LA Food + Wine
August 22-26
All over town
The grand dame of LA’s food festivals returns with a multi-day, multi-venue celebration of everything culinary, ever. Highlights include Questlove’s return to the fest as part of the entertainment at Live On Grand Ave on Saturday, and cheffy lunches from Antonia Lofaso, Jason Neroni, Steve Sampson, and more on Thurs and Fri, as well as grand tastings all weekend.
Cost: Varies
Jammin’ Reggae Cruise
August 24
Marina Del Rey
This on-the-waterfront food-and-music event’s serving up jerk chicken and coconut rice and beans on a cruise ship rolling through the harbor, with two DJs pumping up-beats for the whole night. The thing’s technically sold out right now, but there’s a waiting list, and tickets often get released at the last minute.
Cost: $139.95
KCRW Summer Nights
August 25
Chinatown Plaza (Downtown)
KCRW sponsors dozens of free events throughout the summer, but if you’ve been putting off hitting one of them, this is your last chance: as part of Chinatown’s Summer Nights series, DJs Jason Bentley and Raul Campos will be spinning tunes from 8pm onward. You can also get there a bit earlier and hit the live music stage curated by Buzzband.la’s Kevin Bronson, who always books LA’s best local indie rockers.
Cost: Free
Citadel Barks and Brews
August 26
Citadel Outlets (Commerce)
The Citadel outlets are celebrating National Dog Day (it’s a thing!) with this event, which brings together beer tasting and canine petting. In addition to sales at the outlet center’s stores, they’ll also have adoption stations set up and meet-and-greets with famous mutts, with beer pours from Angel City and Lagunitas, among others.
Cost: Free
The Lodge Dinner
August 26
4424 Lindblade Ave (Culver City)
This pop-up dinner party’s 14th installment finds the team from Hatchet Hall letting loose, culinarily speaking. The five-course menu includes duck rillettes with dutch-oven garlic bread and wood-grilled hanger steak with roasted on-the-vine tomatoes and cheesy polenta, as well as drinks from bartender Matt Bone. As an added bonus, you’ll get 20% off with the code “thrillist” (while supplies last).
Cost: $150 (-20%!)
Smorgasburg’s BBQ Day
August 26
The Row (Downtown)
The beloved downtown Sunday market’s third-annual BBQ day will see popup vendors like Bludso’s and East LA’s Moos Craft BBQ slinging meat, as well as a WHOLE SMOKED ALLIGATOR (!!) from regular vendor Black Sugar Rib. There’ll even be vegan BBQ sandwiches, if that’s somehow your thing.
Cost: Free
Jack Daniels Tennessee Honey Cookout
August 26
1525 Abbott Kinney (Venice)
This totally-free event from Jack’s sweeter sibling offers the obligatory tastes of booze (yes, for free), but also free food from Trejo’s Tacos and Peddler’s Creamery, as well as music from Spankrock DJ Hoff.
Cost: Free