Etc. Arcona 15% off.

In celebration of Earth Day this April, Arcona Los Angeles is offering 15% off your product purchase when you bring in an empty Arcona container, for recycling. Through April 30.

As Arcona products are natural and best used within six months of opening, it's pretty likely that if you use Arcona you have an empty (or near empty) bottle around.

The Arcona Studio is located at 425 Broadway in Santa Monica.

-- Leslie Anne Wiggins

Photo credit: beautysnob.com

Eat In. Merken.

This spice is used in Chile like Americans use cracked pepper. A medley of coriander, cumin, salt, and cacho de cabra (goat's horn chile pepper), this is nothing to scoff at.

I've fallen in love with merken, and regularly sprinkle it on everything. I particularly like it over lentils with olive oil, but it can also be used to season fish and other meat, and in pastas, soups, and potato dishes. Try it as an alternative to pepper to season any dish.

Mashed potatoes in Chile are often pink with a bit of merken in the mix.

Merken can be bought at Whole Foods and Williams-Sonoma.

-- Lauren Williams

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter! As always, thank you for reading.

-- the BEAT

Photo credit: craftythisandthat.blogspot.com

Eat Out. The Potholder [Sunday Brunch].

Thinking of tomorrow's big Egg Day, Potholder on Broadway in Long Beach has some fantastic eggy dishes. This is definitely an early morning/afternoon place, open at 7 a.m. everyday, and closing between 3-4 p.m. this place has 40+ different scrambles, omlettes, and eggy concoctions! They boast to be the "King of Breakfast" in Long Beach and it's no wonder why.

On weekends though, this is definitely the place to be, with a wait of nearly 30 minutes at times, but with as many options as they have, it will take you at least that long to decide what to get.

Potholder has a 1970s feel, and clearly gradually expanded into the four different rooms it now occupies. On the walls, are pictures of devoted Potholder patrons around the world, all holding signs for this place. On top of Mt. Everst and thinking of Potholder? Hey, I'm thinking about it from South America. Now that's some Potholder love.

Potholder is located at 3700 E. Broadway in Long Beach.

-- Lauren Williams

Do It. World Pillow Fight Day and Tweetcrawl.

Besides being able to follow us, I guess there are some other advantages to being on Twitter; one of them being able to be an active participant in this Saturday's Sunset Strip Tweetcrawl. Head down to the famously rambunctious boulevard for an all-out bar hop, complete with specials and prizes only available to those clued-in by timely tweets. For starters, though, look forward to a ping-pong tournament at the Standard, an egg hunt at LIVE! on Sunset, and cheap cocktails at the Viper Room and the Roxy, all with an Easter twist, of course (bunny attire highly encouraged).

Before taking part in that Eggstravaganza (really, we're not even being punny--it's the name of the event) though, you'll want to make sure you're in downtown at 3 pm. for yes, World Pillow Fight Day. But shh.. we didn't tell you. Just bring your soft pillow (preferably feathered, and kept hidden until the signal), head to Pershing Square and wait for the blowhorn. You'll know what to do next.

-- Chau Tu

Photo credit: L.A. Times

Advance Notice. The Living Sisters at Amoeba.

If you missed them at Saturday Nights at the Getty, maybe you can catch 'em at Amoeba.

Super talented Los Angeles girl group The Living Sisters are having an Ameoeba Music in-store on Sunday April 11 at 5:00 p.m. Their album Love to Live was released Tuesday.

Like I wrote about before, Eleni Mandell of The Living Sisters tied for LA Weekly's 2003 best rock/pop songwriter/composer award with Elliott Smith. Had to give that another mention, right?

Amoeba Music is located at 6400 Sunset Blvd. in Hollywood.

-- Leslie Anne Wiggins

Photo credit: The Living Sisters' MySpace

Make It. Laundry tips [A clean house on the cheap].

It's Friday, which for many people means it's almost laundry day.

One way to keep your clothes fitting just right even after several washes is to always undo the buttons, zippers, Velcro and any other thing that binds one part of your clothes to another. Even if it's a button you don't use often, the agitating washing machine pulls at button holes and zippers making them weaker and less likely to hold up over time.

In order to keep your pants, shirts, and dresses from embarrassing oops-that-wasn't-supposed-to-come-undone moments, undo the buttons before a load of wash. It takes an extra minute, but is definitely worth it.

-- Lauren Williams

Eat Out. The Pike Bar & Fish Grill [Thirsty Thursdays!].

Probably one of the best dive bars in Long Beach, The Pike Bar & Fish Grill has everything a night out drinking needs: good live music, excellent food, and a decent selection of beer on tap and in the bottle.

The Pike has become a sort of watering hole for LB hipsters who regularly roll up on their fixies. After about 8 p.m. this place can get pretty crowded any night of the week, but wandering in you're likely to find excellent local DJs spinning and bands playing, including LB-based Paper Planes.

Owned by former Social Distortion drummer Christopher Reece, the bar's entrance has a rug with the iconic skeleton with a martini and top hat, giving The Pike its well-deserved punk rock meets all things nautical decor. Scattered throughout the bar are little mementos from Long Beach's past, including ticket stubs from a 1960s Grand Prix under the counter, and Japanese glass balls. Every time I go here I find a new, fascinating ocean-themed object.
The food here is really excellent. Pastas, burgers, burritos, and their excellent, always hot potato wedges are stellar. The waitresses here are nice and get you what you need fast. I hear they have great breakfasts too, but hopefully you won't be here long enough to find out.

The Pike is located at 1836 E. 4th Street.

-- Lauren Williams

Photo credit: Top, The Pike's MySpace; bottom: Sunset Magazine

Do It. The Onion and A.V. Club at Echoplex.

Call me old-fashioned, but I still mourn the absence of an actual weekly print issue of The Onion in L.A. There was nothing better than an inappropriate headline and ridiculous photo to brighten up my Thursday mornings, and I appreciated the A.V. Club's witty and wise guidance through pop culture for my weekends. Sure, there's the web, but I miss the local A.V. Club guide, and it's just not the same reading about "That Full House Episode Where They Meet the Beach Boys Is On Tomorrow at 3 P.M." or "Bush Refuses To Set Timetable For Withdrawal Of Head From White House Banister" from your computer screen. It's not! (But they're admittedly still funny.)

So I guess we'll have to settle for...having The Onion and the A.V. Club in person! That's right, your favorite names and brains behind the headlines and entertainment coverage are appearing tonight at Echoplex for "Our Dumb Book Event," which celebrates the release of their Inventory and Our Front Pages books. They're also bringing comedians Tom Lennon and Ben Garant from Reno 911! and the band Division Day with them, among others, and considering it's April Fools Day, hijinks are sure to be in order.

Our Dumb Book Event is $10 at 7:30pm at Echoplex, located at 1154 Glendale Blvd. in Echo Park.

-- Chau Tu

Photo credit: © Copyright 2010, Onion, Inc.

Happy April Fool's Day, y'all!

Don't get fooled!

Today is April Fool's Day, and we at the BEAT would like to wish you a happy one.

-- the BEAT

Photo credit: www.modernvespa.com