Friday Quickies #34: Beer Events, *the* Food Event and Great Bars to Eat, Drink and Talk!

Beer Events: In case you haven't gotten enough beer at the recent Oktoberfest events around town, there's a few more going on for you to enjoy great brews alongside tasty eats. On Wed., Oct. 22 TAPS in Brea is doing a $55/person, five-course beer-paired "Taste of the Harvest" dinner with delectable dishes like a ceviche of Hokkaido diver scallops and Spanish chorizo with green olives and paprika-saffron oil and braised Brandt Farms beef short ribs with Oktoberfest beer reduction and sweet potato gnocchi. Further south in the O.C., Savannah Supper Club in Costa Mesa will be serving up a $48/person, 'Bruery' dinner; the four-course meal will have beer incorporated in the dishes and paired alongside, such as a new spin on Fish 'n Chips with beer-battered butterfish with spiced yam fries, housemade chicken-chile sausage with beer-baked beans and D'Anjou Pear roasted in beer and served with beer gelato! Finally, for something a little less prix-fixe and little more LA, Urbandaddy drop the word that Luxe Lounge in Bel-Air will is going to offer a more traditional Oktoberfest themed food and beer menu from Oct. 20-25. Expect lots 'o sausages and German brews.

And then, there's LA Magazine The Food Event: Thanks to their PR folks, I got a discount code to share with you all. Type in foodevent08 when pre-ordering tickets online and you'll get a $10 discount, so only $50/person. Given the restaurant representation, celeb-chef gawking opportunities, the wineries pouring, the Malibu scenery and that $20 of that goes to charity -- it's definitely worth going to!

Finally, LA Times have a pretty decent guide of accessible bars with good grub, convenient parking and nice vibes - from Twisted Vine down in Fullerton to downtown L.A.'s Bacaro to the newly-opened Laurel Tavern in Studio City. Looks like I have a few new spots to commiserate over investments, get into heated political discussions or just some casual catching up chit-chat.