Check It. Atlas Obscura.

Ahh, June. It's beginning to feel like summer, no? In any case, hopefully many of you are beginning to plan some trips and vacation. If so, time to bookmark your new favorite travel site.

I recently discovered Atlas Obscura through the travel issue of Brand X, and I've been scouring the various city entries ever since. The site is aimed all compiling information on all the fascinating and wonderful areas of the world, acting as a great guide for the traveler hoping to go beyond the tourist traps. All the info is provided in usual wiki fashion, meaning anyone can contribute their own finds, and others are encouraged to join and edit. It provides a great first-hand account of many of these places, and also often features insider local knowledge that you might not otherwise be able to know about if you're simply traveling through. I even enjoyed the fun entries the site had compiled for Los Angeles. Take time to explore your own area, or learn about something fun in your future vacation spot. And even if you're not going anywhere this summer, visit the Atlas Obscura blog for random interesting picks and lists. You're sure to discover something new and fun.

And if you're in need of another cool travel site, Wikitravel is always a favorite go-to of mine.

-- Chau Tu

Check It. Foo Fighters at Fingerprints.

Alth0ugh all 200 wristbands to the Foo Fighters album release sold out almost as soon as they became available, many people are heading to Fingerprints this Saturday to try and get a glimpse of the Foo performing live (and free!) at Fingerprints in Long Beach.

As part of Record Day this Saturday, the Foo Fighters are set to perform a few of their new and old hits in the East Village record store.

Other events are scheduled that day, including a free ticket give-away to the theatrical release of the Beastie Boys' "long-form video", a meet-the-bad with F*cked Up, and another live performance after the Foo's 2 hour show.
Fingerprints is located at 420 E. 4th Street in Long Beach. The Foo Fighters are set to perform at 5 p.m.

-- Lauren Williams

Check It. Quidditch comes to L.A.

For all the Harry Potter fans who didn't want the magic to end with the final seventh book, Quidditch has made it's way into the world of real-life sports, and is coming to Los Angeles this weekend.

The sport was one of the many nuances of the world of Harry Potter, but was detailed with rules and objectives like any other sport.

This weekend 11 college teams are set to compete Saturday and Sunday at Cheviot Hills Park in West Los Angeles, according to the Los Angeles Times.

So check it out!

Cheviot Hills Park is located at 2551 Motor Ave.

-- Lauren Williams

Photo credit: Los Angeles Times.

Do It. Pick good produce.

With the changes in season, I was reminded this morning of a post I did last year about the new produce selection coming out in the coming spring and summer.

Here are a few tips on picking up good produce. From our archives:

With the changing of seasons comes the changing of produce. But how to choose a good apple, citrus, melon versus a not-so-fresh one? Here are a few pointers in picking out the freshest, ripest fruits and veggies.

For citrus, you always want small pores, shiny skin, vibrant color (true of all produce really), and you want to be able to smell the fruit. A heavy citrus also means it's juicy on the inside, but you should eat it soon after purchasing it.

Shininess and brightness in color are pretty important in all produce selection. Never get anything with dull or wrinkled skin -- that means it's on the way out the door. Firm skin means it will last a few days in the fridge.

Melons too should be heavy and make a kind of hollow sound. I believe if a melon doesn't have a "bouncing" or hollow sound when you knock softly on it, it means the flesh inside is a bit sandy and too soft in texture.

-- Lauren Williams

Check It. Gap coupon for 30%.

If you're looking to make your wardrobe more springy, or need some excellent professional clothes, this weekend is the time to head to Banana Republic, Old Navy, or the Gap.

Through March 20, the retailers will be offering 30% off in-store check out with this coupon.

So get shopping!

-- Lauren Williams

Etc. Happy Pi Day!

Today is March 14 (or 3.14), a major holiday for nerds, math geeks, and people who love any excuse to celebrate something.

Listen to this NPR broadcast about the holiday and celebrate with pie!

-- Lauren Williams

Photo credit: NPR

Check It. Treme.

If you were one of the many obsessed fans of The Wire, then you have to check out Treme the latest socially-conscious show created by the same genius minds who made The Wire.

Set in New Orleans one month after the hurricane, the show follows the stories of fictitious characters as they try to rebuild their lives and city.

Not nearly all dark and gloomy, the show is filled with some excellent and funny moments, as well as a few cheesy lines. The show was filmed in New Orleans nearly four years after the Hurricane Katrina/FEMA disaster, and it's amazing to see how unchanged New Orleans is; it certainly makes for a believable backdrop.

There are also some All Star actors on the show including John Goodman, Steve Zahn, Wendell Pierce, Khandi Alexander, and Melissa Leo. They had me at John Goodman.

Treme's second season is coming back on HBO in April, so it's time to catch up or refresh on Season 1.

-- Lauren Williams

Do It. Help GOOD magazine figure out what to fix in L.A.

I'm a big fan of GOOD magazine, a publication aimed at finding the, well, good things in the world and solutions to problems within society. And it just so happens that they're focusing their next issue on us: Los Angeles.

Senior editor Patrick James is reaching out and asking Angelenos (and non-Angelenos) to 1) help pinpoint people or organizations who are helping better the city through their work and/or 2) bring attention to a problem within the city that needs a solution (you don't even have to have a solution in mind).

The GOOD team will take it from there. So speak up and let people know the good and the bad in the city, and hopefully you'll help take this city one step closer to perfection.

Pass along your ideas to GOOD by commenting on their page here.

-- Chau Tu

Photo credit: GOOD/Flickr user radworld

Advance Notice. dineLA restaurant week.

dineLA's restaurant week(s) is back for its winter edition! The two-week foodie extravaganza is hands down the best way to try and experience the best that L.A. -- and its amazing restaurants -- have to offer. It's prix-fixe menus (but you often get choices) at a discounted price, and so allows everyone the chance to indulge in places they usually wouldn't be able to afford.

The list was officially released yesterday, and can be seen here (click on the restaurant names for menus). Lunch ranges from $16-$28, while dinners are $26-$44. Some of my personal musts? The Bazaar by Jose Andres at the SLS Hotel, Susan Feniger's STREET (Kaya toast! Though not officially on the menu, must be tried), and insiders' fave Waterloo & City. Happy L.A. grubbin'!

dineLA restaurant week(s) takes place Jan. 23-28 and Jan. 30-Feb. 4. Make your reservations early, business gets busy!

-- Chau Tu

Check It. 'The Possessed.'

Among the things I found under the Christmas tree this year, was this book "The Possessed" by Elif Batuman.

I'm always looking for new and interesting books, scouring the (online) pages of the Los Angeles Times and The New York Times for new reads outside my usual repertoire.

This was something that totally slipped under my radar, but was hailed by the L.A. Times' David L. Ulin as one of his favorite reads of 2010. From Ulin: "Part memoir of the academic life, part engaging inquiry into the pleasures of Russian literature, Batuman's debut is a bravura performance, a collection of essays about books and reading unlike any I've encountered before."

I'm definitely excited to start this! "The Possessed" can be found in paperback and can be found on Amazon.com for as low as $10.20.

-- Lauren Williams

Check It. L.A. Records Christmas party.

If you like live music and live beats (and who doesn't?) you can't beat L.A. Record's annual Christmas party, which is scheduled for this Saturday at Bedrock Rehearsal in Echo Park.

With the donation of a toy for the Toys for Tots program, music lovers can get into the shows free of charge. Just RSVP at rsvp@larecord.com. Each room of the rehearsal studio is filled with bands, DJs mixing, classic vinyl, screen printing, and a Santa's Village.

For me, the highlight would probably be the Driftwood Singers live. I went to this last year and loved how you could walk into any of the rehearsal rooms and hear something totally different from what was being played in other rooms. Definitely a great experience.

Bedrock Rehearsal is located at 1623 Allesandro St. The L.A. Record show is scheduled for this Saturday, starting at 8 p.m.

-- Lauren Williams

Do It. Build a beard for a good cause.

If you want to get into the holiday spirit by giving back, this is a fun easy way to contribute to Kiva, an organization that works in micro-lending.

Capitalizing on the popularity of bead/stache craze, Build a Beard is donating $1 for every person who takes a picture of themselves with a printout of a beard attached to their face. Not too hard.

I think this could even be an excellent holiday season party game, and an even easier way to raise money. You could even make a photo booth kind of activity out of it.

Just print off the beard/stache of your choice, cut it out, take a picture with your beard on, and send it to the email on the site (instructions above). Some of the best looks are the rapper, Poseidon, handlebars, Lincoln, and of course Santa.

-- Lauren Williams

Eat Out. Bottega Louie.

This is one place I can't wait to try when I get back to L.A. next week.

I recently found out about the reasonably-priced downtown Bottega Louie, which serves breakfast, weekend brunches (BEAT meeting place Leslie and Chau ?), and has some pretty impressive cocktails on the menu for dinner time.

Starting at $2.50 for a bagel with cream cheese, some menu highlights include the breakfast asparagus frittata sandwich ($5) and macchiato ($2.50), lunch/dinner cauliflower volute ($8) and a variety of pizzas, pastas, salads, and sandwiches. Cocktails include sweet tea and a Peruvian sour for $12.

Bottega Louie is located at 700 S. Grand Ave.

-- Lauren Williams

Do It. Skidazzle.

If you have any plans on hitting the slopes this winter (or if you need some warm winter clothes for the unseasonable cold in L.A.) head to Skidazzle this weekend in downtown where tons of ski, snow, and other wintertime appropriate goods will be on sale for ridiculously low prices.

I've had friends go to this in years past and report back that many of the items are on sale for as much as half the price, including snow jackets and skis.

Skidazzle is scheduled to be held at the Los Angeles Convention Center at 1201 S. Figueroa St. from 11 a.m. - 10 p.m. Saturday and noon to 6 p.m. Sunday.

-- Lauren Williams

Do It. Silverlake arts, crafts, and vintage market.

I don't think it's jumping the gun to say that it's time to seriously start considering what to get people for Christmas.

I think just after Thanksgiving is the perfect time to start your shopping and the Silverlake arts, crafts, and vintage market seems like a very cool place to pick up one-of-a-kind unique items, both handmade and vintage -- both something the person you're gifting presents to would be hard to come by and are often of a higher quality than cheap, store bought goods.

The Silverlake fair is held the last weekend of every month (the weekend after Thanksgiving this month!).

The Silverlake fair art, craft, and vintage market is held at the intersection of Sunset and Micheltorena Boulevards at the Micheltorena Elementary School.

-- Lauren Williams

Drink In. The Bruery seasonal beers. [Thirsty Thursdays!]

Here at the BEAT we loove seasonal beers, and fall is one of the best times to see some creative brews. The Bruery in nearby Orange County has been coming out with some pretty creative flavors.

For the autumn season The Bruery has made a creative brew with a very intriguing Autumn Maple made with yams. A very unique flavor and a nice combination of fall's better flavors, this beer is widely available across Southern California, at various BevMo!s and craft brew distributors.

-- Lauren Williams

Check It. Longshot magazine.

To put it simply and obviously, the journalism business has been having a tough time. But every once in a while, there comes a spark of hope that maybe everything will be okay, that there are enough people with enough passion to get journalism through this rough patch. That latest spark is Longshot magazine.

Longshot is an experiment to create a magazine, start-to-finish, in a span of 48 hours. That involves everything from announcing a theme, to accepting submissions, and then actually designing a publication with art and graphics.

Sounds like a longshot, indeed, but alas, it happened. From August 27-29, people (they say hundreds) got together in San Francisco, Portland and Los Angeles (based in the GOOD offices here), and fueled with passion, sleeplessness and booze (the last two surely affecting one another) created Issue One of Longshot magazine. The theme was "Comeback," and features a number of great stories from writers all over the country.

And get this: everyone who worked on the issue is supposed to get paid. Not a lot, of course, but having a pay model at all these days is admirable in the least (but really, it's freaking magnanimous). But the money only comes through the profits, so go buy it already! Sixty beautiful, passion-filled pages for $11? It's worth believing in journalism.

Preview Issue One of Longshot magazine here, buy the issue here, and/or buy an accompanying T-shirt here.

-- Chau Tu

Do It. Save your money.

These two websites, Groupon and LivingSocial are amazing for great deals around Los Angeles. Subscribers can get up to 90 percent discounts on a variety of things and services around Los Angeles, as well as recommendations to new and interesting places in LA.

I first found out about the two sites when a girlfriend told me about getting free money at the Gap. Something like $50 when you buy a $25 Groupon. Half off $50 worth of items at the Gap.

Hundreds of thousands of people responded, Groupons were sold every 10 seconds, and I realized I had to get on this bandwagon. Free money. It doesn't get much better then that.

In a time when people really are trying to cut back on eating out, buying new clothes, and luxuries like wine tastings and spa days, this let's you do some largely guiltless splurging -- since you're not actually splurging. This also has half-off unavoidable essentials, like handymen visits (Monday's deal).

This is also great if you're planning a trip out of town. If you want some luxury treatment at an incredible discount, these again are greats site to check out.

-- Lauren Williams

Check It. Movie clips from Quality Cafe [The Monday Download].

If you're driving down 7th Street in downtown looking for a cool old diner to stop into, don't even bother with Quality Cafe. That's because it doesn't actually exist..unless you're in movie-land.

The restaurant is basically a set, and has acted as a classic diner spot in movies like Ghost World and Training Day. Screen Junkies has a fun mash-up below:

A diner specifically acting as a set, starring in numerous Hollywood films--how quintessentially L.A. is that?

And while we're at it, here's another fun example of another oft-used Hollywood prop.

-- Chau Tu

Eat Out. Cheebo.

An excellent place for brunch in Los Angeles, Cheebo has a very tasty, affordable menu with all kinds of quirky tofu scrambles, sandwiches, and frittatas. I also remember being really impressed with their coffee. What's really nice about it though, the bright oranges and yellows give this place a very small restaurant, warm atmosphere. You'd never know it was off Sunset Boulevard.
Most meals here are about $8-$10 per plate and most of the dishes seem very healthy.

It's recommended to call ahead, but I've visited without reservations and got a table right away -- but I may have just been lucky.

Cheebo is located at 7533 W. Sunset Blvd. Their phone number is (323) 850-7070.

-- Lauren Williams