ShopEatSleep

Amy Kathryn Dahlia bag. The designer will be at the event.

Local shopping event Unique L.A. is back for the spring, and this time there are some new features, including food from trucks Coolhaus, Flying Pig and Fressers, and a pop-up store from Amoeba Music. And of course all kinds of vendors from clothing and jewelry to stationery and home decor. Check out some of the ones I liked from the last event.

California Market Center (110 E. 9th Street)
Saturday, April 24, and Sunday, April 25, 11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
$10 at the door, which includes free drinks and hosted bar (IZZE, Honest Tea, water, beer and cocktails), unlimited re-entry for both days, a collectible tote bag designed by graphic designer Keith Scharwath, free workshops and handmade activities, and more!

This past weekend will go down in L.A. food history as The Weekend That Was The Clusterf*ck Known As The L.A. Street Food Fest. Don’t get me wrong — I thought it was a great idea, and I enjoyed myself while I was there. But as is the case with so many first-time events, there were problems, though I guess things could have been worse.

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Ice cream sandwich from Coolhaus, which will be at L.A. Street Food Fest

I thought the L.A. Street Food Fest was just going to be a gathering of a bunch of food trucks (yum), but then I found out that a mini Unique L.A. will also be part of the event (score!). If only the event were held at a hotel, as my friend Fiona of Gourmet Pigs said, it would be the perfect ShopEatSleep trifecta!

Alas, the event isn’t scheduled to be at a hotel. Instead, it’s going to be at L.A. Center Studios just west of downtown. On Feb. 13 from 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., more than 30 food trucks and other street food vendors, along with another 30-plus art/design/fashion vendors, will be selling their wares. Check out the list of participants here.

For an entry fee of $5, you’ll get a drink ticket and raffle tickets. For a $30 VIP pass, you’ll get access to a patio, indoor restrooms, a private bar, a gift bag and fancy food from a surprise guest chef. And there will be a bicycle valet for those of you who ride those contraptions.

Eat My Blog: On Saturday, Dec. 5, from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. at Zeke’s Smokehouse in West Hollywood, a whole bunch of food bloggers are getting together to sell their homemade baked goods to benefit the Los Angeles Regional Foodbank. Enjoy everything from macarons and carrot cake cookies to mini bundt cakes and bacon brownies with bourbon caramel sauce for $1 to $3 each. Participating bloggers include Diana of Diana Takes a Bite, Anjali of Delicious Coma, H.C. of L.A. and O.C. Foodventures, Anisha of Food is My Nish, Liz of Food, She Thought and Jo of My Last Bite, among many others. Check out the menu here.

Space 15 Twenty One Year Anniversary: Get your shop on Saturday at the hiptastic Space 15 Twenty in Hollywood, where you’ll get 20 percent off at all stores from 7:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. There’s also a party of sorts, with DJ Ana Calderon, a “very special guest band,” giveaways, raffles and hors d’oeuvres from Umami Burger. For some reason you have to RSVP, so do that to rsvp@space15twenty.com.

Unique Los Angeles: This is a two-fer event. On Saturday and Sunday, from 11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., pay $10 and get entry for both days to this shopping event featuring independent designers — and a free tote bag, drink ticket and access to workshops. There will be clothing, accessories, stationery, housewares, artwork, screenprints and more. New this year is a special “green” room with more than 50 eco-friendly designers. Unique will be at the California Market Center downtown, and parking will be $6 with validation (a steal, considering I’ve paid $20 to park here for fashion shows!).