PEN USA hosts literary panels tonight. WINE Silver Lake Wine is hosting winemaker Maynard Keenan of Tool (yes, you read that right!), who’ll be pouring his Caduceus wines at the shop. Call for reservations: 323.662.9024. 7 pm // Silver Lake Wine // 2395 Glendale Blvd., Los Angeles // $20. FILM The Pan African Film Festival started yesterday and runs until Feb. 18. Not only does the festival screen films, but it also holds workshops,......

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......

For many years, I was a Veuve girl. As in, Veuve Clicquot. But that's so obvious now and it's expensive. Then I became a Heidsieck (Charles or Piper) girl. Much nicer, less obvious, but still pricey for the good stuff. With the holidays mere seconds away (and with all my "wine novice" locations shutting down their wine tastings until next year) I thought it would make sense to tap into the one area of the......

Top Reasons Why a Dyed-in-the-Wool Westsider Sometimes Wishes She Lived East of the 405...

If you like wine (or you think you do) Sunday night is your chance to unwind with a glass (or two, or five). Nunchux VI is holding their monthly party at 5:00pm and will be focusing on some nice Spanish imports ($4-$12 per glass) and tapas ($1-$5). If you're into the local wine scene, you may recognize the host. Santos Uy has been laying down his vino-know-how at AOC (West Hollywood) and Silver Lake......

Monday: Chill with Winos It’s Blue Monday at Silver Lake Wine from 5:00 – 9:00 p.m. No RSVPs required for tonight’s triptych wine tasting with cheese from the Cheese Store of Silver Lake. Tuesday: Weekly Poetry in the Valley Hosted by Kirk Lumpkin, every Tuesday night is open mic night with the Cobalt Poets at the Cobalt Café in Canoga Park. They promise a very welcoming crowd for newcomers, but just wait until your......

Xmas shopping procrastinators rejoice: Amoeba Records opens early (10am) and doesn't close until 8:30pm tonight. If shopping traffic makes you look for liquid solace, Silverlake Wine has special xmas eve hours: 9am-7pm. The LA County Arts Commission sponsors, for the 41st year, 6 hours of free holiday entertainment at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion. Choirs, dance theaters, and special guests the Blind Boys of Alabama are on the bill. First come, first served; doors open......

We're still waiting for the Dine for America site to launch with the details of their nationwide event to benefit Hurricane Katrina survivors through local restaurants' generous participation. Meanwhile, we've got our eye on a couple of the many local happenings that promise good eats and drink with proceeds going to help this extremely worthy cause. Our friend at Eating L.A. tipped us off to the Silver Lake Wine hurricane benefit, which is this......

If the beginning of the work week gets you down, Silverlake Wine is ready to ease your pain. Their Blue Tuesday wine tastings require no reservation, feature snacks provided by the Cheese Store of Silverlake, and deliver three distinct wines to take the edge off the old grind. From 5-9pm, savvy owners George Cosette, Randy Clement or April Langford will be on hand to spill as much wine knowledge as you might crave. Or......