Check out the Carmageddon Food Deals and Events! – Updated

Disaster is coming to Los Angeles. In ten days, the 405 highway will be closed for 48 hours between the 10 and the 101 freeways. In other words, there will be hella hella gridlock. The city is bracing for total transportation paralysis, but just because a massive artery will be shut down doesn’t mean residents can’t enjoy themselves. There are actually a variety of culinary deals around town as well as two separate food and drink festivals worth checking out.

A brief guide after the jump…

ColLAboration’s July pop-up craft beer garden series

Everyone loves a biergarten, and Los Angeles is finally catching on to what Germany has known all along: communal drinking is fun! Well, on July 16th, Sunset Strip denizens will get their very own “beer garden” featuring various brands from local brewers and beyond. In fact, here’s a partial list:

Bruery, Firestone Walker, Sierra Nevada, Russian River, Rogue, Beer Valley, Craftsman, Green Flash, Moylan’s, Maui, Avery, Alesmith, New Belgium, Dogfish Head, Port/Los Abbey, Eagle Rock, Hangar 24, Oskar Blues, Grand Teton, Uinta, Unibroue and many more to be announced in the days leading up to the events.

The action is all going down at 8950 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood, CA 90069 from noon to 9pm.

Admission is $10 (comes with a glass).

http://www.collaboration.la/

This event will also be happening the week prior on July 9th, and the week after on July 23rd. The latter date will include a tribute to Belgiam and specialty glasses for $15 (your $10 glasses from the previous two weeks will work for admission as well).

Eat Real Festival

This one will be super cool. The Eat Real Festival started up in Oakland and has now made its way down to Culver City, CA. The event will feature many local vendors as well as a variety of food activities that look super cool. Best of all, it’s free! Well, the food isn’t free, but admission is. Here are some highlights:

· A kraut-a-thon from Ernie Miller’s Master Preserver Class – the first class in 10 years
· Chickens in the City – meet the Dare2Dream chicken farmers, learn how to build coops and tend to urban chickens
· Growing food in small places with “Life on the Balcony’s” Fern Richardson
· Goat Cheese making with goats from Soledad Farms
· Tomato sauce making with KCRW “Good Food’s” Evan Kleiman
· Pretzel making with Aida Mollenkamp
· Solar cooking
· Pantry cook-offs from LA Top Chef former contestants and other local chefs
· Cookbook swap all day on Sunday
· Kimchi for All class with Lauryn Chun (of Mother in Law’s Kimchi)
· Foraging in Southern California – Learn some of the wild and abundant food that grows in SoCal
· Urban bee keeping demo and installations
· Beer and Wine gardens
· A community oven for freshly baked bread
· Multiple garden installations and tours for small and large living spaces
· “The Future of Food Writing” panel at Room & Board moderated by OC Weekly’s Gustavo Arellano with noted LA food writers & bloggers:
o Russ Parsons, Los Angeles Times
o Amy Scattergood, LA Weekly “Squid Ink”
o Eddie Lin, Deep End Dining blog
o Hazel Quimpo, Yelp

Plus — and this is very state fair-y — food competitions! Here are the categories:
o Canned Heat – Salsas or spicy condiments
o Sweet Spread – Jams, jelly, conserves, and syrups.
o Puttin’ It Up – All things pickles, chutneys and relishes
o Breads – Bake ‘em if you’ve got ‘em

Some of the vendors present will be:
o Coolhaus
o Flying Pig
o Nom Nom
o Komodo
o Vizzi
o Global Soul
o The Hungry Nomad
o Slap Fish
o Mothercluck
o Lindy and Grundy
o Shortnin’ Bread
o Crème Caramel LA
o Pop-ups from: Santa Monica FM and Hollywood Farmers Kitchen

The event will take place on both Saturday and Sunday of Carmageddon (the 16th and 17th) from 10:30 AM to 9:30 PM at 8800 Venice Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90034
http://www.eatrealfestival.com/

Restaurant deals

Santa Monica:
Xino:
Dishes for $5. Crab Rangoon, Chili Glazed Pork Spare Riblets, Seafood Spinach, Shrimp, and Mushroom Dumplings, Crispy Chili Calamari, and more. 395 Santa Monica Place Suite 308, Santa Monica, CA 90401

Drago Santa Monica:
20% off the entire bill (excluding tax and gratuity) with mention of the code “Car-mageddon” when placing your reservation. Offer is valid Friday, July 15 – Sunday, July 17 for dinner only (not valid with any other offers; management reserves all rights). 2628 Wilshire Blvd, Santa Monica, CA 90403

Wilshire:
From July 16-18 the restaurant will offer a four-course “405 Sig Alert” dinner for $40.05 per person. Dish choices include a miso black cod with tamarind glaze, braised short rib with glazed cipollini onion, truffled half chicken with sweet onion potato puree, and panko-crusted tofu. 2454 Wilshire Blvd, Santa Monica, CA 90403

Downtown:

Drago Centro:
4 samples for $5 gelato sampler, featuring flavors such as salted caramel and tomato gelato. (Gelato flavors are subject to change by day.) 525 S Flower St. Suite 120, Los Angeles, CA 90071

Pasadena:

Yujean Kang’s
Chef Yujean Kang is celebrating Car-mageddon by offering his special $20 “Sunday” sino supper all weekend long—July 16-18. 67 North Raymond Avenue, Pasadena, CA 91103

Vertical
Vertical will be offering 4 for $5 beer and wine flights. Beers hail from Morretti, Italy: “Hitachino Rice Ale”: Ibaraki, Japan: Rice Beer; “Barbar”: Quenast, Belgium: Honey Ale; “Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier Marzen”: Bamberg, Germany: Smokebeer. And wines from South America: 2009 Filus Torrontes Argentina; 2009 Terra Noble Cabernet Sauvignon Chili; 2008 La Flor Malbec, Argentina; 2008 Santa Carolina: Carmenere, Chili. 70 North Raymond Avenue, Pasadena, CA 91103

Studio City:

Raphael:
Car-mageddon Creations: Chilled Karma tequila with a salty lime foam served with bitter orange sangrita, and Nolet Gin with muddled cucumbers and house made limoncello (I’ve had the limoncello, and it’s awesome). 11616 Ventura Blvd, Studio City, CA 91604

Lodging

Terranea Resort
If you’re stuck all the way down in Ranchos Palos Verdes, Terranea Resort is imploring you to stay away from the highway and instead relax with a “405 Freedom Room Package.” The package allows guests who book a resort stay on Friday, July 15 and Saturday, July 16 to add additional room nights on July 13-14 and/or July 17-20 for 40.5% (get it?) off the published rate. Reservations can be made at www.terranea.com or by calling 866-802-8000. Mention code 405FWY. 100 Terranea Way
Rancho Palos Verdes, CA 90275

More updates as they come in!