Overall still a fun event but this year with the location at LA Center Studio instead of Exposition…read morePark like last year there was less room to roam around freely, there also weren't any talking panels from local craft brewers like they had last year. The event this year felt more like a regular beer fest where you just move around & sample beer instead of getting to find out more about craft beer & local breweries in Los Angeles, part of it could be due to the fact that the LA Vegan Beer Fest in Pasadena held their event on the same day this year, & San Diego also had their beer fest on the same day so the Brewers may have been spread thin. Hopefully next year they go back to a larger venue, if not & this event is on the same day as the vegan beer fest I'd recommend going to the vegan beer fest. The venue is larger & the time of the event is longer (5 hours at the Vegan Beer fest compared to 3 at the LA Beer Week fest)

Let's get the bad out of the way up front. The bathroom to crowd ratio was way off. 8…read moreporta-potties for this beer event was not enough. Beer=pee. First visit wasn't so bad but at it's worst the line seemed 100 people deep. At this point my friend's idea to buy Starry Kitchen chicken wings in exchange for entry to the bar bathroom was a good one. Many people did this. You also need to train your workers to install the toilet paper in the porta-potties. Towards the end of the event there were rolls of paper on the floor & thrown about. The security did a fine job regulating the line & kept it moving later. Now for the good. It's an outdoor beer festival in L.A.! The Chinatown location was perfect since we were able to take the train. Although by the looks of the crowd, you may have already outgrown the space. The tickets with the tasting glass was a good idea. Although it was an unlimited tasting event, the tickets somehow psychologically made you pace yourself. Last years event had a few unfortunate casualties that we witnessed (Girls Gone Wild). We were first greeted by Andrew from Ohana pouring this year's Unity beer, a collaboration beer that he had a hand in. We found a bench to relax on, our base camp but they were few and far between. Perhaps more chairs & tables next time. There were 24 L.A. County Brewers Guild breweries & 25 breweries from abroad. Each of them were pouring between 2-6 types of beer. A lot to choose from. It's just not possible to try them all. Between my husband & friends, we were able to try quite a bit. A rinse station/dump bucket at every brewery would have been helpful. We were familiar with most of the breweries in attendance but I was happy to finally be able to try Pacific Plate Brewing Co.'s Horchata Stout. It didn't disappoint. My husband's favorites were the Craftsman Oktoberfest, Bootlegger's Brewery's Knuckle Sandwich & Smog City Brewing Co.'s "Wierd" beer. The local breweries that we visit on a regular basis are always on point but our livers can only take so much. After Beer Week is over we will need to go on a cleanse. The music and the food & beer panel was a nice addition. By the way, Ting, if you need any R & D volunteers for your food & beer pairings, I'm here for you. We will continue to support our local breweries & Craft Beer! Cheers!

I went to the Grand Avenue Festival by chance this year and it was such a great time. I heard about…read moreit somewhere and thought it would be pretty interesting and you can go watch some performances for free at the Walt Disney Concert Hall (which I've always wanted to go into since I've moved back). And admission to MOCA was free as well. Plus all the other things going on. I didn't get there till about 2:30pm...just took the metro and exited Civic Center and it was just a block away. Very convienent. I'm really starting to love the Metro. But once we got there we grabbed the free ticket for a hip hop orchestra called "Da KAH", which would be in the Walt Disney Concert Hall. The group was very entertaining, and I love the fusion with hip hop and classical. Great energy, great music, wonderful acoustics, beautiful environment. The food they had there were from all the local restaurants out there, and it was very yummy food. Not your average street food. We had a hazelnut kit kat pastry from Kendell's and that was delicious. YUM. You can also enjoy some vendors and great activities for kids. I was able to catch some live performances, one by a Jessica Fichot which I ended up buying her CD, cause Ithought her music was fun and she's so cute. It's mostly in french, so I don't understand much...but then again, there's a lot of english songs out there that I don't understand, but still love. Overall, it was a great time. Saved gas by taking the metro...admission free...music...free....MOCA free...can't go wrong with FREE.

One of my biggest pet peeves is when people complain about getting things for free…read more The Grand Avenue Festival is unfortunately full of these types. Free admission to MOCA and REDCAT. Free shows in the Walt Disney Concert Hall. Free opera performances in the Dorothy Chandler. Free drum circles. Free culture everywhere you look. And yet, you'll still be stuck behind the old couple who were irked the chamber music concert featured Mozart's string quartet in G major Köchel 387 instead of something more obscure that the philistines wouldn't know. The Grand Avenue Festival gives people who otherwise wouldn't have the means a window into culture with which Los Angeles is armed to the teeth, and yet you get the privileged who swoop down from on high to scoff. The festival is a wonderful event, with so many different performers and artists to be found along the street. You can listen to someone sing a piece from "Tosca," then watch a demonstration on how to play a Celtic Bronze Age horn using circular breathing, stroll into one of the museums, tour the concert hall garden with the China rose fountain, sample some of the local fare, watch a dance recital, play in a drum circle, and watch a performance in the Concert Hall ... all in the SAME HOUR. I look forward with great enthusiasm to the festival's return. FYI, shows in the Concert Hall are ticketed (but the tickets are free), so just stop by the booth in front when they start distributing them. Everything else is pretty much fair game.

Love the vibe at this Green Festival! So much entertaining and samples. Sampled all the different…read morekind of drinks and mixes they had. Chips, protein bars, chocolates, FREE swag from some of the booths. Shout out to Yelp. When we checked in, we get a free yelp tote. Yoga Journal had free magazines, swag bag with goodies! Vegetarian Times had free Full bag of gourmet licorice, protein powder and free organic laundry detergent. Sungevity solar was giving away free Popsicles throughout the night and a quarter glued to an embedded paper with wildflower seeds. We plant that piece of paper, it'll grow wild flowers. :-) http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/U-_xKvvHFXZN4Oj0W_4byg?select=2FSLxZ57_pWb2xfJXaPSfg So much I learned about chocolates, lol., environmental issues, organic products. I bought a glass reusable straw, health drink, organic skin care products, bees wax. Overall it was a fun and educational event!

Pretty fun festival. You get to try all the different products that the place has to offer. Lots…read moreof unique places and you get to try lots of samples too!

Amazing Launch Party for Restaurant Week. We are and drank for three hours straight. The…read morehighlight was Scratch Bakery. Parked at Irvine Spectrum and walked over. The party was a blast! The setting was indoor and outdoors with lots of Paso Robles Wines like Cass Winery. Indoors was all the food and instagram photo areas. We loved it and will be back next year! Happy Yelping!

This event was so much fun, and it had such a great selection fo food and wine! Laurel T. and I…read morecame here and had a ball! Honestly this review should be so long, but the details are hazy after all the wine, it was worth it, just look at my pics and take my word for it, haha.

Every year, around this time the Little Tokyo Service Center puts on an sake and food tasting…read moreevent. This year's theme was "The Science of Sake" held at the California Science Museum across from USC. This particular event was to honor Iron Chef Morimoto. Unfortunately, I didn't get to meet him.. but I got to taste some wonderful premium sake/beer and yummy food.. like fresh oysters on a half shell from Watergrill.. those things were literally the size of my palm. Maison Akira was there.. of course as well as other japanese restaurants... but the focus was on sake, which I now realize I don't know much about. They had a sake tasting contest which I enthusiastically agreed to participate hoping to win the grand prize of.. a bottle of sake. There were five different types of sake and we're told to take a sip of each one. But the contest host gave me full shots of each.. of which I obligingly drank in its entirety. (can't be rude now right?) Then he leads me to another table with trays of sake marked with numbers 1-5. "Now drink each one and mark down on this paper which one you think it is." Again these are like full on shots! (Ah ha! so this is their strategy...) After drinking mystery sake #3, I couldn't go on.. cause by then things were getting blurry and I knew i was starting to slur.... In the end, even getting one correct, I was left no prize, not even a consolation one.. just a hangover the next day. Good times.

I don't know where or how I heard about Down & Derby, but I am thankful for the happenstance intro…read more Once a month on Thursdays, the Echoplex is taken over by short shorts, knee-high tube socks, 'fros, gold chains, and wheels, lots and lots of wheels! The entire floor is transformed into a disco roller rink. With beer. It's not the most safe combination on the planet, but boy is it a real hoot. For $10 ($5 entry and $5 for skate rentals), the evening is taken from random bar night to funkytownUSA. RUI (rolling under the influence) is highly encouraged!

Down & Derby IS: 1…read more An excellent way to get your cardio on (and blister your feet). 2. An excuse to wear really short shorts or in my case, a body suit. 3. A reason to tell everyone you live life dangerously (No, seriously. Invest in health insurance before you attend this event). 4. A total indulgence in the music of the disco era (with a few really good remixed new hits thrown in here and there) 5. An overall great time to be had. Down & Derby is NOT: 1. A traditional skating rink with wooden floors. It's a venue vacant of tables and chairs with a concrete floor and it can get scary. 2. For people under the age of 21. 3. For the faint of feet. If you're wobblin', chances are you're going to cause an accident (and people can/have/will get really hurt). 4. On the weekday, so plan the following work day accordingly. 5. Where you'll take your best photo. Trust me, I know. Now go get your skate on!

What a fun and great event! I just came from the 1st Annual Trucks N' Toys event in San Pedro. It…read morewas a nice event that brought food lovers and food trucks together for a good cause. Folks attending had the chance to bring a toy that would be given to the Boys and Girls Club of San Pedro and Urband Born. I brought a little Good Luck Care Bear - with the hope to bring some holiday cheer and show a little kid that someone cares out there. I hope it brings them a little luck too. There was a booth at the middle of the event that you drop the toys off and they gave a little bag of candy treats to each that brought a toy. There were several food trucks there and I wasn't sure which food truck to go to but the longest line was the Grill Em All Truck and that was the truck that my Yelp friends recommended. It therefore became the chosen food truck that my friends and I went to. I also got to try the Boba Truck and two cupcakes truck (Oh for Sweets Sake and SugarBabies) :). I wanted to try more food trucks but I was way too full after the Grill Em All truck. Hmm it just means that my friends and I will need to go to more food truck events hehe to try out the other stuff. I definitely know I want to try the red velvet flan from the White Rabbit Truck one day. Yelp reviews and photos coming soon ;). Not only was this a great event for a great cause, it was also the event where I finally got to meet my cool yelp friends: Michelle T.,Tony S., Ciara G., Lucy Y., Hugo C. and Isabel F :). Yay! It was so nice to finally meet them :). .

On this surprisingly warm (winter?) day, a group of us Yelpers got together for some food truck…read moreforaging and to donate toys to the Boys and Girls Club of San Pedro. That means warm fuzzy feelings in our tummies AND our hearts! Unfortunately The Comfort Truck ended up changing schedules the day before, because I would have liked to try them - and Nana Queen's wasn't there (at least before 2-ish, when we left). But the crowd-free atmosphere was so mellow that doing an early lunch here was a real pleasure! Seeing some of my fave Yelpsters - Ciara G, Isabel F, Hugo C, Michelle T, Tony S, and Jenn G - and sharing yummies with them - made this event even more fun! I tried stuff from: Grill Em All LudoTruck Tapa Boy Sugar Babies Oh For Sweets Sake Tropical Shave Ice Auto Creamery The other trucks that were there that I didn't try: Vizzi The Green Truck Lomo Arigato Crepe 'n Around Knockout Tacos Dim Sum Truck The Greasy Weiner Shrimp Pimps White Rabbit Truck Louks To Go I don't know what the crowd looked like at 6pm when the event was scheduled to end, but when we arrived around 11am - it was GREAT! * Parking was super easy in the open lot closest to the trucks. * There were tables set up with tablecloths and lots of trash receptacles. * The trucks were spaced far enough apart to not let lines run into each other (if it got that busy). The venue was in full sun on this warm day, so I baked a little - but there was shade to be had a short walk away near the waterline. If all food truck events were like this, I'd go to more of them : ).

I ventured out on a cold rainy night to attend an event held by Access Group Media even though I…read moreswore up and down I'd never attend another event considering the disaster that was the Cupcake Showdown and having to wait an hour to sample a few cupcakes. Eat Drink Pink was organized the same way. You had to RSVP beforehand and for $10 you could sample everything on their floor, visit the food trucks (Burnt Truck and Chomp Chomp) and also listen to live music. The event start at 6 but I arrived around 7:30PM. Parking was much easier and luckily there was no line. I hadn't RSVP'd but that wasn't an issue. They only asked for my ID to get a drink pass. The event was mainly cupcake samples. Golden Spoon had free water bottles and yogurt, Tasty Clouds had cotton candy and cotton candy martinis that were really strong, and Taco Mesa had fruit, tres leches pomegranate cake, and steak tacos. After the cotton candy martini, I sampled the Pink Champagne cupcake from My Delight Cup Cakery. This was super delicious. I love anything with champagne and the frosting wasn't overly sweet and the cake was moist. I just wish it wasn't a bite size piece. Next up was the smores cupcake from Miss Sweetcakes. They had a lighter on hand to burn the marshmallow frosting on top which gave it a great roasted flavor. Yum! I also sampled the vegan cupcake from Luscious Organic Desserts and as much as I love being healthy. This one was a little too healthy for me. I think health food should still have flavor and not taste like cardboard. You should be able to enjoy being healthy not regret it and go back to your gluttonous ways. The evening entertainment was pretty cool. They dimmed the lights and blasted the music. We got up close and got some great shots. Stereofix played their set first followed by Nylon Pink. The latter stole the show with free giveaways, pink beach balls, and their crazy outfits. Overall, it was a fun night. I'm looking forward to other events.