These days, a $3 meal of Mexican food is either a couple of tacos from your favorite old school truck or a bag of mystery meat from Taco Bell. For one day next week, though, Valley classic Casa Vega is celebrating their 55th anniversary by rolling back the price on their House Combo to $2.15, which is what it was on June 28, 1956 when the beloved hangout opened its doors for the first time. more ›

Nick Thune isn't necessarily a man of few words. Maybe, instead, he’s just a man that always seems comfortable. Comedian, actor, musician, writer - Nick has fallen easily into every title bestowed on him, even acting as a short-lived correspondent on the only slightly-longer-lived Jay Leno Show. So when you get yourself a copy of his debut comedy album Thick Noon (and you should), don’t be surprised if there’s a little less Sam Kinison and a little more hipster Steven Wright. more ›

Aziz Ansari (LAist interview here and here) is the sort of comedian you want to be like, if wanting to be like a comedian is your thing. He’s written for and starred in his own successful cable television show (Human Giant, review here), he currently shines on a major network sitcom (NBC’s Parks & Rec), and he’s got a new Comedy Central special out on DVD called Intimate Moments For A Sensual Evening. Oh, and he hangs with Kanye West, makes fun of his nephew Darwish and loves taco trucks. You don’t even HAVE a cousin named Darwish, do you? DO YOU?! more ›

Nick Swardson, for those of you not familiar, is funnier than you. That’s pretty much all you need to know to enjoy his latest Comedy Central Special, Seriously, Who Farted?, as LAist was invited to do. Believe me when I say, if you have an even vague notion of who Swardson is before watching this special, you will be quite familiar with him once the hour is over. And if you are completely blanking on one of the best young funny men of this decade, don’t worry, he’s more than happy filling in those blanks for you. more ›

You know Jim Breuer, if not by name then at least by his perpetually stoned-looking mug or his outlandish Saturday Night Live characters, most notably Goat Boy. This is the Jim Breuer you recognize, from Half-Baked and Chappelle’s Show and even Clerks. But a lot of people don’t know that Breuer also has a long love affair with stand up, dating back many years and several TV specials. And those specials, while rarely game-changing, have been good, sometimes great; the AC/DC hokey pokey bit is pretty magical. Unfortunately, Breuer’s new special Let’s Clear the Air lacks all of the magic and most of the funny that you could previously expect from the man you thought you knew.
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It's baaaaaaa-aaack! DineLA's Restaurant week, the twelve* days devoted to special pricing and menus in many of the city's top eateries is poised to return from January 25th-30th and February 1st-6th. more ›

We are now deeply entrenched in that most wonderful time of year, between Thanksgiving and Christmas, when we are thankful for so much of our past, and eagerly awaiting the presents of the future. But when it comes to gift-giving, there are desperately few options that celebrate a look back and step forward for ourselves. You can buy the LCD TV or the antique chest-of-drawers, but rarely do you find the item that combines the best of both so masterfully. That is, until now. more ›

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. more ›

Bob Saget will perform at 4th & B in San Diego on March 7, The Grove of Anaheim on March 8 and The Joint at The Hard Rock in Vegas on March 21 as part of his national theater tour and we're lucky to have another chance at him. more ›

I don't know about you, but I like my seafood fresh, cheap, and in big hearty portions. So when I heard about Seafood VIllage and their crab special, I had to drive over and see for myself. more ›

PaleyFest08 announced today that they’re hosting an X-Files retrospective with series creator Chris Carter and executive producer Frank Spotnitz on March 26. But if that doesn’t bust out your inner Mulder or Scully, then how’s this? Attendees will also get a sneak peek at The X-Files sequel planned for a summer release. more ›

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Earlier this month, San Diego-based singer/songwriter Tristan Prettyman (MySpace) and G. Love & Special Sauce (MySpace) performed a two-night stint at the House of Blues in West Hollywood as part of their current tour. The duo collaborated on the song "Beautiful", from G. Love's album . more ›

A few months ago LAist interviewed writer/creator/director Marshall Herskovitz about his web series Quarterlife, and lo and behold, the series debuts on NBC tonight! MySpace, which showcased Quarterlife has a new show of the hidden-camera comedy variety debuting this week as well, "Special Delivery", which will have episodes twice weekly. From these new media developments we turn to television's ancient past on today, Jackie Gleason's birthday, JackieGleason.com has been launched with rare stills and clips of "The Great One" - a true TV pioneer. more ›

Wes Anderson doesn't have many casual fans. You either love the strange worlds of whimsy he creates or you find it all a bit precious and twee. Count me in the former camp and count . more ›

Zoom in, zoom out, click on the icons and click on the lines for more info and times of closures | View Larger Map more ›

I was kind of unhappy at how PBS dropped off Super Tuesday coverage fairly early in the evening. Political sickos pretty much had to rely on CNN which was all tech-ed out: did you see that crazy stage Wolf Blitzer was on? How about the map with _way_ too much information? They didn't even know where to look on that thing and neither did I. Was I looking at specific precincts reporting, or was it statewide? Etc. The pack of political neanderthals they gathered for us was also uninspiring - can they not find some people _without_ political agendas to put on their programs? Who would ever want to hear anything from (the now morbidly obese) Bill Bennett? He's George Wendt without the humor. One thing's for sure, Super Tuesday is now too close too the Super Bowl and makes for an overwhelming 72 hour period, which is fine if you're a TV junkie. more ›

Have you had enough of $5 coffee? $99 burgers? $125 martinis? I know I am -- doesn't anybody in this city want to find the cheapest drinks, meals, and booze? Los Angeles Magazine comes through this month with a feature on great deals and bargain finds on everything from martinis to furniture to underpants. We went straight for the food section, of course -- and here are our top food bargain picks from the February issue. What are your picks for best foodie bargains in the city? more ›

is a tiny, unexpected gem. more ›

Got a bit more of a schedule tonight: the Winter X Games are starting up, and there's a bunch of stuff at 8:00pm. I was sick on Sunday so I'm looking forward to catching the rebroadcast of Breaking Bad on AMC. more ›

So The Colber(t) Repor(t) and The Daily Show are back and while Colbert, Stewart, Kimmel, and Conan are all nimble on their feet, and very funny and engaging, it's amazing how the success of all these shows really comes down to the writing. It's great to have them all back on the air and it does provide us all with some late night alternatives, but I hope NBC, ABC, and Viacom come to their senses and end this. The ball is in their court. more ›

If any film cried out for a comprehensive DVD this year it was . more ›

I've managed to avoid watching NFL playoffs and college bowl games but I'm getting worn down, I'm tellin' ya. If I got the Fox Movie Channel I would watch Less Than Zero tonight at 7pm because I'm just about as strung out as Robert Downey Jr.was in that flick. I'm not begging for the writers to capitulate, I want them to win, I'm just begging the networks to send me some shite to write about. Didn't you guys put stuff out on DVDs for the holidays? I'm sure that there's plenty of folks walking around with unused balances on their gift cards that would drop some cash on some of your repackaged programming. more ›

Rainy days and Mondays may get you down, so check out these events tonight to make the first night of the workweek no so ho-hum. more ›

It was a great year of new books, re-discovered books, and books we meant to get to last year but didn't. The end of the year is nearly here and before we look forward, we'll take a look back. LAist Editors share their favorite book they read this year: more ›

After debuting last week on the Internet, because I'm afraid I might like it and lose all credibility. more ›

Sorry I missed y'all yesterday but we're back. With just a few days before Xmas you may still have a hankering for your own personal favorite holiday shows and movies. LocateTV which is still in its Beta might be able to help you - just go to the site and type in your flick or program and it will hunt it down for you whether it be on TV, DVD, or online. Next week watch for a rant from me about this season's poor offerings. In a way, it's a good thing that there's been a hiatus in writing and producing new content, perhaps the networks have had more time to think about what they put on the TV for us to consume. more ›

There are two movies that are being scandalously left off the year-end best lists. The first, is pure, guilty goodness. more ›

Jean Paul Yamamoto @ outside Vroman's, Pasadena, 7/27/07 more ›