Eat Out. 4th Street Wine [Thirsty Thursdays!].

This tiny wine shop on Fourth Avenue and Junipero Street is an excellent place to pick up a good bottle of wine any day of the week, but on Thursdays the happy hour here is unbelievable with $3 glasses of excellent wines from around the world and a hearty selection of exotic beers, too.

A cozy, if not small, seating area, good music, and a relaxed atmosphere make this an ideal place to sample a few pricey bottles of wine at an incredible cost. They also have racks of wine, so you can take home the one you fancy at the end of the night.

Snacks aren't served here however, so if you need something in your stomach before you drink, a neighboring wine bar, Art du Vin, serves up very good homemade hummus, avocado bruschetta, and glasses of the good stuff too, but at a heftier price.

Art du Vin is attached to the recently renovated Art Theatre of Long Beach and Portfolio's little sister coffeeshop, The Portfolio Annex.

This Thursday, neighboring {open}, possibly the most adorable/useful bookstore I've been to, is also having a show for $3 at 8 p.m. since it's the third Thursday of the month. (The "who" of that who/what/where/when is still a mystery.)

Sorry, I was getting carried away. But Thursdays are definitely a good place to find yourself on Fourth Street in Long Beach.

4th Street Wine is located at 2142 E. 4th Street in Long Beach.

-- Lauren Williams

Photo credit: Courtesy of Yelp!

Check It. SXSW on NPR.

NPR is just the gift that keeps on giving. Even if you couldn't take eight days off of work to go to Austin for the music/film/interactive festival, NPR is streaming all week from the craziness that is SXSW.

You can tune in online to listen to live performances and interviews. Pictured above is Sleigh Bells, going on at 5:15 p.m. ET today.

-- Lauren Williams

Photo credit: NPR

Do It. Conversations with Frank Gehry.

What kind of mind does it take to create the single most iconic example of L.A.'s eclecticism? A Frank Gehry kind of mind, and now you can find out how it came up with the awe-inspiring design for the Walt Disney Concert Hall, as well as his other unforgettable and incredibly creative buildings.

The world-renowned architect will be discussing his work at Barnum Hall at Santa Monica High School with Barbara Isenberg, former L.A. Times reporter and author of Conversations with Frank Gehry. The book explores Gehry's iconoclastic aesthetic, and this in-person interview is sure to dive deep into his architectural genius.

$20 ($10 for students), 7 p.m. at Barnum Hall, 600 Olympic Blvd., Santa Monica.

-- Chau Tu

Photo credit: Walt Disney Concert Hall

Check It. Chanel's Particulière polish.

In honor of Fashion Week Los Angeles (March 17-24), I'd like to point out a trend I am loving for Spring 2010. Chanel recently launched a new line of nail polish colors that they've been using on the runway, including this putty-colored beauty called Particulière.

At $23, it's quite a splurge, but it's something you can wear everyday (for about a week at a time anyway). This is a color that works for both hands and feet, and is flattering for most skin tones. Fashion-forward Demi Moore was sporting putty-colored nails at the Academy Awards, and this week I noticed the of-the-moment shade on the nails of L.A. Times Image section editor Booth Moore too! I can't wait to get in on it with a glossy mani/pedi of my own.

If you're just not going to drop $20 plus on nail polish, Essie's Chinchilly does the trick too, and is a more reasonable $8.

-- Leslie Anne Wiggins

Photo credit: www.independent.co.uk

Do It. St. Patty's in Long Beach [Guest Post].

When one thinks of St. Patrick’s Day, they may conjure images of shamrocks, green t-shirts, large frosty pints of Guinness and maybe an annoying hangover the next day. You may want to add Long Beach to that list after this little writing. I know, I know, Long Beach? Not Boston, Chicago, St. Paul or New York City? But seriously, Long Beach has one of the largest collection of Irish pubs in Southern California.

I have been doing an extensive Long Beach/slight Seal Beach pub crawl for the past few years and let me tell you: 8 bars + 10-plus pints = day after with one nasty hangover and walk-of-shame back to car a mile away.

The following is a list of some of my personal favorites.

The Auld Dubliner is located at 71 S. Pine Street and has some of the best food that you will find on St. Patrick’s Day. Seriously, there is nothing worse then being four bars into your pub crawl and the only thing the kitchen is serving are Reubens. There will also be live music playing from 2-6 p.m., so get there early to avoid lines and all of that buzz kill. There usually is a $5 door cover, but that's common at most Irish bars on this day.
Next I would recommend Gallagher's Irish Pub & Grill at 2751 Broadway. This place has tons of Irish football and other homeland stuff on the walls and a large patio area. You've got to bring the party to the people right? There is live music here as well. Playing all day will be the band “American Wake.” If you like L.A. locals Flogging Molly, then you will love these guys. There’s nothing like punk-Irish music and an Irish car bomb to set the tone.

For dinner, I recommend EJ Malloy's Pub at 3411 Broadway, which is just a quick walk down the road from Gallagher's. They have over 15 beers on tab and amazing food. They also have a large patio area in the back, which is nice if you don’t want to look completely foolish in your green outfit and covered in hundreds of those beer icon green necklaces they always seem to be handing out.

And for one of my all-time faves, there is O’Malley’s on 140 Main Street, Seal Beach. I know it's not Long Beach, but it's so close I like to think that it's a cleaner side of LB. There are a ton of Irish pubs on Main Street and they all get crazy packed, so come earlier in the day if you can. This is one of those places that only serves Reubens, so you have been warned! Personally, I like the vibe in this place and the locals are always dressed to impress.

So go out and drink up some Harps or Jameson. Everyone is Irish on St. Patrick’s Day!

-- Brigid McGuire

Photo credit: Gallagher's Irish Pub & Grill, courtesy of OC Weekly; bottom: American Wake fiddler Robert Keysers playing an Irish ditty.

Drink It. Irish Breakfast tea.

I know, I know, today is all about beer (and maybe some whiskey too) ... but in case any of you feel it's still too early for Guinness, Irish Breakfast tea is a nice non-alcoholic alternate that still allows you to drink something Irish to celebrate St. Patrick's Day.

Irish Breakfast tea is a bold black tea blend very similar to English Breakfast tea, but a bit stronger. Like with English Breakfast, it's common to use sweetener (sugar, honey, or an artificial sweetener if you must) and cream or milk in the tea, which is served hot. "Malty" is also a word often used in describing Irish Breakfast tea, appropriate as I'm suggesting it as a beer alternate this March 17.

Barry's Tea was founded in 1901 in Cork, Ireland, and today accounts for 40% of all tea sales in Ireland, according to their website. Can't get much more Irish than that!

Cheers, and Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Barry's Tea is available at the Tudor House in Santa Monica, and at their online shop.

-- Leslie Anne Wiggins

Photo credit: www.theirishshop.co.uk

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

Check It. Mother (Madeo).

In a bland, dreary field of tall grasses, an older Asian woman appears. She walks closer and closer, in slow, winding steps and then stops. She sways, side-to-side, eyes looking off into nothing in particular. She raises her arms, and they sway too. She's dancing.

And so begins Mother (Madeo), a South Korean drama-thriller that just opened in limited release last Friday. This opening shot is strange and unexpected, in that artsy film sort of way, but sets you right into the offbeat tone of the film (the next scene, not to spoil anything, sets you up for its suspense aspect). As you watch this lady, a simply unbeautiful older lady, begin to move in this uninhibited way, you also can't help but see the pain and loss in her eyes, and so you start to understand what sort of dark world she lives in.

It's a world where she, Hye-ja, is a lowly merchant who lives with and takes care of her adult son, Do-joon, who is mentally incapacitated. Although always bearing a sense of hope in her son, Hye-ja is constantly worried and often overbearing over Do-joon, and things only get worse when he gets accused of a mysterious murder. The film follows Hye-ja as she fights for Do-joon's innocence, searching for the rightful killer and doing only what a mother could for her son.

Despite being a dark suspense thriller, Mother is quite beautifully shot in the way it pays attention to detail and just how it makes you feel--there's a particular cell phone-lit scene that I thought was gorgeous in its tone and composition. The actress who plays Hye-ja is absolutely superb, and makes you realize the void in American film for realistic-looking actors. You'll stay with her character to the very end, feeling every ounce of pain and despair she feels. And it's painful, sure, to watch her story unfold, but one worth the thrill ride.

Mother is playing at the Landmark at 10850 Pico Blvd. in West L.A. or the Sunset Laemmle at 8000 W. Sunset Blvd. in West Hollywood.

-- Chau Tu

Check It. Mika's "Kick-Ass" music video [Guest Post].

The patron saint for lost boys and girls (who want to stay lost) assembles yet another dance-youth anthem, this time with GaGa’s RedOne tucked into his shiny tailcoat pocket.

Curly locked pop-sensation Mika helms the title-track and the promotional buzz for upcoming super-hero comedy flick Kick-Ass, due out in theaters April 16. The music video premiered yesterday and is making its way through the blog circuit faster than a speeding bullet. After all, this is a superhero movie...or is it?

The cast of pimple-faced pseudo-heroes is led by relative newbie Aaron Johnson (The Illusionist) and Christopher Mintz-Plasse (McLovin’ to us). These crimefighters opt for DIY-costumes and goofy theatrics, but are on that noble quest to achieve what every nerd dreams of–chicks. You’ll find yourself wondering why Nicolas Cage is in this movie, and why his ass isn’t the one being kicked. It's a mystery that looms overhead like a Bat Signal with a blown fuse, so while I go solve that crime against cinema, enjoy "Kick-Ass."

--Nairi Najarian

Do It. Save the library.

Sometimes it is really astonishing that there is a place where you can get books, including new releases, books on CD and tape, movies, music, have them for a few weeks, and then return them -- for free. But with city budget cuts, the free part may not hold true anymore and some fear new costs might be added to a place that is already declining in popularity.

Today LA's mayor and the city council are hearing out concerned citizens at 10:30 a.m. for a meeting on the fate of the LA's Central Library, and the more people that show to support the library, the better. You can also sign the petition to save the library, in case you had plans at 10:30 a.m. on a Tuesday.

The Los Angeles Public Library is really a wonder, with seven stories of book choices, fantastic art deco architecture, free computer access, comfy chairs to nap in, more choices than Barnes & Nobles and, oh yeah, they're free.

What more can you ask for?

Meeting is scheduled to take place at 10:30 a.m. at 200 N. Spring Street, John Ferraro Council Chambers in Downtown.

-- Lauren Williams