Eat Out. Brooklyn Bagel Bakery.

L.A. is sprinkled with a few good bagel shops, most of which are not on the east side. Fortunately, one of the oldest and best is. The Brooklyn Bagel Bakery is on Beverly just west of Alvarado, near downtown Los Angeles.

It's a large industrial-style space, not at all like a cozy coffee or donut shop. When you see the place, you feel like they know what they're doing, and you're right. The bagels are fresh and delicious, and come in a really wide variety of flavors, including Oat Bran, Strawberry, Cranberry Apple--and of course classics like Sesame, Egg, Cinnamon Raisin (pictured), and Cheese. Cream cheeses come in several flavors as well.

They have been rated 'Best' by Los Angeles Magazine, and been featured in the Los Angeles Times (where I first ate a Brooklyn Bagel).

The prices and the hours are great. Every day after 3:00 p.m., all fresh bagels are half price--a bagel "Happy Hour"!

The Brooklyn Bagel Company is located at 2217 Beverly Blvd. Open 6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. daily. For more info: brooklynbagella.com, (213) 413-4114.

-- Leslie Anne Wiggins

Photo credit: brooklynbagella.com

Check It. The September Issue on DVD.

The September Issue, or, as some call it, "the real 'Devil Wears Prada'", is available on a 2-Disc DVD today. The Vogue documentary is insightful not only into the guarded world of American Vogue's Editor in Chief Anna Wintour, but also into how an issue (specifically, the September 2007 issue featuring Sienna Miller) of a top magazine is put together.

In the film, I didn't find Wintour to be as awful as she's often portrayed, although she's not exactly what one would call a warm person. She's reserved yet speaks her mind unapologetically. The film shows her as a hard worker who knows what she's looking for each month. She's clearly doing something right, so good for her! Getting to "know" Vogue's longtime creative director Grace Coddington was a great part of The September Issue. Coddington is behind many of the magical fashion spreads in the magazine, and has a great-to-watch working relationship with sunglass-wearing, Starbucks-loving Wintour.

The DVD has over 25 deleted scenes with over 90 minutes of extra footage.

-- Leslie Anne Wiggins

Photo credit: reelstyle.files.wordpress.com

Eat & Drink It. Dean & Deluca.

Nothing screams coffee like a Monday morning ...

I first noticed Dean & Deluca in high school while watching my favorite TV show, Felicity. Prime-time's favorite curly-haired NYU student Felicity Porter (Keri Russell) worked there, and while I thought their simple black and white style was cool, I knew nothing of their expansive selection of gourmet goodies. The self-described "purveyors of fine food, wine & kitchenware" are on my mind a lot these days, and it's a damn shame L.A. doesn't have one (California has one, in St. Helena). Thank goodness for the world wide web.

As a Christmas gift, I received a bag of the Manhattan Blend coffee with a set of the super cute diner-style white Dean & Deluca mugs. I'm getting used to the additional step of grinding the whole beans (I'd been a pre-ground kinda gal), but it's all worth it in the end. Next I'm going to give their French Roast a try, as the online description includes the words "dark chocolate, nutmeg and caramel." Yum.

Other D&D favorites--tinned candy, chicken pot pie, and awesome red spatulas.

-- Leslie Anne Wiggins

Photo credit: www.seriesaddict.fr

Advance Notice. Vampire Weekend.

Vampire Weekend is playing Pomona's Fox Theater in April and if you want to go, I suggest you purchase your tickets this morning. The presale begins at 10:00 a.m. and the password is CONTRA.

Their new album, Contra, is out next Tuesday--January 12. After nearly two years of having "Oxford Comma" stuck in my head, I for one am thrilled about some new music from the New York indie rockers.

The Fox Theater Pomona is located at 301 S. Garey Ave. in Pomona, Calif.

Tickets are on sale at www.goldenvoice.com

-- Leslie Anne Wiggins

Photo credit: Goldenvoice

Advance Notice. New Animal Collective.

We started the year with January's Merriweather Post Pavilion and now we can bookend 2009 with even more new tripped-out tunes from Animal Collective.

The new EP Fall Be Kind already leaked last week, but if you would like a physical copy, Domino is taking your pre-order for the December 14^th release now. Will it get to your house in time to wrap and give as a Christmas gift to the hipster in your life? Maybe. Otherwise, keep it for yourself, because you deserve it. Check-out the first track, “Graze,” below: