Category Archives: Lists

August 26, 2010

This Weekend: Beer Class, $5 Sake Tasting, Fancy Happy Hour

Written by Caroline on Crack in Cocktails, Lists, Los Angeles, Nightlife
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Blah, unpacking. Lots of booze-focused events for you though.

Thursday, August 26

Cocktail Hour for Taste of Beverly Hills
At this fancy happy hour, score half off wine, beer and cocktails! There will also be free appetizers and a glass of sparkling wine to toast the Taste of Beverly Hills. If you still haven’t bought your ToBH tickets yet, they’re offering a buy one, get one free deal at this event! And all-weekend passes will be discounted $350 (regularly $500).

  • 5-7pm. The Roof Garden at The Peninsula Beverly Hills, 9882 S. Santa Monica Boulevard, Beverly Hills (map).

Friday, August 27

Open House and Happy Hour Live at Central in Santa Monica
Ooh! Happy hour til 9pm on a Friday night with live music, FREE pizza from Joe’s Pizza and special happy hour priced booze — $3 draft, bottles and PBR tall boys as well as $4 micro draft, $5 well. If you stay til 10, you can moonwalk to your heart’s content during the Michael Jackson tribute party. To get on the guest list for Happy Hour Live, email kim [at] spinprgroup.com. Tell ‘er, Caroline on Crack sent you.

  • 5-9:30pm. Central, 1348 14th Street, Santa Monica (map).

Saturday, August 28

$5 Sake Tasting at The Wine House
Sake Sommelier Toshio Ueno and sake specialist Kenji Tateishi will be pouring six sakes for you to taste for only $5! It’s in the middle of the afternoon, just stop by for a tipple and check out the premium white tag sake which will be 10% off. No ressies needed.

  • 1-4pm. $5. The Wine House, 2311 Cotner Avenue, Los Angeles (map).

Sunday, August 29

The Chemical Brothers at the Hollywood Bowl
Man, I am long overdue for the Bowl this summer. And this groovy concert may be enticing enough to get me out from under my moving boxes. Dance in the aisles to The Brothers as well as electro-funk Chromeo and synth-y YACHT. Jason Bentley will be hosting. Amazingly tickets are still available!

  • 7pm. Hollywood Bowl, 2301 N. Highland Avenue, Hollywood (map).

Tuesday, August 31

Beer Chicks’ Beer and Bites Pairing 101 Class at Library Alehouse
Those cute beer girls are at it again, educating beer newbies all over. This class which will guide you through different beer styles takes place at one of my fave beer bars, Library Alehouse. Beers include Oskar Blues Mama’s Little Yella Pils, The Bruery Tradewinds Tripel, Chimay Blue and more, while the seven-course event will include the likes of fish tacos with mango salsa and beef carbonade with French fries. Proceeds from the event will go to benefit breast cancer research via the charity What a Pair. RSVP asap as this is a hot ticket.

  • 6:30-8pm. $59 (included processing fee). Library Alehouse, 2911 Main Street, Santa Monica (map). Reservations (310) 314-4855.
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August 19, 2010

This Weekend: Steampunk Affair, Venice Art Crawl, Evil Dead Double Feature

Written by Caroline on Crack in Art, Lists, Los Angeles, Movies
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My plans this weekend? Moving boxes and UHaul truck. Yours? See below:

Thursday, August 19

Debut of Venice Beach’s Monthly Art Crawl
Now Westsiders who are averse to crossing the Great 405 Divide won’t have to wish they could go downtown for an art crawl. Venice Beach is kicking off its own free monthly crawl of its artist community and over 20 venues like Hotel Erwin, James Beach and the Canal Club. Each venue will each feature a different artist and offer discounts on food and drink. The Hit & Run crew will silk screen customize T-shirts at the Townhouse at 6pm. Find live art behind Jodi Maroni’s on Speedway and vintage photos at Hotel Erwin’s High Rooftop.

  • 6-10pm. Venice Boulevard and Pacific Avenue, Venice (map).

Saturday, August 21

Old Bank District 10th Anniversary Block Party
Celebrate the 10th anniversary of downtown’s Old Bank District which will feature street cafes, beer and wine gardens, art exhibits and live music. Participating restaurants include Lost Souls, Rocket Pizza Lounge and Pete’s Café & Bar, to name a few. And there will be live performances by local indie bands Pepper Rabbit, Very Be Careful and Helen Stellar.

  • 4pm-12am. Free. 4th Street and Main Street, Downtown (map).

Double Evil Dead Feature: Evil Dead II and Army of Darkness
I LOVE these movies — zombies, a resilient hero with bad luck, cursed tomes. Henrietta! Well, I like Evil Dead II more than Army of Darkness which was just an appeal to the mainstream audience. In any case, what better way to spend a Saturday night than with a couple of hilarious horror flicks? Might I recommend grabbing a couple of pints at Father’s Office down the street first to fuel the funny.

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

Muse til Midnight at LACMA
At LACMA’s two-part evening shindig, the artsy-fartsy folk will get to enjoy vaudeville performers, steampunk-ish crafts, live music and an Eakins’ exhibit featuring his late 19th-century paintings. The second half of the evening at 10pm takes place in the Steampunk Saloon at LACMA West’s penthouse terrace with an open bar, homemade moustache contests and live music The Unextraordinary Gentlemen. Sounds like a swank, fun evening.

  • 8:15p-12am. $42. LACMA, 5905 Wilshire Boulevard, Los Angeles (map).

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August 12, 2010

This Weekend: Kawaii Sales, Bloomfest LA, Blue Palms Beer Party

Written by Caroline on Crack in Art, Beauty & Fashion, Lists, Los Angeles, Movies, Music, Nightlife, Recreation, Shopping & Sales
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Whoa, there’s wayyy too many things going on this Saturday, it’s so intense. Too bad I gotta pack for my move.

Friday, August 13

L.A.M.B. & Harajuku Lovers Sample Sale LA
For the first time ever in LA, Gwen Stefani’s two lines, L.A.M.B. and Harajuku Lovers, will be available at a sample sale. Normally her stuff is wayy too expensive for me to even consider, being “designer” and all but at this sale, everything will be up to 75% off. Kawaii bags, rocker-style clothes, hot shoes. RSVP here. BTW, credit cards only.

  • Friday, 8am-8pm; Saturday, 10am-6pm. Siren Studios, 6063 West Sunset Boulevard, Hollywood (map).

Saturday, August 14

Rilakkuma Weekend
More kawaii stuff! A whole weekend with photobooths, djs, free gifts, Sapporo beer, food trucks and a pop-up store curated by JapanLA owner Jamie Rivadeneira. Even Umami Burger gets kawaii’d up as all four of its locations will be themed for the promotion through August 22. For the fan party on Saturday, the first 100 guests get goody bags and Lil’ Rae cakeballs.

  • Saturday, 11am–11pm; Sunday, 11am–7pm. 7326 Melrose Avenue, Los Angeles (map).

Bloomfest LA 2010
Jonesin’ for more art after tonight’s Downtown LA Art Walk? Fortunately for you the Arts District will open the doors of its cafés, galleries, performance venues, and 40 studios for this summertime event. Tour the lofts and galleries after checking out the live bands, booths and food trucks at the nearby Bloomfest street fair. After party will be at e3rd from 11pm to 2am.

  • 12pm-11pm. Arts District, 714 Traction Avenue, Los Angeles (map).

Blue Palms Brew House’s 2nd Anniversary Party
This Hollywood beer haven is celebrating its 2 years with a 200-pound pig, a 400-pound rib roast, 30-plus beers on tap, a cigar lounge and live music. For $40 you get 10 tastings of delicious brew like The Bruery’s barrel-aged Coton, 10-month aged Allagash Curieux, and even special limited kegs from Alesmith, New Belgium and Greenflash.

  • Doors open 2pm. $40. Blue Palms Brew House, 6124 Hollywood Boulevard, Los Angeles (map).

John Cusack Double Feature: Better Off Dead and One Crazy Summer
“Gimme my 2 dollars!!!” Growing up, I loved these movies. Such great one-liners, including that one with the relentless paperboy going after his fee. And who could resist poor John Cusack, the adorable loser of these ’80s movies? Special guests will show up at the end of the screenings. No, not JC, although maybe. Rather, the writer/director of the films Savage Steve Holland as well as Curtis Armstrong, Bobcat Goldthwait and more.

  • 7:30pm. $12. The Cinefamily, 611 N Fairfax Avenue, Los Angeles (map). (323) 655-2510.
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August 5, 2010

This Weekend: 3-Story-High Hangover, Mall Hype, Free Cupcakes

Written by Caroline on Crack in Dining, Lists, Los Angeles, Movies, Music, Nightlife, Shopping & Sales
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I’m going up north for another edition of 24 Hours of Lemons but I’m not leaving you blind. In addition to Saturday’s KBBQ cook-off you’ve got these events.

Thursday, August 5

BreadBar Hatchi Mix: Comme Ca’s Cedilla — A Suite of Cocktails
Max Seaman and Jeff Knudsen, the mixology team at Comme Ca in West Hollywood, are featured in this month’s edition of Hatchi Mix. They’ll serve up eight cocktails for $8 each. Yummy-sounding concoctions like Hot Pepper Smash with rye, lemon, honey, Serrano chile and mint and Sergio Leone with tequila, Campari and Sweet Vermouth. Classics like Penicillin and Bloody Mary will also make an appearance.

  • 6-10pm. BreadBar Century City, 10250 Santa Monica Boulevard, Los Angeles (map).

Friday, August 6

Santa Monica Place’s Grand Opening Celebration
Finally! The Santa Monica mall is back. AND it’s so new and improved that it’s now an outdoor mall, complementing the 3rd Street Promenade nicely. Celebrate at this all-day party which kicks off with a morning ribbon-cutting ceremony and ends with happy hour on the gorgeous Dining Deck where KCRW music director Jason Bentley will be spinning a two-hour set! And throughout the day there will be live music and retailer-hosted events from the likes of Bloomingdales, Disney and Charlotte Russe.

  • Starts 10am. Santa Monica Place, 1453 3rd Street Promenade, Santa Monica (map).

Saturday, August 7

OC Foodie Fest’s Pub & Grub
I know this is a bit beyond my jurisdiction but the OC is having its own “Foodie Fest” on August 28. And in anticipation of that, it’s throwing a special preview party this Saturday at Proof Bar in Santa Ana where presale OC Foodie Fest ticket holders will get a sneak peek of the OC food trucks attending the food fest as well as get to enjoy an Azunia Tequila tasting, giveaways and music. If you haven’t bought your tickets yet, you can do so at this event for a discounted price!

  • 7-10:30pm. Free. Proof Bar’s parking lot, 215 N Broadway, Santa Ana (map).

Win $500 at Westfield Culver City for Being the Most Stylish Shopper
Yeah, I thought this sounded weird and am not really sure how a “stylish shopper” would dress. But maybe just show up like you’re dressed for the Oscars and strut your stuff on the red carpet at the mall while the hosts of weekly entertainment show, On the Red Carpet, provide the running commentary, and you can’t lose. Participant photos will be posted on the mall’s Facebook page. The winner, who will be chosen by a panel of judges, gets a $500 gift card for the Culver City mall. Easy peasy.

  • 12-4pm. Westfield Culver City, 6000 Sepulveda Boulevard, Culver City (map).

SusieCakes Celebrates Its 4th Birthday
To celebrate its 4th birthday, SusieCakes will be giving out a free box of four mini cupcakes to the first 100 customers to show up between 1 and 4pm. If you miss your chance for the freebie treat, the cupcakery will offer retro-priced goodies like 40-cent cookies!

Outdoor Cinema Food Fest Presents: The Hangover
OMG my fave Vegas movie EVER! I can’t imagine how much more awesome it’s going to be on a three-story-tall outdoor movie screen! Couple that with food trucks like Fishlips Sushi, Nana Queens and Don Chow Tacos, and you have one swinging good time.

  • 6-11pm. $8. Exposition Park, 700 Exposition Park Boulevard, Los Angeles (map).

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July 29, 2010

This Weekend: Savor Los Angeles, Sergio Mendes, Chefs Night Out

Written by Caroline on Crack in Cupcakes, Dining, Lists, Los Angeles, Music, Nightlife, Sweets
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Wow, we’re in August already? Where did the summer go? Well for the last weekend of July (sigh), you’ve got lots of food fests and sweets. You know where my mind is.

Friday, July 30

Savor Los Angeles
I never get sick of eating sweets and after every meal there’s always room for dessert so I’m SO excited about this Savor event. Guests with insatiable sweet tooths will be able to taste samples from yum purveyors like Babycakes NYC, Frosted Cupcakery, N’Ice Cream and more! There will also be free champagne, Intelligentsia coffee and a cheese and fruit bar to mix things up. But it’s not just about eating, you can dance to the dj and commemorate the moment in the photobooth.

  • 7-10pm. $35 general, $50 VIP. Miauhaus Studios, 1201 S La Brea Avenue, Los Angeles (map).

Saturday, July 31

Sergio Mendes and Morcheeba at the Hollywood Bowl
No better way to pass a chill summer evening than with some Brazilian tunes courtesy of Sergio Mendes. Just thinking about it makes me want to chair dance as I type this. Fix yourself up a canteen of Caipirinha and bring some takeout from Café Brasil and you have yourself a breezy Brazilian partay in the Bowl. British trip hop band Morcheeba sets the chill and groovy tone of the evening as the opening act. If you can’t make it on Saturday, there’s always the earlier Friday show.

  • 8:30pm. $15-$156. Hollywood Bowl, 2301 North Highland Avenue, Hollywood (map).

Sunday, August 1

Win Tickets to Taste of Beverly Hills By Tweeting To Eat
Want to attend the Taste of Beverly Hills food fest but don’t have the $500 for a weekend pass? Well, if you follow TOBH’s Twitter starting August 1st through the 15th, they’ll post a daily “Culinary Clue” (Twitter hashtag #CCTOBH) about a participating chef. And on August 16, the first person to send an email after 4pm to TweetToEat@TheTasteofBeverlyHills.com with all 15 correct chef names will win TWO free weekend passes to the event (not including the Thursday 90210 party, though).

Cupcake Camp OC
This cupcake gathering hopes to attract 500 cupcake fiends for a good cause, plus some cupcake noshing and competitions. Every cupcake fan is invited to participate, whether it’s baking and bringing their donation of at least 50 of their own fabulous cupcakes or buying cupcakes. You don’t have to be a pro and if you like cupcakes baked from a box mix that’s all right, too! Personally I was considering submitting a Cake Doctor creation: Mexican chocolate cupcakes with spicy chocolate cream cheese frosting. Yum!

  • 3-6pm. Suggested donation: $10. Atrium Hotel, 18700 MacArthur Boulevard, Irvine (map).

Wally’s 7th Annual  Central Coast Wine & Food Celebration
You can’t go wrong with an event where you can taste about 150 Central Coast wines from wineries like Qupe, L’Aventure and Tablas Creek and partake of signature dishes from the likes of Comme Ca, AOC, Osteria Mozza and Bouchon. What a swank evening. Proceeds will go to The Michael Bonaccorsi Scholarship Fund at the UC Davis Department of Enology.

  • 12-4pm. $95. Wally’s, 2107 Westwood Boulevard, Los Angeles (map).

8th Annual Restaurant Awards: Angeleno’s Chefs Night Out
For another fancy foodie good time, check out Angeleno’s Chefs Night Out Event & Awards. The event will honor some of our city’s best chefs like Josef Centeno, Ludovic Lefebvre and Michael Voltaggio as well as offer culinary demos and wine and spirit samplings all under the beautiful fig tree at the Fairmont Miramar in Santa Monica.

  • 4:30-7:30pm. $95 general, $150 VIP. Fairmont Miramar Hotel, 101 Wilshire Boulevard, Santa Monica (map).
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July 22, 2010

This Weekend: Foodie Workouts, Bastide Cocktail Hour, Filipino Tasting Event

Written by Caroline on Crack in Cocktails, Dining, Lists, Los Angeles, Movies, Nightlife, Recreation
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This weekend is gonna rawk! Not just because of the LA Street Food Fest Summer Tasting Event, which hopefully you’ve gotten your tickets for, but because there’s so much to do. Take your pick or do ‘em all.

Thursday, July 22

Villains Grand Opening
Thrillist calls this new bar a “steampunk-themed cocktail bar” and it officially opens tomorrow but the grand opening party is tonight so if the streets seem a bit emptier it’s because everyone’s at that party. I kid, sorta. But if you’re a fan of the Bordello Bar (the owner and designer is also the creative mind and money behind this one) as well as beer and bourbon, you’ll want to check this place out. Juices for the cocktails are “squeezed to order” and they have a variety of 28 beers on tap.

  • Villains Tavern, 1356 Palmetto Street, Los Angeles (map).

Friday, July 23

Six Taste to host LA’s First Filipino Food and Wine Tasting Event
Yay for Filipino food getting some love thanks to the likes of the first Filipino food truck, Manila Machine. But if you haven’t tried the cuisine of my peeps yet, Six Taste Food Tours will feature a traditional Filipino and Filipino-inspired five-course tasting menu that will be paired with wine! Bonus is that Manila Machine will provide the dessert. Hopefully it’s the yummy ube cupcake. After the event, there will be a live DJ and some cocktails so you can work off that delicious meal.

  • 7pm. $49. Far Bar LA, 347 E 1st Street, Los Angeles (map).

Saturday, July 24

Devil’s Drive In: Pulp Fiction
Pulp Fiction has gotta be my favorite Tarantino film, right up there with Kill Bill, of course. But so many great one-liners. “Bring out the Gimp!” You can also thank (or curse) Pulp Fiction for jumpstarting John Travolta’s career. BYOB and grab a patch of Astroturf and enjoy this outdoor screening.

  • 7pm. 240 W. 4th Street, Los Angeles (map)

Sunday, July 25

Yoga for Foodies at Akasha
What a great way to start off the week: a flowing yoga class at a sustainable pace followed by a yummy organic brunch of farm-to-table food created by Akasha Richmond, who actually began her career at Yogi Bhajan’s Golden Temple Conscious Cookery. Menu items include a local farm egg and goat cheese frittata, Punjabi focaccia and ginger-mint lemonade.

  • 11am-1pm. $54. Akasha, 9543 Culver Boulevard, Culver City (map). (310) 845-1700.

Foodie Fitness/LA/OC Foodventures’ Urban Hike on Colorado Boulevard
I just love these urban hikes that HC puts on. A great way to explore and be a tourist in your own city. This month’s edition will cover that long stretch of Colorado Boulevard. 14 miles from Glendale to Arcadia. And of course, HC has planned for some foodie-friendly pitstops along the way. If you don’t feel like walking the whole way, I’m certainly not, you can follow HC’s live Tweets and meet up with us whenever.

  • 8am. Intersection of Kenworth and Colorado in Glendale (map).

Food GPS Beverly Blvd Walking Tour
If HC’s urban hike is too hard-core for you and you just want to eat dammit, check out Food GPS’s walking tour which will hit four popular restaurants on and around Beverly Boulevard — Eva, BLD, Milk and Golden State! All great places to dine, good thing you’ll be burning calories by walking. The $45 per person includes food, drinks and treats from each place where the chef-owner will introduce their picks. For more info email Josh at Joshua [at] foodgps.com.

  • 3pm. Tickets: $45. Starting point: Eva Restaurant,7458 Beverly Boulevard, Los Angeles (map).

Monday, July 26

Debut of Mondays at Bastide
If you’re a hard-core foodie, you saw the above words and squealed. Yes, this Monday Bastide is kicking off a new cocktail hour where you can enjoy a soju martini, three different wines by the glass, a new weekly cocktail and chef Joseph Mahon’s small bites like crispy corn nuggets and yellowtail tartare with coconut. It’s all you can eat and drink for just $15! Swank!

  • 5-7pm. Mondays. Bastide, 8475 Melrose Place, West Hollywood (map).
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July 15, 2010

This Weekend: Ilegal Mescal Happy Hour, Drunk Talk, Manila Tasting

Written by Caroline on Crack in Dining, Lists, Los Angeles, Movies
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Finally! This weather feels like summer and we can play outside again. Many fun outdoor events this weekend. And some still fun even though they’re indoors.

Thursday, July 15

Chartreuse and Ilegal Mezcal Cocktail Night
Mmmezcal, just makes my mouth water. Fortunately, Chartreuse and Ilegal Mezcal will be doing up a very special happy hour ($5 signature cocktails) featuring these tasty spirits. There will also be tasting flights available! Other happy hour deals include $4 Imported Beers and $3 Small Plates.

  • 7-9pm. The Association, 110 E 6th Street, Downtown (map).

Saturday, July 17

Tasting with the Manila Machine
Get the Manila Machine Filipino food truck all to yourself. Well, almost. This pre-paid tasting event will insure you don’t have to suffer the fate of sold-out ube cupcakes. Believe me, you don’t want to know what that feels like. At this event, for $21 you get to enjoy spam sliders, chicken adobo, sisig over rice and, yes, the ube cupcake. Pull up a lawn chair and nosh on some fine food truck delicacies.

  • 1pm. $21. Location TBA.

Cinespia Cemetery Screening: Saturday Night Fever
This disco-era movie starring the cute-back-then dancing fool Johnny Travolta has one of the best movie soundtracks ever! Come on, it’s the Bee Gees! I know, a lot of you are probably too young to know who they are but take my word for it, they’re awesome. If that doesn’t get you, maybe the fact that DJ Cut Chemist spinning before and after the movie will. Don’t forget to bring your carafe of disco drink. BTW what DID they drink back then in Studio 54? Oh, and remember, no tall chairs dammit!

  • Gates open 7:30pm, movie 8pm. $10. Hollywood Forever Cemetery, 6000 Santa Monica Boulevard, Los Angeles (map)

Sunday, July 18

New LA Flea Market
Can’t wait for the LA Street Food Fest next week featuring a bunch of food trucks? Well, maybe this will tie you over til then. Nosh on treats from food trucks Dosa, Border Grill and Cool Haus while bargain shopping at the grand opening of the LA Flea market. General admission with parking is $5, VIP tickets are $15.

  • 9am-4pm. $5-$15. Dodger Stadium, 1000 Elysian Park Avenue, Los Angeles (map).

Drunk Talk, Full-Immersion Live Comedy at Dragonfly Bar
Is it just me or are conversations more interesting when they’re fueled by drink? See, Drunk History. And check out this new comedy show which has incorporated a real bar into a comedy event. Is that bar fly leaning against you and slurring drunken nothings into your ear fer real or are they part of the show? You may never know. But enjoy improv, drunken comedy and a free cocktail at this unique show.

  • 8pm. $15. Dragonfly Bar, 6510 Santa Monica Boulevard, Los Angeles (map).
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