the monthly BEAT: Miracle Mile/Mid-City/Fairfax. Eat Out.

Chau and I both used to work in the Miracle Mile section of Los Angeles, and you better believe we found our fair share of great eateries. Any time of day, this relatively unassuming stretch between Beverly Hills and downtown Los Angeles has some delicious options.

Between around 11:30 a.m. and 2:00 or 3:00 p.m. a ton of famous L.A. food trucks are parked out front of the Variety Building (5900 Wilshire), and the 5750 Wilshire offices (which includes E!).

The Counter (for a custom burger and a quality milkshake)

Mixt Greens (healthy made-to-order salads and sandwiches)

Umami Burger La Brea (a BEAT favorite)

Caffe Latte (well-made espresso drinks, breakfast, muffins, soup, hearty salads, etc.)

Tawanni Thai (very decent strip mall Thai food, their tofu yellow curry was my go-to favorite)

Luna Park (good happy hour specials, pleasant little outdoor sidewalk area)

Stark Bar at LACMA (for creative cocktails and small plates)

Enjoy!

-- Leslie Anne Wiggins

Photo credit: the BEAT

Eat Out. Free Mixt Greens salad on Earth Day.

It's Earth Day, so take some time out to appreciate the planet. Your reward? If you're one of the first 150 people at Mixt Greens today, you'll receive a free tote bag with a salad, packets of herb seeds and MG chef Andrew Swallow's upcoming cookbook "Mixt Salads."

I'm not sure what the free salad inside the tote bag means, but it's probably some sort of voucher. In that case, this promotion is completely worth it on that alone--Mixt Greens salads are kind of pricey ($8-$12) but notoriously HUGE, and full of fresh ingredients and fantastic flavor. The people behind the counter definitely know what they're doing as they create your salad, with just the right amount of ingredients and dressing, and you'll have a delicious salad to last you for days (really, they're huge). I'd recommend the Cowboy, which has romaine hearts, herb marinated grilled chicken, roasted red peppers, black beans, sharp cheddar, red onion and blue cheese dressing with a chipotle honey drizzle. And I don't even like black beans! But I ate every last bite of it.

Mixt Greens is located at 350 S. Grand Ave. in downtown or 5757 Wilshire Blvd. on Miracle Mile. Both locations open at 10:30am.

Happy Earth Day! Let us know of any other Earth Day promotions you might hear of by dropping us a comment below or tweeting at us.

-- Chau Tu

Photo credit: Mixt Greens