Photo by ~db~ via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr SALSA & MERENGUE DANCING Dance Downtown kicks up its heels tonight for the first installment of the summer-long Friday night series. Free admission to anyone who feels like trying a little salsa out on the Music Center Plaza. Beginner lessons are at 6:30, and a live DJ provides the tunes from 7:15-10. 6:30-10 p.m. // Music Center Plaza // 135 North Grand Avenue,......

The Mexican/Spanish restaurant-lounge Senor Fred has cemented its reputation as a Ventura Blvd. hot spot for drinks, but it's also a nice lunch destination for those of you trawling the Sherman Oaks area. The place fulfills at least two requirements of a good Mexican restaurant: spicy salsa that tastes homemade (their version has a nice smoky flavor to it), and strong, simple margaritas. The food is far superior to Mexicali's questionable menu, but about......

Last night we hit downtown L.A. for the Edison's weekly event, Incandescence, where vaudeville circus/dance troupe Lucent Dossier was performing from the stage, from the rafters, from the floor amid the audience. We sampled the absinthe cocktails which were served to us in vintage-looking glass bottles that we were allowed to take home. And even some of the liquor shots were handed to us in corked glass bottles that resembled those miracle elixirs con men......

Tonight the circus is in town...at the Edison. Every Wednesday night, Lucent Dossier, vaudeville circus/dance troupe, will be hanging from the rafters and performing on stage for the well-dressed Edison patrons in the upscale downtown bar's weekly happening, Incandescence. (Get it? Like the lightbulb.). To get a sense of what Lucent Dossier is like, check out an early LAist photo gallery. And if the night isn't crazy enough, maybe a little absinthe will do......

One of Los Angeles' best, and perhaps the most inventive, vegan restaurants is Pure Luck. Located in the unofficial Bicycle District, also casually known as Hel-Mel (for its Melrose and Heliotrope location), the restaurant, simply put, serves up pub food and micro beer. Above, LAist Featured Photos contributor sadjeans shares these jackfruit tacos, which LAist can confirm as delicious. Instead of tofu, jackfruit is a staple ingredient at Pure Luck and also makes an......

Photo of Next Door Tapas interior by Zach Behrens for LAist Next Door Tapas is a swanky and intimate little lounge in Studio City, perfect for a weekend or late evening bite -- just don't plan on being there before 6pm. Despite the 5pm opening that's advertised on most review websites, we showed up at 5:30 only to find half-dressed tables and an unready staff. The wine menu was quick to arrive once we......

Last night Father's Office II in Culver City* Los Angeles finally opened to the thirsty and hungry, but mostly thirsty, masses. It was supposed to be a soft opening but word got out and the bar/restaurant filled up right quick. A line formed outside the front door but patrons who finally made it in said the wait wasn't too bad, just about 15 minutes.......

Hey, there, beer fans! The word is out on the street, Father's Office II in Culver City finally opens its doors tonight! You heard me. Rumors say 5pm. Our coverage of the preview party probably left you wanting more but starting tonight you get to see it for yourself, taste the gastropub fare goodness for yourself, choose from what looks to be a gazillion beers on tap and guzzle, I mean, savor, for yourself.......

Update: The Doheny sent over some fun facts regarding items mentioned in this piece. You can read about the biometric fingerprint reader, Sheperd Fairey's artwork and other information here. For the record: In the original story below, it was said that the initiation fee is $4,950. To clarify, $2,750 is a one-time initiation fee. When combined with the annual $2,200 membership fee, the total for the first year only is $4,950. I did it!......

...Or at least most of it is! Finally, a first look at the inside of the second Father's Office. My husband, one of the most ardent FO groupies I've ever met, drives past the new location at the Helms Bakery in Culver City everyday, in the hungry hope of catching the plywood coming down, or (gasp!), the "open" sign beaming beer & burger hope into the night sky. Today, at least part of his prayers......

An afternoon bar fight yesterday in Orange County's city of Cypress left a man in critical condition and on life support. Steven Keith Toole, 45, was hit in the head with a pool cue, knocked unconscious and found to be not breathing when first responders came to the bar. Police arrested a bar regular, Richard Lee Thompson, 46, who after the fight left in his vehicle to his Lakewood home where police convinced him over......

Photo by Sister72 via Flickr It's 8:30 a.m. and by the count on this list, at least five Irish bars are open right now: Brennan's Pub, Casey's Irish Bar and Grille, Clancy's, O'Brien's Irish Pub, Patrick Molloys and Tom Bergin's Tavern. Whoops, make that six (derrr, the morning O'Doul's is already kicking in). Oh, speaking of that non-alcoholic beer, O'Douls is sponsoring the Pershing Sqaure celebration today starting at 11:00 a.m., which happens to......

Seven Grand is kicking things off early for St. Patrick's Day with East L.A. band Ollin performing at the beloved downtown whiskey bar tonight at 9pm (see a video of them below). Ollin is known as "The Mexican Pogues" for their fiesta-festive take on the English/Irish band's songs. Think Irish Mariachi music. Ollin has performed at Mr. T's Bowl and Spaceland and even opened for the Pogues last year at the Wiltern. They would have......

Old Blue Eyes is the most expensive cocktail at Mediterranean restaurant/lounge NeoMeze in Pasadena. A $21 concoction standing apart from a list of $12 drinks, this one is made of 2 parts Bombay Sapphire Gin and 1 part Johnnie Walker Blue Label and it is some potent stuff.......

Van Hunt plays the Temple Bar tonight, the third and last in a series of LA shows | Photo via his MySpace page The Guide to March Rock Music Residencies has been updated with a few more listings -- it seems as if residencies are catching on, which is a good thing. Meanwhile, Howlin Rain plays their last LA concert before a tour promoting their new album, Magnificent Fiend, that was released yesterday. Nicole......

Can you re-imagine the LA Riverfront? Then checkout tonight's lecture at SCI-Arc. / Photo by Lush.i.ous via LAist's flickr pool. FILM* A classic Japanese double feature plays at the New Beverly tonight and tomorrow. While these films were made more than 50 years ago, the themes are timeless: Flavor of Green Tea Over Rice (1952) focuses on a housewife who’s sick and tired of her boring life with her business-minded husband as her niece......

Want your date to pucker up? Take her to the Hungry Cat in Hollywood, well-known for its innovative and freshly juiced cocktails, and order her up a Sourpuss ($12). I had tried one on the recommendation of the bartender. She swore that despite its ingredients of 1792 Bourbon, fresh orange juice and lemon with caramelized simple syrup that it was far from tart. I don't like tart, ya see. According to the bartender, the......

Test Your Reflex plays this month at Hotel Cafe on Wednesdays | Photo by Luke Wooden via their MySpace Despite SXSW starting up this week with 100+ Los Angeles based bands heading over there, residencies are growing stronger and more venue-diverse across the line, especially on Monday nights where the volume makes it hard to choose from. Here's to a great month of residencies, rock on. Mondays The Chapin Sisters @ The Echo (Free),......

Spaceland is A Place To Bury Strangers | Photo by Redboy via the band's MySpace. More great concert photos by Redboy here SambaLá @ Blue Cafe (Long Beach, Upstairs Room) The Ditty Bops @ McCabe's (Santa Monica) Pigeon John @ Malibu Inn (Malibu) Grizzly Bear @ Walt Disney Concert Hall (Downtown) Aceyalone @ Temple Bar (Santa Monica) Bad Religion @ House of Blues (West Hollywood) Holy Fuck, A Place to Bury Strangers, In Waves......

Last Thursday evening, photographer/director Octavio "Winkytiki" Arizala (MySpace) celebrated the release of his Vivid-Alt (MySpace) movie The Bad Luck Betties at the Redwood Bar & Grill in Downtown LA. Also in attendance, besides Bad Luck Betties' "Smoking" Mary Jane (MySpace) and Mika Tan (MySpace) and newcomers Sochee and Mika, were Vivid-Alt head Eon McKai (MySpace), photographer/director Dave Naz (MySpace) and his girlfriend Ashley Blue, and director Vena Virago (MySpace). The party was presented in......

Photo of Meiko, who plays at the Knitting Factory tonight, by Koga/LAist for 'Meiko & Priscilla Ahn @ Hotel Cafe, 1/23 & 1/24/08' What Made Milwaukee Famous finish up their Los Angeles tour playing along with Tulsa and the British Sea Power/Colourmusic bill moves over to Spaceland. On the Westside, there's only one choice to make and that is hip-hop violinist Paul Dateh at the Temple Bar (check out our interview with him including......

Part of an ongoing series. Last Tuesday, local singer/songwriter Jesca Hoop (MySpace), whose album Kismet was number one on Nic Harcourt's Top Ten Albums of 2007, performed a solo acoustic show at Temple Bar (MySpace) in Santa Monica, opening for Van Hunt (MySpace). Hoop's next local show will be with the Hotel Cafe Tour (MySpace) on April 12th at the Henry Fonda Theatre in Hollywood, alongside Meiko (MySpace) who was mentioned by LAist last......

Drinks with Digital LA tonight at Bodega Bar in Santa Monica (and yes, this is not the Bodega bar) / Photo by C-Monster via LAist's photo pool. FILM I am so scaaared. Writer/director Eli Roth (Hostel) continues his reign at the New Beverly in “The Greats of Roth” series. Tonight, he’s screening the double-feature of The Blair Witch Project (1999) and Cannibal Holocaust (1980), an earlier film that deals with a missing documentary film......

photo by swanksalot via Flickr Tomorrow is the finish up the AMGEN Tour of California in Pasadena. But before hitting the old money city, they're headed towards Santa Clarita this afternoon (where Six Flags Magic Mountain has decided to stay put). From 4 to 10 p.m. tonight “Rock the Bike,” a free outdoor cycling expo and music festival, will bring together an array of people following the stage 6 finish. Various bands will be......

West Indian Girl plays The Troubadour tonight | Photo by Ty Parker via their MySpace LA Weekly points us to some hot picks for tonight. About Girl in Coma: "Joan Jett knows a thing or two about rock & roll, and her latest protegees, Girl in a Coma, on her Blackheart label are one of the best and most interesting bands to come out of Texas in a long time," writes Falling James. They......

Photo by susan catherine via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr A meeting last night in Oxnard brought out hundreds of parents angered over the recent shooting death of 15-year-old Lawrence King at the hands of a fellow teenager. They called for more vigilant security on campus and for more help for students who suffer from bullying. A multi-vehicle accident earlier this afternoon had two lanes of the 405 in Westwood shut down.......

We seemed to have missed Santa Monica based Krandon as a Wednesday night resident at Molly Malone's. The lightly meditative and chill alternative indie band's name comes from an abandoned James Joyce play written in collaboration with physicist Neils Bohr according to the band's MySpace page. If that's a little too esoteric for you, our Wednesday night pick this month is a little more down home folk style, but with a loud presence -- Brian......

Killing on the big screen at the New Beverly tonight, courtesy of Eli Roth. / Photo by hemmob via flickr. TALK Author Katha Pollitt discusses her new book On Learning to Drive: And Other Life Stories with UC Irvine Professor Jon Wiener as part of the ALOUD at the Central Library series. Pollitt is a poet and columnist for The Nation who’ll discuss her latest essays that deal with sex, death, ex-lovers, politics, motherhood,......

FREE DAYS @ LACMA Don't forget that today, tomorrow, and Monday admission to LACMA is free. There will be lots of extra entertainment on the grounds, and access to all the galleries, except the new Broad Contemporary, which has already sold out (of course!). But that means less people crowding the European paintings you love so much. Tickets need to be reserved in advanced online or by calling the box office. Sat, Sun, & Mon......

Van Hunt plays the Temple Bar tonight, Feb. 19 and March 6 | Photo via his MySpace page In an e-mail early, early, early this morning, McCabe's announced something unexpected: The Swell Season will be playing tomorrow night in the guitar shop's intimate performance space. You may not recognize the band's name, but you know them as Irish singer Glen Hansard and Czech pianist Marketa Irglova from the movie Once. The gig got booked......