I wake up early some Sundays with a fierce craving that lures me into Boyle Heights. I have to eat Carnitas El Momo Acosta, consistently voted one of LA's best tacos. On weekends El Momo eschews their truck and serves homemade carnitas from a secret location with tables and chairs where I savor meat, tortillas and salsa in a homey environment. The pork has been simmering for hours in handmade copper cazos, and Grandma Acosta also serves up birria, goat stew with spicy broth.
This Labor Day Sunday, September 6, you won't have to drive the streets of East Los trying to catch the scent of succulent, slow cooked pork. El Momo is part of Galo Canote's inaugural edition of the Dine-Nasty Series at KGB Gallery in Chinatown which features all-you-can-eat tacos, live painting, and DJs. (Don't let the event's name put you off; Canote, who paints under the name LoveGalo, explains that the Dine-Nasty Series is "inspired by the Dynasty shirt series of basketball teams like the Lakers, Bulls, and Celtics which list significant team players on the shirts. Our event will host the five main C word elements: cans--meaning live art, cold ones, cocktails, carnitas, and cameras.")
Canote is the man behind "Con Safos," last year's most-talked-about-but-never-seen-museum show--nervous trustees at Anaheim's Muzeo went sideways on the art being shown and even the show's title, forcing curator Canote and his artists to take a stand against bigotry-based censorship--and he has assembled some super skilled can artists like Ankore, Ezra One, Jennifer Korsen and Size One to create walls as DJ Costa, DJ Gingee, DJ Sheak and special guest DJs lay down tunes.
Dine-Nasty runs Sunday September 6th from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m., at KGB Gallery/Studios. Tickets are $10 in advance, $15 at the door, and include all-you- can-eat tacos and a drink ticket. Dine-Nasty is 21+ age limit, with ID. You must have ID and be 21+.
The rest of Chinatown is crammed full of fun over Labor Day Weekend: Chung King Road hosts live bands on September 4 from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m., featuring Ruthann Friedman, Drunk Old Ladies, WORDS, The Walker Brigade, Dick and Jane Family Orchestra, Brother/Sister, and Circus of Books. On Saturday night, the galleries of Chung King Road host their official openings including Tacos and Beer at Fifth Floor Gallery; highly anticipated shows from Diane Silver at Coagula Curatorial, Cathy Ward at Good Luck, Cathy Reas at Charlie James; and the Gregorio Escalante Gallery's "The Collection," featuring works from Greg Escalante's astounding stash of Low Brow, SoCal and Contemporary Surrealism, with artist and curator talks on Sunday afternoon. Monday you can load up on a traditional Labor Day BBQ on Chung King Road, supplemented with Ling's Market craft beer and wine.
Dine-Nasty: Music, art and all-you-can-eat tacos
Sunday, September 6th, 2 p.m. to 8 p.m.
KGB Gallery
1640-1646 N. Spring Street
Tickets $10 in advance, $15 at the door
21+
Four Day Weekend on Chung King Road
Friday: live music, 7 p.m. to 11 p.m.
Saturday: gallery openings, 7 p.m. to 11 p.m.
Sunday: art talks and tour, 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.
Monday: BBQ, afternoon
Minutes after 4 a.m., Ankore, used with permission