Click It. BEAT picks of the week.

The late, great Christopher Hitchens on how to make a decent cup of tea.

It's always fun to check out everything from eye shadow and moisturizers to nail polish and perfume in Sephora ... A new Culver City location opened yesterday, March 9. I want to try Benefit's new "Hello Flawless!" Oxygen Wow foundation.

One of New York's most legendary restaurants, Le Cirque, is going on a cross-country pop-up tour, with the "LA" stop being at Orange County's Center Club on April 6. Click here for more about An Evening with Le Cirque.

Now open: UMAMIcatessen - 846 Broadway in downtown Los Angeles.

Today in the Times: the new Saturday section, and Jonathan Gold.

For weekend browsing, the March / April issue of Lonny.

-- Leslie Anne Wiggins

Photo credit: Martin Parr / Magnum Photos, via Slate

the BEAT of the week: LA Weekly's Gold Standard.

Well, the rumors are true: LA Weekly's beloved food critic/expert Jonathan Gold will soon be leaving the publication for the L.A. Times.

So this is your very last chance to enjoy such a major foodie paradise -- otherwise known as the Gold Standard -- in this incarnation, at least. And it'll surely be a blowout of a last event. Gold's invited his favorite foodmakers from all over the city to this event, where you can finally get a taste of all of the action. Animal, Mozza, Short Order, ink., Street, Jitlada and so many more will all be in attendance, as well as a long list of wine and beer and spirit providers. For $75 general admission, for all-you-can-eat of L.A.'s best (you have four hours of pure eating!), you really can't beat it.

Happy eating!

The 4th Annual Gold Standard takes place Sunday, March 5 from 1pm-5pm at the Petersen Auto Museum, located at 6060 Wilshire Blvd. in Mid-City.

-- Chau Tu

Do It. LA Weekly Pancake Breakfast with Jonathan Gold.

LA Weekly's food critic Jonathan Gold puts on his annual Gold Standard event every spring, featuring his picks for the best of L.A., and it's always a huge success. Now he's narrowing it down and focusing on just one basic food groups: Pancakes.

Alas, you're surely not to get just simple flapjacks at the LA Weekly Pancake Breakfast happening later this month. With participating restaurants like Warszawa, Salt's Cure, LAMill and Playa, the menu promises to be fun, inventive and still completely delicious.

Having brunch with J. Gold! We're a lucky city.

The LA Weekly Pancake Breakfast takes place 11am-2pm on Sat., Aug, 28 at Vibiana, located at 214 S. Main St. in downtown. Tickets are $25 each and are available here.

-- Chau Tu

Do It. Slake pre-Valentine's celebration at Vroman's.

I never did pick up the first issue of Slake, but I just may get Volume 2. Plus their current cover goes along with our apparent black and white theme of the day.

On Sunday, Vroman's is hosting a pre-Valentine's celebration of love, and of Charles Bukowski. Slake editors Laurie Ochoa (former editor-in-chief of LA Weekly, and wife of Jonathan Gold) and Joe Donnelly will be there, as well as writers Geoff Nicholson, Victoria Patterson, Sam Slovick, and more.

Sunday February 13 at 6:30 p.m.

Vroman's is located at 695 E Colorado Boulevard in Pasadena.

Slake: Los Angeles, a City and Its Stories, No. 2: Crossing Over, $18

-- Leslie Anne Wiggins

Photo credit: good.is

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. "This is Your Library."

Sure, everyone's always preaching about how we should save our public libraries, and obviously there's really no reason not to want to save your local library -- free books, entertainment, childhood memories, those poor librarians. But admittedly, it can be difficult to think of something that you could do that would actually help out the public spaces.

But now there's this: the Library Foundation of Los Angeles is taking steps to make the library cool again by hosting "This is Your Library." It's supposed to be the beginning of a new series of "late-night talk show-like events," featuring discussions with prominent people from and about the wonderful city of Los Angeles. There'll also be live music, DJs, food trucks and a bar, and overall just a good time hanging out at the library at night, appreciating L.A. Supporting the library can be pretty easy, right?

The kickoff of the series is Thursday (tomorrow) night at 7:30pm at the Central Library downtown, and it's going off with a bang: among the featured guests for the night is LA Weekly's own food critic guru Jonathan Gold, Stuff White People Like's Christian Lander, Black Flag/Circle Jerks' Keith Morris, Latin musician and up-and-comer Ceci Bastida and the band The Holloys. It's a pretty eclectic group, which should make for an interesting night. Tickets are $15 each, and remember, this is going to the Library Foundation, so it's all in goodness.

"This is Your Library" is taking place at the Central Library's Mark Taper Auditorium located at 630 W. Fifth St. in downtown.

And if you're still jonsing for a drink afterwards, head on over to my favorite Library Bar!

-- Chau Tu

Do It. Jonathan Gold and Bret Easton Ellis at the Hammer.

I'm so excited about this event, I'm blogging on the weekend.

On Tuesday evening, Bret Easton Ellis (author) and Jonathan Gold (food critic) will be at the Hammer Museum for a "Hammer Conversations" event. They share a fascination for L.A., pop culture, and eating.

Free. Tuesday November 16 at 7:00 p.m. The Hammer is located at 10899 Wilshire Blvd. in Westwood, Calif. Info: hammer.ucla.edu, (310) 443-7000

-- Leslie Anne Wiggins

Photo credit: hammer.ucla.edu

Do It. LA Craft Beer Crawl.

The name says it all. If you've been craving for some lovely beers to ride you in on the autumn season -- thanks Lauren! -- then what better way to do it than a good ole fashioned beer crawl?

And this isn't just a crack-open-a-can affair here. For one, the LA Craft Beer Crawl happening this weekend will be taking place at the bars of the 213 Ventures, a.k.a. some of downtown's best -- like Seven Grand, Golden Gopher, Broadway Bar and Cana Rum Bar. Expect some class and a whole lot of attention on the brew. And speaking of the brew, there'll be over fifty craft beers represented, all chosen carefully by The Beer Chicks (they seem to know what they're talking about). And to drown it all down will be food from trucks specially picked by LA Weekly's food critic Jonathan Gold.

Tickets are on sale now for $49, which includes a 6 oz. tasting glass, unlimited tastings across all the seven bars and an after-party at Casey's with live music. A $60 VIP ticket will get you some exclusive beer cocktails and a chance to hang out with Gold himself. And while your ticket may be getting you down and dirty, some of the proceeds from it won't -- the money will help out Heal the Bay. So drink on!

The LA Craft Beer Crawl takes place this Saturday from 3pm-8pm in downtown.

-- Chau Tu

Etc. 2nd Annual Gold Standard Food and Wine Event [Guest Post].

This past weekend I attended the L.A. Weekly's second annual "Gold Standard," a food-sampling event where attendees get to try specially chosen small dishes from 40 diverse Los Angeles area restaurants. “Gold Standard” is named for Jonathan Gold, the Weekly's Pulitzer Prize-winning food critic (and patron saint of the local foodie-blogger scene), as he is the one who chooses the participating restaurants. I, just like pretty much everyone else I know who is familiar with his work, am a huge fan of his writing, as well as his keen insight into the local culinary-culture scene.

After attending a second time, I remain convinced that “Gold Standard” is a perfect outing for those living in So Cal who (like me) consider the act of eating delicious food with friends to be among the more worthwhile and satisfying pursuits of life. Admittedly, the $60 cost is on the high side, and I found the food this year to be slightly less impressive when compared with last year's (my friend thought that this time there were fewer in the way of trendy new restaurants, a-la Animal, so maybe that's why I wasn't blown away by as many of the dishes this time). But such minor complaints aside, I definitely had a great time once again.

For one thing, the venue this year--the Petersen Automotive Museum--proved to be a lot easier to navigate than last year's site (the West Hollywood location of Smashbox Studios), which was a major complaint of many who attended. Also, Stella Artois and Bulleit Bourbon provided free custom glasses for attendees, and I was definitely not alone in my excitement at being able to go home with a gold-rimmed Stella beer glass! (What can I say; I'm a sucker for those commercials...) Most important though were the samples of food from some of Mr. Gold’s favorite local eateries, places like Jitlada, Palate Food and Wine, Wurstküche, and the Nickel Diner (who provided samples of their now infamous Maple Bacon Donut). And you could chase it all down with wine, beer and bourbon, all of which was also included in the $60 entrance fee. So really, what's not to like?

Personally, I enjoyed the frozen treats available from two of the stands providing desserts. One was that manned by the Bulgarini Gelato dudes, with their impressively authentic Italian gelato, something I've been meaning to try ever since Gold first started touting it a few years ago. Upon tasting their Chocolate with Sea Salt flavor, I was immediately transported back to the time I spent studying abroad in Florence a few summers ago. The other stand was the Saffron Spot ice cream table, which had a number of their own unique flavors of ice cream, all of which were delicious.

While at the event I was able to corner Gold briefly and ask him about Slake, the new magazine devoted to L.A. that his wife Laurie Ochoa--the Weekly's recently departed editor in chief--is heading up. I didn't find out many details, but it sounds as if they are continuing to move forward on it, and I'm really excited to read the first issue.

Anyway, if you like trying some delicious and very diverse kinds of food, and are willing to throw down a bit of money for an afternoon of some good old-fashioned gluttony, I would definitely consider looking into attending next year's event.

-- Nico Smedley

Nico, a former Los Angeles Times editorial assistant and Editorial Pages Aide, is currently living in San Diego and pursuing a career in the journalism and media industry.

Photo credit: blogs.laweekly.com