the BEAT of the week: Taste of the Eastside.

L.A.'s 'eastside' neighborhoods -- including that of Silver Lake, Los Feliz, Atwater Village, Eagle Rock, among others -- have become well-known for their 'hip,' young populations, a sort of nerve center thriving with those who care about all things culture: art, music, fashion.

And you can add food to that list. Among the classic eastside standards like Intelligentsia, Little Dom's and Cliff's Edge have come a slew of new restaurants and eateries in the past few years, enticing foodies and locals alike to dine on some of the best and creative foods coming out of this city.

Need to catch up? Get your forks out. This weekend is the second edition of the Taste of the Eastside, a full-on food and drink fest celebrating all that is cuisine on the Eastside. Participants this year include Elf Cafe, Good Girl Dinette, Hugo's Tacos, L&E Oyster Bar, Malo, Pazzo Gelato, Proof Bakery, Xoia Vietnamese Eats, Eagle Rock Brewery, Golden Road Brewery and Silver Lake Wine. A simple $35 gets you unlimited tastings from all the restaurants, another $10 will also buy you a flight of wines or beer. There'll also be cooking demonstrations, and the proceeds will help to benefit the Children's Hospital of Los Angeles, Barnsdall Park, Rose Scharlin Nursery School and SEE Los Angeles.

Time to get hip, and be well-fed while at it.

Taste of the Eastside takes place from 1pm-5pm this Sunday, May 6 at Barnsdall Park, located at 4800 Hollywood Blvd. in Los Feliz. Get tickets here (price goes up the day of the event, so purchase now!).

-- Chau Tu

Advance Notice. Silver Lake Jubilee.

It's back. The arts, music, food and neighborhood festival known as the Silver Lake Jubilee will be returning to its spot under the bridge at Sunset Blvd. and Santa Monica Blvd. for a second year of fun festivities. Most of the special info -- the 50+ bands/artists and 60+ vendors and food trucks -- have yet to be announced, but the $5 (!!) tickets are already a steal, so you have no excuse to miss out. Get them here now, and mark your calendars for May 21-22.

The Silver Lake Jubilee is taking place the weekend of May 21-22 at 1070 Myra Ave. in Silver Lake.

-- Chau Tu

Do It. Celebrate the Lunar New Year.

Happy Year of the Rabbit/Cat! I'm Vietnamese (and for us, it's the year of the cat, while for the Chinese it's the year of the rabbit), which means my family and I celebrated the Lunar New Year this week. It's a pretty fun event full of family, food and money, with a lot of hopeful and optimistic thinking for the upcoming year.

And hey, even if you aren't Chinese or Vietnamese, you can join in on the fun. Here's the L.A. Times' round-up for festivities from the Valley to Orange County, and LAist has some more L.A.-centric fun for you here. Chuc mung nam moi!

-- Chau Tu