Football season is here and Henry’s Hat, a new Studio City gastro pub, is launching a stand up comedy series during halftimes of Monday Night Football every week.  Great way to get your football, drink and comedy on – three birds with one stone.  Click here for more info.

• Feast of San Gennaro at Dominicks

Celebrate the Italian Geast of San Gennaro all week long at Dominicks where classic Italian street food will be discounted to $8 and under for dinner – think fried calamari, smoked mozzarella, zeppoles and gelato for dessert . Bellisimo!   Click here for more  info.

• Recess Sundays

This weekly pool party at Deck 5 pool in the Renaissance Hotel will be much needed this weekend when temps are continuing to look high – with a variety of DJ’s, bottle service, and bikini-ed waitresses, just park at Hollywood and Highland and take the elevator to the 5th floor for a day of fun in the sun.  Click here for more info.

• Killer Deal at The Hideout

The Hideout at the Hollywood Heights Hotel is hosting a “Killers” themed party from 10pm-midnight the same night The Killers rock the Hollywood Bowl – so if you dont have tickets dont fret – the party may be more fun anyway since Stoli vodka is providing the drinks and there is a Brandon Flowers look alike contest for prizes.  Click here for more info.

• Hipcooks

With numerous locations around Los Angeles, Hipcooks is just that – hip cooks that run themed cooking classes varying from A Night of Tapas, to A Romantic Dinner for Two – a great date, friend or solo activity – and with locations all over LA it’s convenient too.  Click here for more info.

• Sorority Row

Boobs and Blades -thats what this film promises.  With acting legends as Audrina Patridge and Rumer Willis starring in this campy 80’s remake, we’re thinking less horror film and more comedy….

• El Conquistador – The atmosphere at this Silverlake eatery really sets the pace for Cinco de Mayo festivities.  Their Mexican food is great - definitely try the mole.  If you really want your evening to end with a bang try their margaritas, they’re lethal but in a yummy way!

• Velvet Margarita – It might not be your traditional Mexican restaurant, but let’s just say people don’t bother going there for the food. I suppose the best way to describe it is to say if Elvis was Mexican he’d have decorated his home exactly like Velvet Margarita. The vibe is fun and the drinks are strong. Plus, how can you go wrong with their $5 recession special on premium margaritas?

• El Coyote is a no fuss Mexican restaurant that’s been frequented by the likes of Brad Pitt himself! However, I wouldn’t be surprised if your regular Joe started to look just like Brad after a couple of their margaritas! Pair that with a couple of their tacos and you’ll have yourself a bang out evening.

• Mexicali Cocina Cantina If Americanized Mexican food is your thing, then look no further than this Studio City eatery! Even though they stray from traditional Mexican food, Mexicali holds nothing back when it comes to their epic margaritas. Even more awesomely, Mexicali makes a low sugar, low calorie version of the margarita called, get this, the Jessica Simpson Margarita! So go ahead and celebrate Cinco de Mayo without crashing your diet.

• La Cabana Restaurant La Cabana is a traditional Mexican restaurant in the heart of Venice. Really, the best part about LA Cabana is the fact that they stay open until 3 am. Especially on a night like Cinco de Mayo when you’ll totally need to recharge after indulging in a few of their killer margaritas.

• Not the biggest margarita fan?  Then click here for a few more drink ideas for Cinco de Mayo! 

In Los Angeles it is easy to end up drinking something like a terrible margarita and never even know it.  Although we’re the land of milk and honey when it comes to Mexican food, it’s pretty clear that not all Mexican restaurants are made equally.  Lula Cocina Mexicana totally stands out in the crowd.  Not only is their food fantastic but their margaritas are powerful and where the drinks are strong they cannot be wrong.  The best item on the menu is the Lobster Tacos, but I’ll debate that most of the food there is incredibly scrumptious.

If the day is beautiful, as most are in LA, sit in the patio and enjoy the sunshine while having a margarita or two, but be careful or you’ll end up passed out in the Santa Monica sun.  On that note, last time I was there I ended up pretty drunk after my first drink, which is both unusual and awesome.  Later in the evening I charmed my boyfriend’s coworkers with talk about sex shoppes and my extreme knowledge of weird Japanese eel porn.

If you have not had the very-LA experience of ordering kimchee and spicy pork tacos from the Kogi Korean taco truck and wolfing them down on a nearby curb, well, fix that. Stat. For months the Kogi roach coach obsession has been hitting new heights with inibriated bar-goers and young college students alike, prompting epic reviews on Yelp! like this:

“When that white truck w/ the big Kogi sticker came around the corner, people actually got up off the sidewalk, screamed “Kogi” and started clapping.  Wha-???  It seriously seemed like a celebrity siting or something!  All that excitement made me want to start chanting “Kogi Kogi Kogi”. After a half hour in line, our little crew got spicy pork, tofu, chicken and short ribs tacos (the full taco menu), as well as a burrito (forgot which flavor).”

Check the Kogi BBQ website for their route (you’ll see it in the right column): http://kogibbq.com/

http://www.yelp.com/biz/kogi-los-angeles

It’s way dive-y, but it’s right near the beach. Which is fine by you because what it’s really got going on is a $6 deal for a big, fat burger with fries and 2 beers.  That’s right: two beers + a burger and fries = six simoleons. What more could you ask?

Prince O’ Whales
335 Culver Boulevard
Playa Del Rey, CA 90293
(310) 823-9826
www.princeowhales.com/

Photo: Courtesy of Prince O’ Whales

Drink – Thursday night
Get your weekend started early with Truck Stop at the Beach @  Main Street’s White Trash Party complete with strippers, beer and greasy munchies 9pm-2am $5 [Main on Main]

Shop – Friday & Saturday
Hooray for bags! Foley and Corinna are having a Sample Sale of up to 75% off designer labels Friday and Saturday 11am-7pm and Sunday 12pm-6pm at their Melrose location [Foley & Corinna]

Cheer – Friday night
Feeling sporty? Check out USC Lady Trojans vs. California Women’s basketball Friday night at 7pm at USC’s Galen center– Cal is favored to win, but those private school girls may be scrappier than people think [USC]

Dance – Friday night
The award season has only been over for a few days but we’re already missing the glamour — for some much needed swank hit up Fridays at Bordello Bar downtown (formerly Little Pedro’s) [Bordello Bar]

Eat – All Weekend
Tired of the lines at Blue Plate and 17th Street Café? Good thing Huckleberry Café just opened to eagerly awaiting customers on the Westside at 1014 Wilshire 8am-4pm [Huckleberry Café]

Eat, Drink – Saturday night
Sake lovers take note- Japanese and Macrobiotic favorite, Bar Hayama, is holding their Sake + Kozara tasting event this Saturday from 4pm-6pm where one can sample up to 25 different kinds of sake and snacks for a flat fee [Bar Hayama]

Eat – All Weekend
This weekend is the opening of Rivera Restaurant across from the Staples Center, that specializes in modern and upscale Latin cuisine [Rivera Restaurant]

Look at Pretty Pictures – All Weekend
Stuck in a weekend rut?  It’s your last chance to put your remote down and get to LACMA Vanity Fair Portraits: Photographs 1913- 2008 closing on March 1st. Small price to pay for feeling cultured… [LACMA]

Commune With the Dead – Saturday night
Want to connect to the other side?  Sylvia Brown, Montel William’s favorite psychic (admit it, you’ve tuned in) will be speaking to the dead at the Orpheum Theater Saturday as part of her ‘farewell tour’ [Sylvia Brown]

Laugh, Dance – Saturday and Sunday nights
The Nokia Theater is busy this weekend with in your face comedienne Lisa Lampanelli Saturday night, followed by in your face rapper Busta Ryhmes on Sunday [Club Nokia]

Sit on the Couch!
Don’t feel like going out at all?  Stay in, pour some cheap wine, and tune into NBC- first for a 3 episode marathon of Law & Order, then to cheer yourself up they switch to SNL – hosted by Neil Patrick Harris with musical guest Taylor Swift, this is a repeat BUT was the best episode of the season, Neil Patrick was meant for comedy [SNL]

Drink, Play Bingo – Sunday night
Big Foot Lodge Bingo Night offers up a retro family style evening with 16mm home movies and prizes almost as good as Sunday dinners with mom [Big Foot Lodge]

Be a Spaz – Sunday night
The uber 80’s and super nerdy, Spazmatics at Dragonfly are an LA tradition and the band is back for another Sunday night of Spazzing [Spazmatics]
[photos courtesy of Bordello Bar and Sylvia Brown]