Sure, it may not feel like it with this dreary weather but summer is here! Yay for three-day weekends! Especially three-day weekends with booze and barbecue! Oh, and of course it’s also the opening weekend of Sex and the City 2!
Thursday, May 27
Checkers Four at Four: $5 Buffalo Trace Cocktails
Mmm, so good on so many levels — Buffalo Trace bourbon, cocktails made with BT, cocktails made with BT for only $4 each! Yup, another great event at Checkers Downtown. This one features BT in cocktails like the New Orleans Sazerac and Blackberry Julep, as well as an interesting-sounding Bufala Negra which is made with muddled basil and aged balsamic vinegar! Food plates are only $4 as well and include Prince Edward Island black mussels and a fig and bacon salad.
- 4-8pm. Checkers Downtown, 535 S. Grand Avenue, Downtown (map). (213) 624-0000.
Tequila Appreciation Night at Malo Restaurant
Pick up some tequila tasting tips and enjoy a variety of tequila cocktails all while giving back to the Latino art community. A win win for everyone, I say! At the Tequila Appreciation Night, hosted by Mexico’s only female owned and operated distillery, Sino Tequila, guests get to chat with the Sino’s owner and for every bottle purchased, $1 goes to Latino Arts Network.
- 7-9pm. $20. Malo Restaurant, 4326 W Sunset Boulevard, Los Angeles (map). (323) 664-1011.
Sunday, May 30
Ortega 120’s 2nd Anniversary Celebration
This hot Redondo Beach cantina is celebrating its 2nd year of existence with a booze-infused blowout sponsored by Partida Tequila and Leblon Caipirinhas. Odelay! There will be live music and dance performances, samplings of summer dishes as well as something called the Leblon Cachaca Caipi-Truck, caipirinhas on the go? RSVP: RFPR [at] RF-PR.com.
- 2-5pm. Ortega 120, 1814 S Pacific Coast Highway, Redondo Beach (map). (310) 792-4120.
Katana’s 7th Annual Red Sun BBQ Kicks Off
Katana kicks off the sweaty season this Memorial Day Weekend with its popular summertime event which starts May 30 and ends on Labor Day. Revelers get to dance to the turntable stylings of KCRW’s DJ Thomas Golubic and enjoy specials on cocktails like $6 red or white sangria, champagne cocktail and a watermelon margarita.
- 5-11:30pm. 8439 West Sunset Boulevard, West Hollywood (map). (323) 650-8585.
Silverlake Wine’s 7th Annual Memorial Day Weekend Barbeque Wine Tasting
Nothing like some tasty ‘cue and fine wine to enjoy Memorial Day. Silverlake Wine’s special Sunday tasting will pair barbecue ribs, links, chicken prepared by The First Assembly Baptist Church in South Los Angeles with bodacious vino like Chateau de l’Eperonniere Savennieres 2007 France and Maquis Lien Red Blend Colchagua Valley 2006 Chile.
- 3pm. $20. Silverlake Wine, 2395 Glendale Boulevard, Los Angeles (map). Reservations required: (323) 662-9024.