (if only my grandmother were alive to give them meringue-making lessons).   but credit where credit is due — their macaroons are heaven.    the orange zest is the key.    and the petit size is nice.

candy shop: sweet dish (2144 chestnut).  my daughter would like to move in.

studio visit with liliana porter

celene and i took the train up to visit liliana porter’s studio yesterday.    liliana will have a show in our new york gallery opening the 30th of october.   so far, all we’d seen were a couple of jpgs of a large painting and celene confessed to being a bit nervous about there being enough work for this cavernous gallery…

the setting is pastoral – the studio is in an old barn.      inside it’s floored with wide, pine planks.   it’s bright and ordered (anyway, for our visit) and as anyone who knows liliana’s work might expect – full up with vintage knickknacks, toys, figurines and tchotchkes – many of them chipped, faded and a bit worse for the wear.    they’d quite possibly be wonderful if you were a kid (and were allowed to play with them) but to a middle-aged minimalist, they’re overwhelming and a bit sad.    less nostalgic and playful than memento mori…    maybe it’s just me.

what’s fun about seeing all of the stuff, are the flashes of recognition as you discover the characters you know from years of liliana’s videos, and photographs…

from this odd assortment of stuff, liliana makes the most wonderful videos, photographs, sculptures, drawings and paintings.    her simple yet unexpected juxtapositions invite complex existential interpretations.   always witty and sometimes absurd, the work is charming, moving and intelligent.     i’m not going to give away the show – it is going to be amazing -  but here are a couple of the photographs:

“brancusi” 2008  duraflex photograph, 11×15 inches

wow!           “boy”  2008  duraflex photograph, 9×13 inches

“magritte” 2008 duraflex photograph, 11×16 1/2 inches

we’ll also show an astonishing group of mixed media paintings and drawings about, among other things, “catastrophe.”     and a group of gorgeous (related) pieces liliana made between 1970 and 1972.    liliana porter is on the right:

we’ll also be exhibiting liliana’s work at the pinta art fair november 14-16 at the metropolitan pavilion, 125 w. 18th street in new york.

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ruth marten

another drawing-on-eighteenth-century-print by ruth marten.    “oyster” 2008 ink on 18th century engraving, 8×8 inches.

decorating

in the art world, there’s a lot of poo-pooing “decorative” art.    the damning statement “she bought a painting to match her sofa” is delivered with a roll of eyes and/or up-curled lip.  and with reason.   art is supposed to mean something.   make you think or feel.    it’s supposed to speak to you now, but mean different things to you as time passes and your world view changes.    it’s supposed to be lasting.    ok, i’m an idealist.    but art shouldn’t be something you toss out because you buy a new sofa or re-upholster an old one.    that said, the art should look good while you’re living with it.    in fact, better than in the white-walled gallery where you first saw it — because in a residential setting it exists in a cultural context.   i’m in very nice homes all the time.    in the interesting ones, the art says a lot about the people who live there.

the glass and nickel-plated bronze piece “purple rain” by timothy horn is based on 18th-century jewelry design and makes assertions about taste and vulgarity and obsession and sexuality.    it also adds a lot of personality to a room that is otherwise a bit austere.   like a jewel worn on the simple black dress…

a silicon piece by timothy horn – “mutton dressed as lamb” – based on an a mirror design of thomas chippendale, in an otherwise modern dining room.

another timothy horn piece “silk purse/sow’s ear” in a more opulent interior.

a driss ouadahi painting hanging on the pink striped wallpaper of a little girl’s room.  look how fabulous this room is…

a kid’s room that’s neither primary colors, nor all pastel  —   what a relief.

salon-style crystal liu and ann cravens drawings:

simple, right?   formally, the mirror in the liliana porter photograph “blue eyes” echos the architecture of the window.     but it’s more interesting than that.   there’s also a smart subtext going on about “looking” and “seeing” and reflection, both literal and figurative…

sarah palin debate flow chart

in case it hasn’t been e-mailed to you already…