You can usually judge a restaurant by its art.
Chain restaurants have, well, chain art. It’s safe, paint-by-the-numbers dreck that you might find at those discount home stores.
Better restaurants have better art, often by local artists. At 230 Forest, for example, there’s a nice piece by Andrew Myers. Broadway, too, has some wonderful originals.
In the vast middle, however, it’s hit-or-miss but sometimes entertaining. Excluding the theme restaurants or those that slavishly stay on brand – think Ruby’s or Finney’s – there are some surprises.
The best in town, in our opinion, is Bodega Laguna and the new speakeasy-like backroom in Skyloft called Herb’s place. Both were decorated by the same talented partners, Jimmy Duval and Amanda Whitney.
When we reviewed Bodega after it opened, we gave a shout-out to the couple for the creative decorations. But we were in Bodega again on Taco Tuesday, eating the addictive taco trio, when we noticed a piece of art hidden high on a corner wall.
It was mesmerizing, disturbing and wonderfully unexpected, largely because of the baby voodoo doll being stabbed in the eye with a needle.
I believe the real-time expression was, “What … the … hell?”
It’s a movie poster of Balún Canán, a 1977 Spanish-language film described as: “Some witches condemn a woman to a fierce, cruel fate because of the things she did to keep her farm.”
Of course now it’s on our watch list, even though there are no reviews, no subtitles and we don’t speak Spanish. But the full movie is on YouTube, so there’s that.
Anyway, upstairs is Skyloft, which recently redid a side room, now called Herb’s Place. It’s similarly authentic but more on the musical Americana side. It’s fun. You will doubtless see some of your idols and recall the origins of your ear damage – or you can just kick back and play Aggravation.
It’s a trippy, comfortable room filled with every kind of nostalgia for different (older) ages: a Farrah Fawcett poster, Bowie, Beastie Boys, B-52s, lots of Elvis.
It’s not fine art, by any means, but it’s pretty damn cool.
So yes, the restaurant experience is no longer limited to white linens and $24 martinis. There’s random, funky art everywhere if you look around.
Some of it might even haunt you for the rest of your life.
