Category Archives: Lists

March 4, 2010

This Weekend: Wonderland High Tea, Bourbon Night, Young Directors

Written by Caroline on Crack in Art, Dining, Lists, Los Angeles, Movies, Nightlife
Say what?

I’m outtie again this weekend. Yet another 24 Hours of Lemons race I gotta go to. This one up in Sonoma. Sucks considering there are all these fun things going on in L.A. Anyway, have fun.

Friday, March 5

CorkBar 1-Year Anniversary
Downtown wine bar celebrates its one-year anniversary with a special Founder’s Flight ($18) — a selection of five wines that helped inspire the owner to create Corkbar. Includes Brander Sauvignon Blanc, Keenan Chardonnay, Melville Syrah, Terra Valentine Cabernet Sauvignon & Frank Family Zinfandel. They’ll also be pouring some by-the-bottle-only wines by the glass!

  • Corkbar, 403 West 12th Street, Los Angeles (map).

Royal/T’s Alice in Wonderland High Tea
Seems L.A. is going mad as a hatter for Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland as evidence by all the high tea events. But Royal/T’s is sure to stand out, not only for its Japanese cosplay servers but the $25 high tea of playing cards tea sandwiches, a vanilla “Eat Me” cupcake, kobe beef slider, a cup of “Drink Me” Royal/T Green Milk Tea blend, blue mushroom-shaped meringues and Cheshire Cat macaroons with Earl Grey tea filling (both by BakeLab). Be sure to swing by on Saturday for the Wonderland-themed fashion show and to check out the newest exhibit, “The Never Ending Story: Fairytale, Fantasy and Obsession.”

  • Royal/T, 8910 Washington Boulevard, Culver City (map). (310) 559-6300

Provence Wine Council Tasting Event
Explore the wines from the Provence Region of France at this delicious wine event which is held in conjunction with the Provence Wine Council, a gathering of the largest selection of winemakers from Provence ever assembled on the West Coast. Oenophiles can enjoy 35 not-yet-available labels, winemaker discussions and Provincial French food.

  • 6pm-1am. $55 (plus $4.02 transaction fee). Vinoteque on Melrose, 7469 Melrose Avenue, Los Angeles (map).

Friday Night Spirits — Bourbon
What better way to kick off the weekend than with a series of bourbons? The Wine House in West L.A. hosts a bourbon tasting where guests will get to sample all types and styles of my fave booze at a variety of price ranges. Find out which bourbon is your new favorite.

  • 7:30pm. $50. The Wine House, 2311 Cotner Avenue, Los Angeles (map). Reservations: 310-479-3731, Ext. 0.

Saturday, March 6

LACMA’s Young Directors’ Night
Celebrate L.A.’s new talent at LACMA’s Young Directors Night. Six short films will be screened and there will be a panel discussion with the directors afterward. But, definitely stay for the after-party across the street at A+D Museum where you can peruse the galleries and video installations and partake of the open bar featuring Maker’s Mark and Malibu Family Wines as well as Sprinkles Cupcakes! If you want to go to the OK Go release party on Friday, you can purchase tickets to that event plus this one for only $40 and save $10.

  • 8pm-12am. $30. LACMA’s Bing Theater and A+D Museum, 5905 Wilshire Boulevard, Los Angeles (map).

Sunday, March 7

Beefsteak Sundays at Bacaro LA
Apparently these Beefsteak Sundays are uber popular and there are only 32 seats so chances are it’s already booked up but give it a shot. Sorry! I just found out about this yesterday. If you are SOL, just make your ressies for next month’s event where it’s all-you-can-consume-beer/wine-and steak for only $25! There are two seatings, 5:30pm and 8pm, every first Sunday of the month.

  • 5:30pm and 8pm. $25. Bacaro LA, 2308 S Union Avenue, Los Angeles (map). RSVP: Call (213) 748-7205 or email bacaro_la [at] yahoo.com.

Rustic Canyon’s Spring Beer Bash Dinner with the Beer Chick
But I will give you the heads-up to this tasty event on March 23 at the Santa Monica restaurant where, for $75, you get to enjoy five courses of fresh spring fare paired with five beers provided by Beer Chick, Christina Perozzi and featuring local breweries, The Bruery, Craftsman and Skyscraper Brewing Co.

  • Event date: Tuesday, March 23. $75 (includes beer). Rustic Canyon, 1119 Wilshire Boulevard, Santa Monica (map). Reservations: (310) 393-7050.
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February 25, 2010

This Weekend: LA Weekly Tweetup, 24-Hour Oscars, Scotch Tasting

Written by Caroline on Crack in Cocktails, Lists, Los Angeles, Movies, Nightlife, Recreation
4 Comments

Such a jampacked weekend! And I’m just talking about the 5K/10K Firecracker Run on Sunday as well as the Gold Standard. But here’s what’s going on the other days of the week.

Thursday, February 25

LA Weekly Web Awards Tweetup: A Post-Party Get Together
As many of you know I was banned from 7G nearly two years ago so I was bummed when LA Weekly decided to do its web awards post-party tweetup there tonight. But then realized, hey, that’s kinda cool to celebrate my accolades at a place that actually gave my MySpace photo to the bouncers to keep me out. But tonight all are welcome as the Weekly is inviting not only the Web winners and friends but all those who want to come out and celebrate as well. The first round’s on them! Hope to see you there…cuz who’s got my back?

  • 7pm. 7G, 515 West 7th Street, Downtown (map). (213) 614-0737.

The Modern Mai Tai Experience
Jonesin’ for the summer? Immerse yourself in the Modern Mai Tai Experience at the W where you can sample the “World’s Best Mai Tai” created by The Royal Hawaiian’s mixologist Joey Gottesman as well as the next generation of classic cocktails from Honolulu and Waikiki Beach. The Hot Muffins fem DJ duo Lacy Matsumoto and Echo Aoki will be providing the hot tunes to go with your tasty drinks.

  • Thursday-Saturday, 9:30pm-2am. Whiskey Blue at the W Los Angeles, 930 Hilgard Avenue, Westwood (map).

Friday, February 26

Bid & Eat Part II
Just 20 days ago blogger Gourmet Pigs launched an online auction to help Haiti and ended up raising $765 for CHF International and Operation USA! After that she received tons of offers for donations to do another auction! This time with more Pasadena/East LA-centric goodies, i.e. Elements Kitchen, The Raymond, Pal Cabron and La Casita Mexicana. Bidding starts tomorrow!

Saturday, February 27

AMC Best Picture 24-Hour Showcase Marathon
Lots of cool movies nominated for Oscars this year…well, except Avatar. But how would you like to spend an entire Saturday watching all 10 nominees back to back? AMC is having a Best Picture 24-hour marathon for you cinephiles out there. The marathon, which costs $45, is showing on March 6th at the AMC in Orange where you’ll get a large popcorn and unlimited refills. Or if you’d rather not go as hard-core, you can see five of the 10 Best Picture nominees all in one day this Saturday instead for $30. You get the popcorn, refills and a pass on a lanyard to come and go as you please.

Monday, March 1

Morton’s The Steakhouse Hosts Scotch Tasting Events
Dammit! Of course this would happen during my liquor fast! At this special Scotch tasting, a Glenlivet ambassador will lead guests through four of The Glenlivet’s acclaimed single malts. The whiskies will be paired with selections from Morton’s classic hors d’oeuvres menu. If you can’t make this one there will also be an event at the downtown location on Friday the 5th from 5:30 to 7pm. Reservations are required. Argh! Temptation!

  • 6-7:30pm. $49. The Steakhouse Beverly Hills, 435 S. La Cienega Boulevard, Los Angeles (map). (310) 246-1501.

Love Hurts — Ask the Experts
I used to love watching Greg Behrendt (He’s Just Not That Into You) do standup back in the day so I know this 826LA writer’s panel/mixer will be a fun, if not funny, one. Join Greg and other relationship writers Sascha Rothchild (How to Get Divorced by 30), and Lori Gottlieb (Marry Him) as they offer wisdom and snarkiness to the lovelorn. The first hour will be the Q&A and then afterward the drinking and mingling. All proceeds will go to 826LA.

  • 8-10pm. $25 (includes one drink ticket). Busby’s East, 5364 Wilshire, Los Angeles (map).
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February 22, 2010

National Margarita Day: 6 Ways To Celebrate

Written by Caroline on Crack in Cocktails, Lists, Los Angeles
1 Comment
Chili Margarita

Library Bar's Chili Margarita

I’m so deep in the throes of my no-drinking-for-Lent experiment that I forgot that it’s National Margarita Day today. Fortunately the tweeps on Twitter reminded me. So I came up with a short list of suggestions on some tasty ways to celebrate this very important holiday.

1) Copa d’Oro’s $5 Tommy’s Margarita during the bar’s all-night happy hour on Mondays

2) Malo’s Spicy Cucumber Margarita ($11): tequila, lime, cucumber, agave and Rittero hot sauce

3) Roger Room’s Tijuana Brass ($13): Tres Reyes Blanco, lime, agave, cucumber foam

4) Casita del Campo’s Cadillac margarita ($8)

5) Library Bar’s Chili Margarita: Patron Silver tequila, agave, Cointreau, pinch of cayenne, lime juice, fresh Mandarin juice with a Mezcal misting on top.

6) The Bazaar’s Salt Air Margarita ($16): Classic margarita topped with salt air.

Another happy hour option: El Carmen has $4 margaritas for their 5-7pm weekday happy hour (courtesy of The Happy Hour Tour).

For some recipes on how to celebrate at home, here are some Border Grill Margarita recipes courtesy of LA Weekly’s Squid Ink blog.

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February 18, 2010

This Weekend: Gold Standard Contest, Salinger vs. Poe

Written by Caroline on Crack in Art, Dining, Lists, Los Angeles, Movies
Say what?

Boo. Looks like the rain is back this weekend to remind us that it is in fact still winter. Fortunately most of the events are indoors.

Thursday, February 18

Win a Pair of Gold Standard Tickets From POM Wonderful
Name a mocktail and win your chance at two tickets to Jonathan Gold’s Gold Standard Event on February 28. POM Wonderful has come up with a mocktail and now needs an awesome name for it. If the panel of POM judges like your entry then you win! Easy-peasy, right? The drink will be sampled at the Gold Standard.

LA Lomography Grand Opening Party
Celebrate the grand opening of the first Lomography Gallery Store and official Lomography Embassy on the West Coast. There will be booze, mariachi music, food and dancing girls. RSVP to shopla@lomography.com.

  • 7pm. 7998 Santa Monica Boulevard, West Hollywood (map).

Friday, February 19

Dead Author Readings at Upright Citizens Brigade
Witness the conversation between some of the greatest minds in literature. Or basically a verbal cat fight between dead authors J.D. Salinger (Marc Evan Jackson) and Edgar Allan Poe (Craig Cackowski) with H.G. Wells (Paul F. Tompkins) moderating. They can be so bitchy! Anyway the audience not only gets to listen in on this but they get to ask questions, too, as they’re transported to an alternate universe where these guys are still alive and living during the same era.

  • 7-9pm. $5. UCB Theater, 5919 Franklin, Los Angeles (map).

Matthew Broderick Double Feature at New Beverly Cinema
Jason Reitman, director of Up in the Air, kicks off his guest programming set at the New Beverly Cinema by introducing his fave Matthew Broderick movies, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off and Election. Heyyy, what about WarGames?

  • 7:30pm. New Beverly Cinema, 7165 W. Beverly Boulevard, Los Angeles (map).

Saturday, February 20

LACMA Muse and Komodo Truck in Culver City
An artsy burrito? Yup, the Komodo truck will unveil a custom “avant garde burrito known as The Muse at the Susanne Vielmetter Los Angeles Projects in Culver City. At the after-hours exhibit, guest will be able to chat with artists and take advantage of the free beer/wine/soju bar. To RSVP, email sgregg@lacma.org with “Muse in Culver City” in the subject line. Include your email address and the number in your party in the body of the email.

  • 7-10pm. Free or $10 donation. Susanne Vielmetter Los Angeles Projects, 6006 Washington Boulevard, Culver City (map).
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February 11, 2010

Anti-Gooey Valentine’s Day: Beer Tastings, Hitchcock, Mortified LA

Written by Caroline on Crack in Dining, Lists, Los Angeles, Movies, Nightlife
2 Comments
Heart plushie

Happy heart.

There’s more going on this Sunday the 14th than romantic candlelit dinners (although there does seem to be a ton of those this year) and long walks on the beach. You don’t have to be all in luuuuve and stuff to enjoy the following events. If anything, I say go on and enjoy them with your friends. Ha! Up yours, Valentine’s Day!

4th Street Vine: Winter Beer Tasting
Wow! Taste seven full flavored ales, including three Trappists, for $15! So what if it’s in the LBC? At this boutique wine shop on Retro Row, you’ll get to enjoy the likes of Westmalle Trappist Tripel, Rochefort 8 Trappist and St. Bernardus Christmas Ale. Nice and hearty for this cold albeit sunny weather we’re having. Although weather reports say we’ll be enjoying 70-degree weather this weekend. Never mind. Beer still good!

  • 2:30-6pm. $15/person. 4th Street Vine, 2142 E. 4th Street, Long Beach (map). (562) 343-5463.

Silverlake Wine: Sparkling Wine Sunday Tasting + Heirloom LA
Nah, you don’t have to be in love to enjoy bubbly. It’s a good thing, too, since sparkling-wine-loving singles and couples will love this Sunday’s tasting which features beauts like Clavelin “Brut Comte” Cremant de Jura NV, Sommariva Prosecco di Conegliano NV / Italy and Tintero Moscato d’Asti “Sori Gramela” NV 2009. Heirloom LA will be providing the nibbles. Reservations required.

  • 3pm or 6pm. $20/person. Silverlake Wine, 2395 Glendale Boulevard, Silver Lake (map). (323) 662-9024.

City Sip LA: Cheesy and Sweet Beer Tasting
Nothing says cheesy luuuve holiday like cheese, chocolate and beer. There are still spots available for this wonderful event where beer expert, Alex Macy, will guide you through eight beers and cheese and chocolate pairings.

  • 4:30-6pm. $35. City Sip LA, 2150 W. Sunset Boulevard, Los Angeles (map). RSVP to: Cupid@citysipla.com or call (213) 483- 9463.

Verdugo Bar: One Night Stand With Frysmith
And if you want even more beer, the Verdugo Bar and French fry truck, Frysmith, have conspired to create a heart-stopping menu with four courses like seared sea scallops, duck legs and lemon jam and apple fries with a beer tasting.

  • 7:30pm. $23 advance, $28 at the door. Verdugo Bar, 3408 Verdugo Road, Los Angeles (map). (818) 371-6814.

Aero Theatre: Hitchcock Double Feature
Want something dark and suspenseful to counter all that saccharine? A Hitchcock double feature made to order with classics, Rebecca and Notorious! Both with two swoon-worthy leading men, Laurence Olivier and Cary Grant. Le sigh!

  • 7:30pm. $11. Aero Theatre, 1328 Montana Avenue, Santa Monica (map).

King King: Mortified LA — Doomed Valentine’s Show
Remember when you were a teenager and every minor romantic setback seemed like the end of the world? “Dear Diary, Jimmy didn’t even look at me today. I want to die!” Well share in the pain at this Valentine edition of the comedy show where ordinary folk get up on stage and bear their soul via their own teenage diaries. Funny!

  • Doors open 7:10, show 8pm. $15 advance, $20 door. King King, 6555 Hollywood Boulevard, Hollywood (map).

For more ideas on what to do that’s Valentine-ish, check out Goldstar.

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February 4, 2010

This Weekend: $4 Maker’s Happy Hour, More Bloggers Helping Haiti

Written by Caroline on Crack in Cocktails, Dining, Lists, Los Angeles, Shopping & Sales, Sweets
3 Comments

Lots going on this weekend. And no I’m not talking football. I’m talking good-hearted bloggers, speed dating with derby girls and oh, football.

Thursday, February 4, 2010

Maker’s Mark $4 Happy Hour at Checkers Downtown
I’m so bummed I have to miss this. Of course this would be on the same day as my boozy tweetup. In any case, enjoy this awesome-sounding happy hour with $4 Maker’s Mark drinks like the Maker’s Peach Cobbler with Dubonnet Red, peach puree and cinnamon and the Ginger Rogers (not the gin one) with mango nectar, lime juice and ginger beer. OMG and my fave: a Maker’s Manhattan. All for only $4 each from 4 to 8pm! There will also be $4 plates, i.e. grilled Monte Cristo sandwich and yellowtail and mango sashimi.

  • 4-8pm. Checkers Downtown, Checkers Downtown, 535 S. Grand Avenue, Downtown (map). (213) 624-0000.

Friday, February 5

Bid and Eat for Haiti: Online Foodie Auction
Food blogger Fiona aka Gourmet Pigs is launching a fab online auction where peeps can bid on foodie faves like an autographed copy of Chef Ludo’s Crave, a home brewing kit from Intelligentsia and a slew of gift cards from popular restaurants around town. The best part is that all proceeds will go to benefit CHF International and Operation USA for their Haiti relief efforts. Happy bidding!


Date a Derby Dame
Are you the bravest man alive? Well, then you should have no trouble trying your best pickup lines during this speed dating event with…wait for it…OC Roller Girls. Yup, you only have 5 minutes so better make it good. At the end of the night, they’ll put together all the mutual matches. Good luck. You’ll need it.

  • 8pm. $5 (event is free to spectators). Suds Sports Grill, 5932 Warner Avenue, Huntington Beach (map). RSVP/info DateDerbyDame@gmail.com.

Saturday, February 6

Belmont Shore’s 6th Annual Chocolate Festival
Enjoy chocolate in all its glorious forms at this festival. Belmont Shore participants include Frosted Cupcakery, La Creperie and BJ’s Pizza (?) to name but a few. If you’re still cuckoo for cocoa, participate in the chocolate cream pie eating contest 3-4pm.

  • 1-4pm. 2nd Street (between Claremont and Park Avenue), Long Beach (map).

Haitians Libations at Vertical Wine Bistro
Aww, more bloggers doing good for Haitian relief. It’s Fiona again but this time with bloggers RumDood and Mattatouille. They’ve created an exclusive cocktail menu and will be serving up the libations at Vertical Wine Bistro from 10pm to close. They’ve got impeccable taste so the drinks are sure to be awesome. 50% of all profits will benefit Artists for Peace and Justice, a non-profit that delivers supplies to Haiti.

  • 10pm-2am. Vertical Wine Bistro, 70 N Raymond Avenue, Pasadena (map). (626) 795-3999.

Sunday, February 7

For Super Bowl Happenings, I defer to estarLA for her extensive roundup.

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January 28, 2010

This Weekend: Cookies Without Borders, Mozza2Go Wine Tasting, DecadesTwo Shoe Sale

Written by Caroline on Crack in Beauty & Fashion, Dining, Lists, Los Angeles, Shopping & Sales, Sweets
Say what?

So, looks like I’ll be working on my Web site this weekend with Tiny Nancer’s help. Yay! If everything goes right, it may have a new look come Monday! Anyway, while that’s going on, check out all these fun to-dos.

Friday, January 29

Free People Grand Opening Party at Space15Twenty
Cute clothing store Free People is opening up a store at Hollywood hipster haven, Space15Twenty, and is doing it with panache. Nosh on food provided by neighbor Umami Burger and shop and boogie to music by DJ DEZ who will be spinning actual vinyl records. Quaint! For some reason this party is during most everyone’s work hours but if you can sneak away, it may be worth your while. And while you’re there stop by the Valentine pop-up store which debuts the same day.

  • 1-4pm. Free People at Space15Twenty, 1520 N. Cahuenga Boulevard, Hollywood (map).

Saturday, January 30

Save Haiti at DecadesTwo Designer Shoe Sale
Imagine: Louboutin, Prada, Gucci shoes all for under $150. Now wipe that drool off your mouth and get over to the DecadesTwo designer shoe sale. Not only will you be scoring some “gently used” designer footwear for unbelievable prices (2 pairs/customer) you’ll helping out Artists for Peace and Justice, a nonprofit on the front-lines of the support efforts in Haiti. 100% of the sale’s proceeds will go to benefit the charity.

  • 9am-6pm. DecadesTwo, 8214 Melrose Avenue, Los Angeles (map).

Ghettogloss Gallery’s Silver Lake Art, Craft and Vintage Flea Market
There’s nothing like perusing the best of vintage collectibles, vintage clothing and retro furniture all in a classic flea market. Mmm, shopping. Ghettogloss kicks off its monthly end-of-the-month Silver Lake art, craft, vintage market this weekend. Enjoy some Korean short ribs from the Kogi BBQ Truck while bopping to live reggae music, and ooh! a Wonder Woman curio cabinet!

  • 10am-4pm. Micheltorena Elementary School, 1511 Micheltorena Street, Los Angeles (map).

Sunday, January 31

Cookies Without Borders: Bake Sale to Raise Funds for Haiti
Cookies and jams and whoopie pies, oh my! Shop a large selection of confectionary delights at this bake sale which will feature sweet treats from both pro kitchens like Valerie Confections and dessert truck Whisk LA to good samaritans’ warm kitchens. All proceeds from the sales will go to Doctors Without Borders, a Nobel Prize-winning humanitarian organization which is working to help post-earthquake Haiti.

  • 2-5pm. Scoops Gelato, 712 N Heliotrope Drive, Los Angeles (map).

Silverlake Wine Sunday Tasting: Italian Wines With Mozza2Go
Enjoy tasty Italian fare from Pizzeria Mozza’s takeout menu via Mozza2Go while sipping on some exquisite Italian wines hand-chosen by Silverlake Wine. For this Sunday tasting, featured wines include the likes of Luigi Scarani Pinot Nero Bianco Oltrepo Pavese 2007 and Torre Quarto Nero di Troia Puglia 2006. Reservations are required.

  • 3pm. $20. Silverlake Wine, 2395 Glendale Boulevard, Los Angeles (map). (323) 662-9024.
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