Happy Labor Day!

Happy Labor Day from the BEAT of young los angeles!

Thank you for reading.

-- the BEAT

Photo credit: Uptown Crew

Do It. Ludo Truck.

If you haven't yet had the chance to try Chef Ludo Lefebvre's fried chicken, tonight is your chance. The Ludo Bites truck will be outside Ludo's pop-up restaurant at downtown Los Angeles' Gram & Papa's tonight starting at 8:00 p.m., until 10:00 p.m. or when they run out of food.

Gram & Papa's is located at 227 East 9th Street in Los Angeles. Info: twitter.com/ludotruck

-- Leslie Anne Wiggins

Photo credit: mobimunch.com

Check It. The Walkmen x Etsy.

Call me shallow, but it's really disappointing to me when a cool band has awful t-shirt or album designs. Yeah, I judge books by their covers.

The Walkmen, an indie rock band known for its scratchy, careening vocals and jangly guitars, aren't one of those bands. Their cover for their 2008 album You & Me is one of my favorites of all-time, and I honestly couldn't even tell you why. There's something so aesthetically beautiful about it--the text, the image. And it helped that the music was great too; it's a great dark and seductive fall album.

But The Walkmen are on to the next, and although I haven't given it a good listen yet (stream here now on NPR!), Lisbon's album cover, at least, is promising. What I'm also digging is their new collaboration with online craft website Etsy, in which the band called upon three Etsy artists to help create limited edition items to go along with Lisbon's release. The exclusive items include a silkscreen print insert for 7", a T-shirt and silk-screened poster, and all were inspired by Lisbon, Portugal (which in turn, was The Walkmen's inspiration on the album). Definite must-have for any fan, but still nice and creative enough for anyone who likes cool art.

Be sure to order your Walkmen x Etsy items soon, though: you'll want to do it before Sept. 10 to ensure delivery by Sept. 14, when Lisbon is officially released, and it's all limited-edition.

Check out the items here.

-- Chau Tu

Eat In. Trader Joe's European Style French Vanilla Mint yogurt.

Trader Joe's is always coming out with new items, often hit-or-miss. I just spotted this in the refrigerated section and decided to try it.

I imagined it tasting a lot like Middle Eastern yogurt that often comes with mint in it, which can be very strong and pungent, coming on the side of a main dish.

This however has neither of those qualities. Smooth, creamy, with a French vanilla flavor at first and a minty aftertaste this is one of my favorite of Trader Joe's recent new products.

And like many of their yogurts, the new cups of French vanilla mint cost $.99 each.

-- Lauren Williams

Drink It. Izze [Thirsty Thursdays!].

Izze Sparking Juice is one of my favorite drinks. All the flavors are delicious, they're completely natural, and they have just the right amount of fizz. The fruit juice/sparking water blend makes for a healthy choice--with just under 30 grams of sugar per 12 oz. bottle and between 120-130 calories, depending on the flavor. Pictured above are Blackberry, Grapefruit, and Clementine. More flavors available.

Straight from the bottle or over ice, alone or mixed with something, these versatile beverages can really be enjoyed at any time of day.

The bottle design is pretty cute too.

Izze is available at some supermarkets (Gelson's, Whole Foods), and at Target and Rite Aid, according to the Izze website.

-- Leslie Anne Wiggins

Photo credit: the BEAT

Advance Notice. Free Interpol show at Space 15 Twenty.

It's a pretty defining moment for the NYC band Interpol right now. Not only are they getting ready to release their fourth album, a self-titled one that's highly anticipated for having promised a return to the basics, but they're doing it after a major line-up change--bassist Carlos D left the band in May.

All this makes for a good case to go see Interpol live, immediately, and Space 15 Twenty is giving you that chance. The (new) band is performing next Tuesday for one hour only in the parking lot of the Hollywood spot, for FREE. All you have to do if preorder the album now, at any of the participating retailers (including Amoeba, Origami Vinyl and Fingerprints), to get a wristband into the show. You can also order the album online at Matador Records, but you have to remember to put "LA OUTSTORE" in the comments section.

What's the outlook for Interpol's future? Here's your chance to find out.

Interpol will be performing from 7-8pm next Tuesday at Space 15 Twenty, located at 1520 N. Cahuenga Blvd. in Hollywood.

-- Chau Tu

Eat Out. La Capilla.

La Capilla has gotten the thumbs up as the best place for Mexican food in the South Bay for years, and after a recent visit it's not hard to see why. Generous portions and flavorful sauces with unique ingredients (I'm sure they put cinnamon in their enchilada sauce) this is a very good Mexican restaurant.
A girlfriend recently told me about their birthday menu (a free meal on your birthday) and I went with a few friends on my birthday and we were all happy.

Pictured above is one of their many birthday dinners, two enchiladas, beans and rice. The cheese was very tasty. I'm sure it was a blend of Mexican queso fresco and other cheeses, rather then just cheddar and monterey jack which even many good Mexican restaurants seem to use.

The friends I was with also said their beef was very good -- moist and flavorful like shredded pot roast. Most meals are under $10 making this a very affordable dinner out. One friend even had their special which was $6 for a taco, beans, rice, and a second side. Enough for her dinner and lunch the next day.

La Capilla is in Old Town Torrance and also next to a decent brewery with some good locally brewed beers on tap.

La Capilla is located at 1332 Sartori Ave.

-- Lauren Williams

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

Check It. Red Riding Trilogy.

The new on DVD this week Red Riding Trilogy was released in U.S. theaters earlier this year after wild success in England. The feature-length television episodes aired on Channel 4 in the U.K. and are based on author David Peace's quartet of books. I think the creepiest aspect is that the crimes are real--but fictionalized for the stories. The "Yorkshire Ripper" serial killer terror travels through the series.

Another film based on a David Peace novel, The Damned United, was nominated for several awards last year.

-- Leslie Anne Wiggins

Photo credit: dreadcentral.com

Check It. The Shop at The Standard [Guest Post].

If you can tear yourself away from the magic of the Quiksilver vending machines at The Standard Downtown’s rooftop pool for a moment, you will notice the recently made over The Shop around the corner in the lobby. The psychedelic life-size jewelry box of a store shares space with Rudy’s Barber Shop and is now carrying a slew of designer goods for your getaway and/or staycation needs.

A toasting party was held the other night with mini trunk shows displaying limited edition Clare Vivier handbags (designed specifically for The Shop), Paul Frank sunglasses, paint-it-yourself TOMS Shoes and Livity hats to brave the UV in LA. Guests noshed on tasty nibbles, like hempseed brownies with salty caramel and sipped Milton Gladlys (apple honey infused vodka with sparkling water) while DJ Valida made some jams.

Labor Day staycation, anyone?

The Shop at The Standard is located at 550 S. Flower St. in downtown.

-- Nairi Najarian

Photo credit: Melissa Manning/The Look Partnership