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Out To Lunch at the Los Angeles' Getty Museum
Rate it! Votes (0) | Comments (0) By Clint Brownfield Photos: Mitch Mandell Posted August 6th, 2007

The Getty Center
Los Angeles, California

I met Cheri Sicard and Mitch Mandell, the editor/publishers of FabulousLiving.com. FabulousFoods.com, and FabulousTravel.com, years ago at the Newport Beach (CA) Food and Wine Festival where we quickly became eating and drinking buddies. And before long, I signed on as a regular contributor to the websites. They, more than anyone, have encouraged me to write, write, write.

As you probably know by now, the premise of Out to Lunch in NY consists of places to eat lunch for under $10, a stroll around the neighborhood, and then dessert and coffee/drinks at another spot. So, as a sort of helpful hoot, we thought it might be fun to see if we could apply the same premise to L.A. We agreed that an interesting test would be the restaurant(s) at the spectacular Getty Museum perched high upon the hills above Brentwood.

Earth To Getty
What is actually a group of buildings, designed by Richard Meier, the Getty Center has been accurately called the plum architectural commission of the last half of the 20th century. You can see the Getty miles away from nearly every spot in L.A. County, especially as you cruise up the 405 Freeway. It looks very much like a space station awaiting take-off...with acres of rough-hewn Travertine marble and curving white metal. But, what we didn't know, is that the place really takes off when you get up there. And the mission is ART!

Lift Off
Admission, thanks to the largest endowment of any museum in the world, is free to all. The only hitch is that your car has to have a parking space reserved for it...well in advance, and that costs $5. Or, if you can figure out how to do it, you and your party can arrive by bus or taxi. Fortunately we had a space reserved for the car and spiraled down about six levels into the mountain before we found an empty parking spot. One doesn't even dare think "earthquake" at that point. The time was about 11:00am.

Our elevator ride back up to ground level deposited us near the platform for the tramway that ascends the mountain and delivers you to the "Acropolis" above. The tram is designed to move at a speed that slowly, yet magically, takes you from earth...to Art Heaven.

Touch Down
We got out at the top...sort of wild-eyed culture fiends...and headed toward the buildings we'd seen from below. Inside the door to the complex is an atrium, which serves as a command-central launching pad for your art experience. To get a grip on ourselves we decided to attend a showing of the orientation film in the small theatre just inside the entrance. And, about ten minutes later, we emerged, thoroughly Getty-orientated.

Map in hand, I dragged Mitch and Cheri (I was an art director for many years) through an exploration of the exhibition spaces in the main campus... with my ultimate goal being a stop at the Impressionist Collection. Then...it never fails...hunger set in. Our mission to review the restaurant began in earnest.

Orbit
Our hunger was really brought on by the last exhibit we saw, which was an exploration of how the designs and art work for the museum's main restaurant took form. So, off we went. The time was about 12:45pm.

We got to the restaurant, which is back outside the main atrium, and began studying the menu. Damn! This place is sort of expensive we agreed (easily $30 per person). But, for the sake of our test, we went inside and asked for a table, even if it was going to cost $100. Well, alas, you need a reservation... and the place was full. But, at least we got to see the stunning interior...for free.

We went back outside...bordering on becoming scavenging werewolves...and noticed that people were lining up just under us at a cafeteria-like eatery. We went down and lined up. Very quickly we moved along and found ourselves in a beautiful space with a nice view looking to the northwest, towards Malibu...site of the original Roman-villa-Getty.

Refueling
The serving area is laid out in separate stations, which feature different kinds of lunch experiences. Cheri and Mitch went for the "artistic" pizzas and I, ever weight conscious (Not!), went to the salad station. The special that day was a grilled-chicken Caesar with polenta croutons. They were out of the croutons...but gave me a nice roll instead. Then I stopped at the soup area and scored a bowl of spicy corn chowder. With an iced tea...my meal was still under $10. Cheri had also snuck in a slice of what was called "Snicker Cake"...advertised to taste like the candy bar.

After Mitch paid for everything we headed for the dining area. It seats several hundred people at once, but is so well laid out that we didn't feel at all cramped. Plenty of elbow room. Now, this food won't remind of you of your best-dinner-ever in Paris or Tuscany. But, it certainly beats the pants off the food at the Metropolitan Museum in NYC...even though my spicy corn chowder had no spices that I could detect. The chicken Caesar was good and the Snicker Cake was inhaled in about 3 seconds as we spouted inane things like: "oh, I'll just have a little taste."

The time was about 1:45pm, and we were fortified for more art...all for under $30. And, unless you're eager to spend a lot more for the restaurant above, the food in The Cafe is good and sustaining. (As an aside, a mesculin salad upstairs would cost $7.95. The same thing downstairs in the cafe costs $2.95. See, you've saved $5 right there!)

Next, we hit the gift shop. I was depressed because they didn't sell refrigerator magnets...too low class. Then saw more exhibits (these were all inaugural shows since the museum had been open less than 6 weeks), and wandered down, through and around the huge garden... that is very much a work in progress. (We wondered if the plants grouped at the bottom of the garden were supposed to look like a giant Mickey Mouse face...or, maybe, if the sugar from the Snicker Cake had just kicked in and made them look that way).

After we could absorb no more culture, we sat down at another cafe nestled in a patio at the base of the West Pavilion and sipped red wine ($8.50 for a split of Kendall Jackson Cabernet) and watched the sun set over Malibu. It was around 5:30pm.

Mission Completed
It just doesn't get much better than this. We toasted our success. The premise of "Out to Lunch in New York" had worked at the Getty with mind- boggling lunching, strolling, and drinking! What a Space! What an Adventure!

Go West!

Clint

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