LAist absolutely loves the Redwood Bar & Grill, a pirate-themed hangout close to Disney Hall and the Civic Center downtown -- not only is it a lovely place to wander into on a cold and lonely winter night, but it serves our Editor's Choice for Best Mac N' Cheese in the city. I know, right! So you'll be thrilled to hear that the Redwood is now open for brunch! Beginning this weekend from 11am......

Dudes, it's become clear to me that just by walking about whatever fine neighborhood you happen to reside in (NoHo, WeHo, SilLake, DnTn, SanMo, KTown, HanPark, CulCity, etc), you're bound to happen upon a great little bar with great happy hour deals. Fer instance: this week I was walking around Downtown and ran into some friends, who happily guided me to the Redwood Bar & Grill, a fun and surprisingly classy little pirate bar......

Sometimes it seems like this city is out to beat us up, put us down, and lead us terribly astray. Even those of us who have lived here for years can't help but feel let down sometimes by L.A.'s impersonal and often contradictory nature. And we're just talking about transportation. But more often than you might expect, if you just open up and let the city happen to you, you'll find that L.A. is......