MOCA Dennis Hopper Opening Dinner at The Standard Hotel Downtown:

Last Saturday night was MOCA’s opening for the Dennis Hopper exhibit at their Geffen downtown space. This was Jeffery Deitch’s first opening since taking over and how it went is up for debate. I used to live down the street from his gallery in New York and always enjoyed going their for shows. They were like big block parties that brought out everyone in the community. This show didn’t have the same feel. Hopefully I get to go more of the openings because I think he is going to find the right balance of what he was good at and what the museum needs.

On to the dinner. We sat on the roof of the Standard Hotel Downtown in a faux ivy garden right as the sun was starting to set. It was rad to watch day turn to night on upper floors of the buildings. 

-Asparagus with Black Truffles: This was the standout of the night. If you like truffles not only could you eat them but the creamy sauce on the asparagus had black truffle in it. This had a distinct smell going in your mouth and coming out your body. Well done.

-Fried Polenta with Bruschetta: I would have enjoyed this dish if they drowned it in the bruschetta. You got maybe two bites of polenta with tomato and then the rest was just straight fried corn meal. 

-Yellowtail Hamachi with Seaweed Salad: As long as the fish is good you can’t go wrong with this dish. The fish was good.

-Grilled Peach: I didn’t eat this thing and most people complained it wasn’t ripe. If I did eat peach I would love to have it grilled. Maybe they were better at other tables because I thought this would be a standout dish.

-Vegetable Pot Pie: It was too dark to know what vegetables I was eating. The crust was too tough to break with a fork so you ended up picking up the whole crust in one piece. This is bad because at a dinner table with 8 other people it’s rude to take the whole crust off a pie. The filling was super sweet. Wasn’t down.

-Steak, Fish (maybe Trout or Bass but I can’t remember), Smashed Red Potatoes with Chili Flakes, and Sugar Snap Peas: The steak was good and not overcooked. I wouldn’t have minded some horseradish though. The fish was not bad but the skin stuck to your fork in the sam way the pot pie crust did. The smashed red potatoes were dry and I only ate one. The sugar snap peas were good. Covered in black pepper and super crispy.

-Chocolate Chip Cookie Scone, Cheesecake with Pineapple, and Strawberries and Whip Cream: The chocolate chip cookie scone was like a hockey puck. I don’t know why the pastry chef didn’t just make chocolate chip cookies. Scones are always too dry. The cheesecake was good but more of a bread pudding. I don’t eat strawberries but I did eat the whip cream.

The night was a lot of fun. The food was okay. A couple of mistakes made in terms of menu choice but the quality was there. Not nearly as good as the Standard Grill in New York.