Skip to Content


Please welcome our new serialized flash fiction by Rodger Jacobs… updated every Monday

CRUMBLING SLOWLY TO THE OCEAN 2: THE SCREAMING POPE

Since she offered to buy me a drink I made it a top shelf selection (or what passed for top shelf in this dive): Maker’s Mark and a water back. She didn’t flinch when the bartender gave her the total, simply rolled a twenty off a wad of bills thick enough to choke a Santa Monica Boulevard streetwalker with and tossed it at the guy.

“You live in the neighborhood?” Evelyn said after introducing herself. Her voice was laced with whiskey and cigarettes and maybe something else I didn’t want to know about.

“Here?” I laughed. “No. I’m going to see a show at the MOMA.”

“You’re awfully far from the art museum,” she rasped with raised eyebrows, sipping her Canadian Club.

“I got thirsty.” I knocked back the Maker’s Mark, let it scorch and claw at my throat for a moment.

The bartender rolled a shot glass full of peanuts toward me.

“It’s a Francis Bacon exhibit, British artist, dead for awhile now,” I said while biting into a peanut shell. “There’s one painting I want to see, been dying to see it for some time. It’s called Study After Velazquez’s Portrait of Pope Innocent, done in 1953; it’s sometimes called The Screaming Pope. He captures the cry of Christ on the cross through the shrieking image of Pope Innocent, sitting upright in his papal throne as if in an electric chair, everything shining golden and his jaw is dropped open in an eternal scream of damnation.”

“Torture and eternal damnation,” she said, coal-black eyes locked onto mine. “Sounds like my idea of a good time. Care for some company?”

Part 1 |

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from L.A. TACO

The 11 Best Tacos In Whittier

Whittier is one of L.A.'s best cities for tacos. From a tender steamed tongue, to a taquero specializing in tacos de costilla, served with a grilled rib bone. Here is our vetted neighborhood taco guide to get you started on your own crawl.

Weekend Eats: Free Bagels, Wagyu Kushiyaki, and a New Colombian Food Park

Plus free bagel sandwiches all weekend, a one-night Michaocan fine-dining pop-up, and a Dominican restaurant with Sunday sancocho.

May 23, 2025

Bar Nuda Takes Over Venice With Zero-Proof Carajillos, Sushi-Grade Tostadas, and ‘Sade Night’

“We launched Bar Nuda to create a sober, social, safe space where people can go out, make connections, get those deep belly laughs, and without the pressure of drinking booze, while also celebrating our beautiful Mexican culture,” says one of the founders.

May 22, 2025

California DOJ Finally Begins Reviewing Wrongful Convictions, Following L.A. TACO Report

This comes four months after L.A. TACO first reported that the PCJU had not begun accepting applications from defendants who say they were wrongfully convicted, nearly two years after Attorney General Rob Bonta made headlines for launching the DOJ’s first-ever post-conviction review unit. 

May 22, 2025

L.A. TACO’s Guide To The Best Mariscos, Tacos, and Drinking Spots In Ensenada

Drive into Baja California from downtown San Diego to hit one of Mexico's seafood powerhouses: Ensenada, home to the most crucial port city that supplies the majority of pristine seafood to the rest of the country (and even bluefin tuna to Japan). It’s also a laid-back destination where many flock for the perfect battered fish taco in the state where that beloved taco style was created.

May 22, 2025

Self-Deport or Stand Firm: The Heartbreak of L.A.’s Undocumented Street Vendors

Trump’s crackdown on immigration could disrupt Los Angeles’ thriving street vending industry, and in some cases, already has. Some street vendors have reduced their presence on the street. Vendors Camacho and Lopez have gone from five days a week to just vending on the weekends.

May 21, 2025
See all posts