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Pal Cabron‘s cemitas poblana just may be my new favorite sandwich. I had the pork cemita, which is a hearty sandwich made with a thin, breaded piece of pork, thinly sliced head cheese, avocado, onions, Oaxacan string cheese, another cheese called queso panela, chipotle and an herb called papalo, all on an egg roll that was obviously designed to hold up to the mountain of ingredients in this sandwich. The chipotle might be a tad spicy for some, and it was for me, though I thoroughly enjoyed the fire in my mouth.

Pork cemita

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Photo courtesy of The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf

More free stuff from The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf coming your way starting this Saturday! Coffee Bean has a new line of bottled coffee and tea drinks, and for the next two weeks Coffee Bean will be giving them away. From April 17 through April 23, get a free bottled cafe drink with a lunch or baked good purchase, and from April 24 through April 30, get a free bottled tea with the same such purchase (the freebies will be given out between 11:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m.). The bottled coffee drinks include Café Latte, Café Mocha and Café Vanilla, and the bottled tea drinks include Honey Rooibos, Jasmine Pearl and Peach Assam.

The Dim Sum Truck is perhaps the gourmet food truck that makes the most sense: Dim sum already comes to you on wheels in a restaurant — why not come to you on wheels in a truck?

Now, I have to admit that I don’t like a lot of traditional dim sum foods. Luckily my co-workers do, so between all of us, we’ve probably had most of the Dim Sum Truck’s menu. Here’s my take on what I’ve tasted.

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Junior Drake bags. From Junior Drake's Facebook.

Junior Drake: The hip handbag company is having its famously low-priced warehouse sample sale starting this Friday, April 9, through Sunday, April 11. According to its marketing materials on Facebook, the Mischa style bag will be just $25 (regular price $458). Yes, you read that correctly. And if you spend at least $150, you’ll get to spin a wheel for a chance at prizes, including an Emilia bag from Junior Drake’s spring 2010 collection (retail price $328). There’s also a raffle to win a Candice bag (retail price $458), one of my personal favorites.

740 E. 60th St.
Los Angeles, CA 90001
Friday and Saturday 10:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.
Sunday 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

StyleSmith: This lovely lady, who also makes her own accessories, is having a huge vintage sale on Saturday, April 10. There will be hundreds of clothes, shoes and accessories for sale, from prices as low as $1. RSVP to vintage@stylesmithonline.com.

137 S. Jackson St.
Glendale, CA 91205
Saturday 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Last month’s Star Chefs event at the Fairmont Miramar Hotel in Santa Monica showcased some of the best culinary talent in Southern California. The event was a walk-around one with a different chef-created dish at each table. Some of the most-talked about chefs were there, including Michael Voltaggio from The Dining Room at the Langham Hotel, Jon Shook and Vinny Dotolo from Animal, and Ray Garcia of FIG, among others.

Some of my favorites from the night were Animal’s poutine made with oxtail and cheddar and Voltaggio’s wagyu beef with white cheddar, cream of dehydrated broccoli and topped with dehydrated broccoli.

Voltaggio's wagyu beef. From e*starLA.

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Code.ai products. From L.A. Splash Magazine.

Code.ai, which makes eyelash and eyebrow regrowth products, is offering a blogger-exclusive sale for one week only, and it would behoove you to snatch some up because this is the best deal I’ve seen yet for these items. That means prices are as follows:

Lash Extend Serum L-117 ($115) with coupon code now $57.50
Brow Boosting Shaper B-216 ($75) with coupon code now $37.50
Lash Extend Primer L-122 ($40) with coupon code now $20

Click here to read more about code.ai’s products.

As I’ve said before, I’ve tried the Lash Extend Serum and Brow Boosting Shaper, and they both work. I found more noticeable results more quickly with the Last Extend Serum, but the my brows also showed improvement with the Brow Boosting Shaper. I didn’t have any irritation or discoloration with either product, which I know are concerns with these kinds of products.

From Monday, April 5, through midnight EST on Sunday, April 11, use the online code WELOVEBLOGS at checkout on www.codeai.com. You can use the code a maximum number of three times. Do it — your lashes and brows will thank you.

Hester dress from the spring 09 collection

Sure, you can spend your Easter weekend having brunch, hunting for eggs and partaking in some delectable candy, but wouldn’t you rather be shopping for clothes? If you would, then check out this Saturday’s Riller & Fount sample sale featuring slouchy basics and dresses. Pieces from the spring 2009 and fall 2009 collections will be priced from $20 to $60 (cash and credit accepted). Details:

Saturday, April 3
12:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.
308 E. 9th St., Suite 407
Los Angeles, CA 90015

I’ve been wanting to try The Mercantile in Hollywood since it opened about five months ago, so when I saw a $20 prix fixe offered via Blackboard Eats, of course I snatched it up. Then, as is par for the food course, I went to dinner here with some foodie friends. Good times!

And not only was the company enjoyable, so was the food (save for one hiccup, but I’ll get to that later). We started with a bottle of Plan Pégau on the recommendation of our server, who was very knowledgeable about the food and drink, and it was a great recommendation.

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Oliverio at Avalon Hotel. From Curbed LA.

Oliverio, the restaurant that took over the old Blue on Blue space at the Avalon Hotel last fall, now has a twice-weekly happy hour. On Tuesdays and Thursdays from 5:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m., Oliverio’s bar and cocktail menus are half-off, which means all cocktails are $7 instead of the regularly priced $14. The Lombardia made with bourbon, apple, cinnamon and orange sounds good to me (I love bourbon!). Food includes a goat cheese and black summer truffle pizza for $11 (normally $22) or truffle and parmesan fries for $4 (normally $8).

Note: I haven’t been to the Avalon’s restaurant since it was Blue on Blue under Chef Scott Garrett. Now that the space is Oliverio under Chef Mirko Paderno, I’ll have to go back and check it out.

Zane from Seattle

Thinking about going to The Edison‘s Radio Room tonight? Lucky for you there was a press preview last night of the guest-bartender event under new Director of Spirits Joe Brooke, so you’ll have the details on what’s going to be served. Tonight’s guest bartenders are Simon Ford from Pernod Ricard in London and New York, Giuseppe Gonzalez from Dutch Kills in New York, Zane Harris from Rob Roy in Seattle and Don Lee from Momofuku Ssam Bar in New York. There will be a menu of six cocktails at $14 each, and entrance is $10 at the door (presale tickets here).

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