Click It. BEAT picks of the week.

Mark your calendars with some great events coming up through the Library Foundation's ALOUD series: David Byrne and Trent Reznor on October 14; Ludo Lefebvre and Roy Choi on October 17; and an evening with Tom Wolfe (above) on October 29.

Listen to First Aid Kit.

Go see Diana Vreeland: The Eye Has to Travel.

Wine Enthusiast Magazine's just-released Top 100 Best Buys of 2012.

A great unisex scent--Santal 33, by Le Labo.

Curated coolness at Bookmarc.

For dessert: Momofuku Milk Bar cookie mixes at Williams-Sonoma.

-- Leslie Anne Wiggins

Photo credit: Mark Seliger via lfla.org

Click It. BEAT picks of the week.

Jeff Who Lives at Home. Jason Segel, Ed Helms, and Susan Sarandon all in the same movie? Yes, please.

J. Crew's classic leather ballet flats in tawny sand - perfect spring/summer shoes.

Starbucks' Kona coffee, because daylight savings is making early mornings rough.

Layer Cake Shiraz - delicious and well-priced red wine. On 'ClubBev' sale now at BevMo!

Start listening to A.A. Bondy now, so you'll know all the lyrics when he's at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles on May 1. Start with "When the Devil's Loose".

-- Leslie Anne Wiggins

Photo credit: Paramount Pictures via allmovieinfo.com

Check It. Striped tops.

I have been stripes-obsessed for quite some time now. It's great to see that this trend is still in full swing for fall, judging by J. Crew's current collection. Stock up this week with a free shipping offer on their women's tees and knits - offer though Wednesday at 11:59 p.m. EST.

The Long-stripe boater tee pictured is $72. Their Vintage cotton stripe shoulder-zip tee ($42.50) in 'spicy cinnamon' would be perfect gear for casual fall cooking nights with friends and good red wine.

Gap's Supersoft striped crewneck T is also a great basic striped top. Petit Bateau's Women's marinière too.

-- Leslie Anne Wiggins

Photo credit: J. Crew

Etc. Happy Valentine's Day.

Happy Valentine's Day, readers!

if you're eating in tonight, we recommend classic, always-romantic Italian - smoky fusilli perhaps

with some pinot noir

or napa brut rosé if you're feeling festive

and a good DVD

enjoy!

-- the BEAT

Photo credit: Sweet Bee Cottage

Advance Notice. The Gold Standard 2011.

LA Weekly's food critic Jonathan Gold has become well-known even beyond just foodies and Angelenos, thanks to his simple and entertaining reviews of eateries and restaurants that we actually care about (and not just the snobby ones). He's always willing to offer up his own advice and tips, and that's become even more evident and possible with his Gold Standard event.

It's only the 3rd time this gluttony extravaganza has taken place, but it's already popular beyond words. But when you know the food's got Gold's stamp of approval, you also know you won't be disappointed. The Gold Standard 2011 is a tasting event taking place on Sunday, March 6th at the Petersen Automotive Museum. Expect bites from 40 Gold-approved local restaurants and food trucks (because you can't leave those out in LA!) like A-Frame, Chichen Itza, Jitlada, La Casita Mexicana, Manila Machine, Mozza, Park's BBQ, Slaw Dogs, Street, The Gorbals, and drinks from 30 wineries. A lot of food, a lot of wine, but you've got 4 hours, so hope for fast metabolism!

Tickets are $60 general admission (all food and drink is included!), $80 for VIP with early entry and a swag bag -- but if you act quickly, you can get $10 off that price by buying presale tickets until 10 a.m. this morning using the promo code GOLD 11. And don't hesitate! The event is popular, and no tickets will be sold at the door.

And if you need a primer, check out our review of last year's event. But don't worry, your stomach will surely leave this event happy.

The Gold Standard 2011 is happening Sunday, March 6th from 1-5pm at the Petersen Automotive Museum, located at 6060 Wilshire Blvd. in Miracle Mile.

-- Chau Tu

Do It. BevMo!'s five cent wine sale.

You can count on the BEAT of young los angeles to let you know when BevMo! is having their periodic five cent wine sale. Yesterday, after a long Wednesday at the office, I thought a crisp glass of good rosé sounded perfect. I stopped by BevMo! to find their famous five cent wine sale going on. On certain (plenty good options) bottles of wine, when you buy one, a second is yours for just a nickel.

Needless to say (pictured above) I snagged two bottles for essentially the price of one. While I was there, I also got some pumpkin ale after Lauren's recent post about pumpkin products had me thinking about it.

I ended up having a Blue Moon/Harvest Moon Pumpkin Ale instead of that glass of rosé after all, so I'm hoping when I do open my 2008 Turkey Flat Vineyards it will live up to the 94 points it got from James Halliday.

BevMo! is located at 7100 Santa Monica Boulevard in West Hollywood. The 5 cent wine sale ends November 8. Info: (323) 882-6971

-- Leslie Anne Wiggins

Photo credit: the BEAT

Check It. Hi-Time Wine Cellars.

If you're ever in the Orange County area, Hi-Times Wine Cellars in Costa Mesa is a place that definitely deserves a peak inside.

A wine, beer, cheese, spirits, and cigar specialty store, I've often heard that it easily rivals BevMo! in their craft brew selection, and offers $10 wine tastings on Tuesdays, as well as carry interesting cheeses.

Because they're a smaller store, they get special cases of brews that large-scale vendors can't offer, so they have special edition beers and wines in addition to already having a pretty impressive selection.

Hi-Times Wine Cellars is located at 250 Ogle St. in Costa Mesa.

-- Lauren Williams

Drink It. Intelligentsia Pasadena [Guest Post].

Three years and one summer after breaking bean in Silver Lake and Venice, Intelligentsia, the couture coffee clubhouse hailing from Chicago, flew into Old Town Pasadena on its famous brewshtick with a shoulder-bumping grand opening party earlier this month.

The 73-seat lofty-aired space, with alley and sidewalk entrance, houses communal tables, church pews, wide open street side windows and electric blue walls perfect for a quick java fix or a sit-down lunch with small plates served up via chef Matthew Poley of Heirloom LA. The double bar is manned with primly trimmed and ‘stached baristas who’ll soon be slinging a different kind of brew in addition to the house blend: Los Feliz's Covell Bar GM Matthew Kaner will offer up a selection of wines and beers for the tap happy. Nummy pastries a la Bottega Louie and Cake Monkey Bakery are served daily, in addition to talks of Poley filtering in grilled cheese nights and a whole pig roast.

Beyond the bustling G.O. party (which had a line wrapped around the back alley), it’s been a quiet stream of laptop laden studs, modelesque espresso sippers, a woman dictating a script to the mysterious caller and the occasional hipster in for a routine inspection. All in all, just your average cuppa joes.

*A sweet treat must-try: Chocolate Locket Cookies Chocolate sable cookies (courtesy of Cake Monkey Bakery) are filled with house made caramel and sprinkled with Fleur de Sel. Life changing.

-- Nairi Najarian

Photo credit: Intelligentsia

Eat Out. Perfect Pairings.

With such a plethora of wonderful food options here in L.A., it can be easy to splurge. But now, with this trend of food + charity, you might not feel so bad about it in the end--and you get a great meal!

The latest foodie do-gooder out there is Perfect Pairings, a campaign that invited chefs and restaurants all over the city to pair up a few food and beverage items, and then sell those meals with a portion of the proceeds to go to Meals on Wheels. The beverages don't have to be alcoholic, and sometimes the dishes they're paired with are part of a pre-fixe menu or the chef's signature specialty.

So far, more than 50 restaurants are participating, including some of L.A.'s bests and favorites. Chef Neal Fraser at Grace, for instance, is pairing his 7 Year Itch pre-fixe menu, and that includes the infamous and absolutely delectable doughnuts for dessert. Chef Suzanne Tracht is pairing up Jar's signature pot roast with Dashe Cellars' Zinfandel 2007. And Chef Nobu Matsuhisa has his Whitefish Tiradito for two paired with Matsuhisa vodka martinis, among other dishes.

The possibilities are endless! So go out and enjoy some great food and wine (or whatever cleanses your palate) during this month-long campaign, and feel great about it too. Look for the fork and bottle logo (above) on the menu, and you're set to go.

-- Chau Tu

Eat Out. The Mercantile.

Sunset Boulevard has a new restaurant that's something to be excited about. It opened late last year and is quite delicious. What's nice about the Mercantile is, it's gourmet fare in a casual setting.

Chau and I went on a recent weeknight evening with a great coupon from BlackboardEats, which gave us three-course prix fixe dinners for $20 each (drinks not included, and most glasses of wine are $10 and up). We both started with the endive and warm goat cheese salad (pictured above) which had a generous amount of goat cheese, fresh lettuce, dates, and smoked almonds. I totally cleaned my plate, it was a great salad. For our main courses, I had their gnocci (which I think is actually gnudi), and Chau went with their homemade sausage dish, which was Spanish chorizo. The only complaint I'd have is my portion was a bit small! And if that's the only complaint, a restaurant is in pretty good shape.

The restaurant/specialty market has a deli case of meats and cheeses that one can buy for take-away, as well as shelves stocked with wines and condiments such as pepper jelly. Next to the deli case, is an ice cream case with homemade gelato--course number three. After some samplings, Chau went for the white chocolate peppermint, and I for Nutella-banana. Both were flavorful and creamy, perfect gelato. While the check would have been heftier if not for our coupon, I think I'd still go back, with or without help from BlackBoardEats. They're supposed to have a fantastic brunch, stay tuned!

The Mercantile is located at 6600 Sunset Blvd. in Hollywood.

-- Leslie Anne Wiggins

Photo credit: the BEAT

Do It. BevMo!'s five cent wine sale.

As a young person still learning about wine, I usually opt for Merlot, most of which I like. This weekend I gained a new appreciation for Pinot Noir while at a friend's house for the Pacquiao-Clottey fight (what I assumed would be a purely pizza and beer kind of night). Two bottles of 2007 Monterey Pinot Noir appeared, and I had a glass of Pessagno. It had a sweetness to it, "impressive for the way the cherry fruit explodes in the mouth", according to Wine Enthusiast via BevMo!, that I wasn't expecting from a Pinot Noir.

On Sunday I went to BevMo! to find a bottle, and the five cent wine sale was going on. While the Pessagno wasn't part of it, Irony (the other bottle present at the party) was. One bottle for $15.99, and the second for $0.05, averaging to be quite a deal for two good bottles. I tried it later that evening, and it was just as delicious, fruit-filled and smooth as the Pessagno.

Check out the sale before it ends.

BevMo! is located at 7100 Santa Monica Blvd. in West Hollywood.

-- Leslie Anne Wiggins

Photo credit: www.bevmo.com