the monthly BEAT: Silver Lake. Berlin Currywurst.

It's official: L.A.'s got a sausage obsession. (Keep your mind clean.) With the recent openings of restaurants like Wirtshaus on Fairfax and Papaya Dog a la New York alongside our established institutions like Wurstkuche and those bacon-wrapped dirty dogs found so conveniently on sidewalk corners late at night, there hasn't been this much excitement about sausages since Dodger Dogs.

But let's escape the L.A. hype for a bit and take a detour to Berlin -- via Silver Lake, of course. Nestled right on the Sunset Junction, Berlin Currywurst opened up earlier this year with an emphasis on simplicity: owned by an extremely nice husband-wife team; just a few benches, tables and chairs; and an easy menu of the German street food fave.

Currywurst isn't a usual dog-and-bun deal. Here you'll choose your sausage -- wursts of chicken, pork, beef, tofu -- then choose your heat level. The sausage comes cut up in pieces doused in homemade organic sauce based in ketchup and curry and your level of heat. There's bread on the side for you to dip in, and the option of delicious fries with jambalaya seasoning and onions.

Simple, cheap ($6 for just the currywurst, add $3.50 for the fries) and absolutely delicious. A ton of flavor and heat that smolders softly at first, but effectively by the end. And the perfect primer for Pazzo Gelato next door, setting the pace for making Berlin Currywurst a Silver lake must.

Berlin Currywurst is located at 3827 Sunset Blvd. in Silver Lake.

-- Chau Tu

Photo credit: the BEAT

the monthly BEAT: Silver Lake. Sunset Junction 2011.

For August's edition of the monthly BEAT, we're focusing on Silver Lake, which actually just so happens to be my own new neighborhood. It's a land oft-known/ridiculed for its hipsterism, but that mainly just means there are a lot of newer, younger places popping up around town that, while carry a hype machine, could be worth your visit.

But there are also some institutions already in place, a la Malo, Intelligentsia, and of course, the Sunset Junction Music Festival and Street Fair. Taking place at the end of the month at -- where else? -- the Sunset Junction, the musical lineup includes bands and artists both local and not, both big and small. Think Bobby Womack, the Melvins, Hanson (yep), Art Brut, the Butthole Surfers, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Dum Dum Girls, alongside the Soft Pack, Lesands, Hands, Oh Darling and more. And then there's the market and food and fair stuff and general fun galore.

Tickets are only $20 per day, get them here.

The Sunset Junction Music Festival and Street Fair takes place Aug. 27-28 at Sunset Junction, located at 3700 to 4300 Sunset Blvd. (between Edgecliffe Dr. and Fountain Ave.) and 4000 to 4200 Santa Monica Blvd. (between Sanborn Ave. and Hoover St.).

-- Chau Tu

Check It. Baltic Crossroads Art Gallery.

One of the more unique, beautiful places to get funky international items is the Baltic Crossroads Art Gallery in Silver Lake right near Sunset Junction.

Quality handmade clothes with interesting Eastonian patterns, amazing, fascinating pottery, journals, and weird music you can't just go out and find at any large chain with international items.

Everything at this place is just beautiful, and the store's owner is unreal, from another world he's very nice and happy to talk about his Baltic items with store visitors and clearly takes pride in the things sold at his store.

If you're in the market for beautiful, quality home decor or some comfy wool socks for the coming fall, this is an amazing place to check out. Pictured above are some Baltic-style footsies.

Baltic Crossroads Art Gallery is located at 3929 Fountain Ave.

-- Lauren Williams

Advance Notice. Sunset Junction Street Fair.

The Sunset Junction Street Fair is one of L.A.'s premier local events, often featuring the coolest of indie and rock bands in the midst of a good ole fashioned street fair, and usually scheduled as a perfect last hurrah for summer.

This year's event is set to be the 30th anniversary, so big things are sure to be happening. Info is still trickling in slowly, but some of the bands have already been announced, including the ever-delightful Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, my favorite Mayer Hawthorne, Fitz and the Tantrums, the Deadly Syndrome, Red Cortez and more.

The excitement will be revving up quickly, so you may as well book August 21st and 22nd and get your tickets now, for the special pre-sale price of $15. At-door tickets will be $20 (but you probably won't want to risk a sell-out). It's an L.A. classic, and you won't want to miss out.

-- Chau Tu

Eat Out. Intelligentsia.

Overheard on a busy Saturday afternoon, in line at Intelligentsia Silverlake:
Boy 1: "So what's the big deal about this Intelligentsia place anyway? Why is everyone so crazy about it?"
Girl: "Oh, you'll see."
Boy 2: "Yeah, it's basically like crack."

That's one way to put it. The popular coffeehouse opened here just a mere three years ago, but quickly became a hip mainstay, later expanding to Venice on the Westside, and in the near future--the north in Pasadena.

So what's the big deal, right? I wouldn't quite liken it to an addictive substance, but the coffee here is excellent. The baristas here certainly know their coffee and tea, and are willing to spew off a billion different adjectives for any chosen variety. I tend to opt for the mocha or the cappuccino, simply because I can't resist the creaminess of their froths. They're also never too sweet (the mocha obviously being made from real chocolate) and are pretty decently priced, in terms of artisan coffee. And this time, I splurged ($2.75) on an irresistible caramel shortbread cookie with chocolate filling...do I even need to say it was worth it? Because it totally was. Leslie got the chai, pictured at top above.

The Sunset Junction was especially buzzing this afternoon, and Intelligentsia was no exception. It can be difficult at times to find a seat, but the outside seating space is still strangely nice and cozy, perfect for a day out catching up with friends. And who wants to go to Starbucks again, right? Pretend you're a coffee connoisseur and impress your friends with your hip taste--maybe you'll even get a little addicted.

Intelligentsia in Silverlake is located at 3922 W. Sunset Blvd.

-- Chau Tu

Photo credit: theBEAT

Do It. Follow The Soft Pack's 10-show marathon.

Always dreamed of doing the Penny Lane thing: following around your favorite band, doing non-groupie things and having hungover sing-alongs? We can't make any promises about those non-groupie things, but how about a one-day tour sure to present just as many hijinks (okay, maybe not an almost-plane crash)?

Local band The Soft Pack is set to release their self-titled debut album this Tuesday and in celebration, they're doing a ten-show marathon all over Southern California tomorrow. Current announced shows include Frankie's on the Sunset Junction, Fingerprints in Long Beach and a house party at 'Kevin from Crystal Antlers' dad's house' (with Crystal Antlers performing as well), but there looks to be some surprise stops TBA'd on Twitter too.

But forget being tied down to your lame electronic device all day--just hit the road with the Soft Pack and enjoy their tunes all day! Sure to be an adventure, and maybe one day you can make an Oscar-winning film of it too.

(But if can't make any of those ten shows, you can stream The Soft Pack's new album on myspace now.)

-- Chau Tu

Photo credit: The Soft Pack