Matt Vannucci

Can you say - "Over 100 Beers." How about - "Bacon Crusted French Toast?" High School buddies from New York, Steve Lieberman and Keith O'Brien opened West 4th/Jane at the beginning of June on 4th Street in Santa Monica as a place where pretensions are left at the door. The guys are self described "blue collar" and say that West 4th/Jane caters to everyone. I agree. Want a Duvel? Done. A nice red wine? Done. How about a Beast red can? Also, done. Almost every bit of work (except electrical) put into the place was done by the guys, their gals, and friends. To put it bluntly, it's the kind of place you wish that you owned.

Santa Monican's don't have to drive to Culver City anymore to experience enomatic wine machines pouring fresh, unique wines. Say hello to - Pourtal. Pourtal opened a little over a month ago with little-to-no announcement saying, "Hi, we're here," but this PR move is paying off because everyone wants a piece of the Pour. The brain child of Stephen Abronson and acclaimed Sommelier, Peter Birmingham, Pourtal is an unpretentious venture into wine "edutainment," says Abronson....

Photo by Lord Jim via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr We all want this city to be a certain way in the future. Will Oloughlen decided to put his idea of the future of LA in a 2 minute short film. Enjoy! Silverlake's own, Silversun Pickups just reached #1 on the Billboard Charts topping Linkin Park and Green Day. SP are still on the Indie label, Dangerbird Records, therefore have NOT sold...

Photo by dataxy via LAist Featured Photos on Flickr Mayor Villaraigosa is in Sacramento today trying to make the best of the possible state raids on local tax dollars. “Our willingness to sacrifice on the State’s behalf does not represent an open-ended commitment or a blank check,” Mayor Villaraigosa said. “We must be sure that our hard-earned tax dollars make their way back to taxpayers as quickly as possible.” (via press release) With losing...

Snails come out after yesterday's rains | Photo by phot0matt via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr Who says the Catholic Church doesn't love basketball and a little friendly wager? Los Angeles Cardinal Roger Mahony is putitng a case of Angels-labeled wine on the line up against Orlando's Bishop Thomas Wenski's three key lime pies (Florida's official state pie), four pounds of fresh shrimp, and a bottle of oxygen. The oxygen is Wenski's...

Photo nicadlr by via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr Note to self: Don't Tweet vaca. plans. One SF man, tweeted about his family vacation and came back to a ransacked apartment. Everyone's a suspect! Green LA Girl wants to test your penis knowledge. Correctly identify the phallus in the picture to be entered for a chance to win a "big package." It was only a matter of time... The "off-the-leashers" are gunning...

"Big Buy" Photo by http://jimsonweed.blogspot.com/ via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr The National Organization for Marriage is saying that straight New Yorkers are becoming "oppressed" by possibly having to accept gay marriage as law. Say whaaa??? Yvonne Jean Pampellonne, 30, of Liguna Niguel stole an identity, opened a line of credit and bought herself some new boobs. But when she failed to show for follow-up appointments, this raised a red flag. Doctors...

Photo by EazyIanish via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr A Costa Mesa man (possibly?) became the oldest American to scale Mount Everest. 67-year-old, Bill Burke stated he climbed because he, "wanted to be the oldest American who ever stood on top." Circuit City is back! At least their website is, but don't even think about returning anything you purchase. The president of the Los Angeles Police Commission, Anthony Pacheco, unexpectedly announced his...

Denver gets the Lakers at home on Monday night, we get their WWE spillover. Scheduling conflicts always arise during the playoffs, but it's cool, Denver, you could've kept the WWE show, we would have gladly hosted the game... Redondo residents have been getting ripped off at the pump, and not from gas prices. | Since October, over 1,000 victims have been "skimmed" by using their ATM card at an Arco gas station on PCH. Police are getting closer to the suspects who have stolen $200,000 in just the last two weeks from victims' accounts.

Los Angeles has welcomed the Kogi Korean BBQ truck with open arms. The OC needs to make sure Kogi is official... | NBCLA wants to wish you a Happy 10th Anniversary of standing in line for Star Wars: The Phantom Menace. Yes, it was 10-years ago when you waited 42-days outside of Mann's Chinese, only to run back to your mom's basement and promptly seek solace after the film.