Rothko Toast

Evanescent Art Dept.: To celebrate the work of Mark Rothko – especially (but, I’m afraid, coincidentally) in light of the just-opened production of John Logan’s play “Red” at Albany’s Capital Repertory Theatre – San Francisco’s Museum of Modern Art is offering Rothko Toast.

Rothko Toast

Specifically, it’s offered by the museum’s rooftop coffeeshop, the Blue Bottle Coffee Bar. This is part of an Oakland-based chain, although that’s probably not the word for an enterprise that insists on offering freshly roasted coffee (it’s never more than 48 hours old) made from organic, pesticide-free beans.

The shop is named for a Viennese coffeehouse that was opened in 1683 by war hero Franz George Kolshitsky, who learned about coffee when he went undercover among the invading Turks, whose army he helped defeat.

Rothko Toast + Jams ($5) celebrates the artist’s “No. 14 1960,”by spreading apricot butter and wild blueberry jam on Acme bread.

Other items in SFMOMA’s comestible collection include Mondrian Cake ($8, based on “Composition in Red, Blue, and Yellow,” 1930), Frida Kahlo Mexican Wedding Cookies ($7), and, paying tribute to another Abstract Expression master of color and lines, “Build your own Barnett Newman” ($6), which invites you to arrange chocolate sables against a postcard backdrop, honoring the artist’s sculpture “Zim Zum I” (1969).

Barnett Newman: "Zim Zum I"