Do It. Celebrate St. Patrick's Day in L.A.

Well good morning, BEATs, and happy St. Patrick's Day to you! Hope you've got your green attire on, because it's no time like the present to start celebrating...well, whatever this holiday actually stands for:

- Can't ring in another St. Patty's Day without visiting an Irish bar--our picks? Casey's in downtown (613 S. Grand Ave.) is open beginning at 6am, so start your morning off right. (Local radio jocks Kevin and Bean from KROQ will be broadcasting live, so be prepared for a ruckus.) You can also head over to Tom Bergin's in Miracle Mile (840 S. Fairfax Ave.) beginning at 6am for a mug of their famous (or so the sign says) Irish coffee. Hurry down the street around 11am to Molly Malone's (575 S. Fairfax Ave.) and you'll hopefully catch their bagpiper, who'll be followed by other live acts. Or for a whole mess of entertainment, get over to Brennan's in Marina Del Rey (4089 Lincoln Blvd.) in the early morn, where bagpipers, bands, green beer and good old-fashioned Irish corned beef and cabbage are all being promised.

- Speaking of food, the Nickel Diner in downtown (524 S. Main St.) is offering not only the favored corned beef and cabbage for lunch and dinner, but Irish car bomb donut holes (Guinness cake crumb filled with Jameson pastry cream). Or try to catch the Grilled Cheese truck for their special corned beef havarti sandwich with bacon- and beer-braised cabbage and mustard on rosemary potato bread (a mouthful already!).

- And dessert, of course. The two reigning cupcake-doms of L.A.--Crumbs and Sprinkles--are both offering green delights (Sprinkles boasts a Belgian dark chocolate with Baileys Irish cream cheese frosting AND a green velvet variety) which will surely clean your green beer palate.

Want some more St. Patrick's tips? Stay tuned here for info on how to embark on an epic Long Beach pub crawl and for a nice Irish alternative to the green beer, or check our twitter @beatofyoungla for updated tips as they come in! Stay safe out there!

-- Chau Tu

Photo credit: 213 Downtown LA

Eat Out. Village Idiot [Thirsty Thursdays!].

So although the picture above shows a empty bar, this place is actually never bare. The Village Idiot is an amazing English restaurant/upscale pub, with really excellent food.

The noises of a crowded bar, with dishes clanging and people chatting, actually gives this place a charming atmosphere, and it feels really warm with the rich dark wood.

My favorite thing about this place is the blended beers. Quite often, their blends are a mix of dark, creamy, frothy beers from England, which are actually much better than the run-of-the-mill Guiness-and-something-else. Their half-and-half is phenomonal and I love the 1903 craftsman lager.

In my pre-vegetarian days, I would eat their ale-steamed mussels, but now I am restricted entirely to the "no face" portion of the menu, but their "two legs" and "four legs" options are quite tempting.

The steak and potato pie looks scrumptious.

The Village Idiot is located at 7383 Melrose Avenue.

-- Lauren Williams