(CAPTION: Saturday, February 13, 2010 -- LA's best and most popular gourmet food trucks will join forces with LA's hottest local design vendors for the first ever LA Street Food Fest. | PHOTO via lastreetfoodfest.com)


Wally's Tent Sale | February 12-14

This is the event winos, er, we mean connoisseurs, look forward to all year. Customers can get up to 80% off bottles of wine and liquor at one of the best wine shops in Los Angeles. The sale runs all weekend from 9:00am-5:00pm each day, though we'd suggest getting there Friday and Saturday while some of the really good stuff is still available.
2107 Westwood Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90025, (310) 475-0606



LA Street Food Fest | Saturday, February 13

You've heard that L.A. is the capital of gourmet food trucks -- mostly from their Twitter updates. Well, this weekend, the City of Angels is proving it, with over 35 truck and stand vendors coming out to L.A. Center Studios to support the L.A. Food Bank, and to peddle their edible wares with no risk of being chased off for not filing their permits. The entrance fee is a $5, which gets you, well, pretty much nothing since you have to pay for what you order at each truck anyway, but at least the dishes are discounted and will run you $1-5 per item. There will be the usual offerings from faves like the Grilled Cheese Truck, Buttermilk and Komodo, as well as specials like foie gras-miso creamed fries from Frysmith, hot dogs topped with yakisoba from Dogzilla's, and Ludovic Lefebvre's famous fried chicken. There will also be a Valentine's Day marketplace with over 30 local designers and artists selling indie crafts, a VIP lounge with gift bags and a surprise guest chef, a street food-themed photo booth (with props!), and live artist performances. When you get thirsty, there's a bar wine and beer bar whose proceeds will go directly to the L.A. Food Bank.

500 S. Beaudry Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90017



Philippe | Chinese New Year | Sunday, February 14

Forget Valentine's Day this Sunday and celebrate Chinese New Year instead at L.A.'s star-studded answer to your neighborhood wok stand. It's the year of the tiger, and that means two complimentary dishes at the bar, and a new specialty cocktail for $12. The new year's dishes are: the "Crown of Wealth," butterflied shrimp topped with sweet shrimp mousse, flash-fried and "crowned" with crispy noodles; and the "Eye of the Tiger," sesame-crusted shrimp toast with quail egg yolk. As for that new cocktail, well, the restaurant didn't forego Valentine's Day altogether, and is offering an "Açai-disiac" of Veev açai liqueur, fresh berries, lime juice, pineapple and champagne served in a wine glass with ice like sangria. Just the antioxidant boost you'll need for any amorous activities later in the evening.
8284 Melrose Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90046, (323) 951-1100



Come Ça | President's Day Cocktails

Raise a toast to the Commander-in-Chief this President's Day with a host of specialty cocktails priced at $4.40 (the upside of unemployment is that inflation is non-existent!) to honor our 44th President, Barack Obama. Some of the presidential libations include a Frost/Nixon with gin, lime juice, chartreuse and maraschino; the FDR with black run, lime juice, house-made ginger syrup and a splash of soda; the Washington with scotch, ginger, lemon and honey; and the Kennedy, which is an ironic twist on the Cuba Libre.
8479 Melrose Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90046, (323) 782-1178



La Vida | Opening on Sunset

Chef Joseph Panarello (formerly of Rivera) is opening a new restaurant on Sunset where he will serve California cuisine with Mediterranean influences. That means dishes like pineapple-glazed prawns, black bean-brushed quail, and Sonoma lamb sausage with yogurt sauce. There will also be grab-and-go "box lunches" including soup, two salads, an entree and dessert for $15. The restaurant was designed to capture the essence of Southern Spain with five distinct areas including a dining room with white plaster arches and barrel-vault ceilings, a blue glass tile bar, a main dining room with a gold-tiled fireplace and hand-blown glass fixtures, another main bar, and an elevated VIP area with a private lounge. Oh, and there's a dance floor. Through the end of February, studio employees who present their badge will get 20% off lunch and happy hour.
1448 Gower St., Los Angeles, CA 90028, (323) 962-0800



Dominick's, Little Dom's and Rush Street | Mardi Gras

It's Mardi Gras all weekend long (and until Tuesday) at Dominick's and Little Dom's as New Orleans native, Chef Brandon Boudet, offer a dinner menu of famous NoLa treats including gumbo, Po' Boys, red beans and rice, Jambalaya, crayfish pie, eggplant pirogue with shrimp sauce, beignets, and, of course, mini king cakes. All for under $8 a dish. Rush Street in Culver City is also getting in on the action with a special Fat Tuesday event on February 16 that includes drink specials like Hurricanes, Alabama Slammers and Mint Juleps. You know, the drinks you would have had at Mardi Gras in New Orleans as an innocent little co-ed if you could remember that road trip you and your roommates took there that one year.
Dominick's: 8715 Beverly Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90048, (310) 652-2335

Little Dom's: 2128 Hillhurst Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90027, (323) 661-0055

Rush Street: 9546 Washington Blvd., Culver City, CA 90232, (310) 837-9546


Takami | Far Niente Nickel & Nickel Dinner | February 16

Enjoy the wines of two of Napa's most acclaimed wineries next Tuesday at downtown's swinging-est sushi spot. The dinner features a 2007 Chardonnay and a 2006 Zinfandel from the boutique Nickel & Nickel, as well as Chardonnay, Cabernet and a sweet wine from Far Niente. The $59 per person dinner also includes sautéed Cajun shrimp with mango ceviche, miso-marinated Chilean sea bass served with champagne yuzu sauce, foie gras wrapped in lamb chop and filet mignon served with seasoned vegetables, and Fuji apple mille feuille drizzled with raspberry reduction.
811 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90017, (213) 236-9600