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Junk Food Platter at L.A. Market by Kerry Simon. Photo courtesy of L.A. Market.

National Junk Food Day is Sunday, July 21, and it’s the best snack food day of them all. You know why? Because it’s all-encompassing. You could eat just about anything to celebrate!

L.A. Market by Kerry Simon at the J.W. Marriott Los Angeles at L.A. LIVE gets it. That’s why the restaurant offers the Junk Food Platter ($17) with coconut Bounty, Snickers cake, banana Nutella macaroons, baby churros, red velvet whoopie pies, brownies, cookies and cotton candy (and maybe popcorn, if you’re lucky?).

And then, because you’re already at a hotel, why not crash in one of the J.W. Marriott’s rooms with views of the downtown skyline? There’s also a rooftop pool to lounge by while enjoying even more junk food, if you’re so inclined.

So pig out! Why not? It’s summer.

J.W. Marriott Junior Suite. Photo courtesy of J.W. Marriott.

Jar of Picklings at Vodvil

Do you like to play with your food? And by playing with your food, I mean playing games while eating food. If your answer is yes, then Vodvil on Fairfax Avenue is the place for you. Part restaurant, part game show, Vodvil goes beyond the usual trivia night to include an upscale comfort food menu and bar with interactive games moderated by a cheesy-but-entertaining host.

I have to admit that I was skeptical of Vodvil’s concept. I thought it might be annoying to have dinner while being subjected to shouts from game players. However, on the particular night my dinner companion, Lindsay of LAist, and I visited Vodvil, it happened to be word games night, which was perfect for us writers. We won our share of rounds and cashed in our winnings at the restaurant’s prize machine, which is filled with nostalgic trinkets. (By the way, there’s a $4 charge per person to play the games. There’s a small sign at the host stand stating this, but I don’t remember seeing it on the menu, which would be a good place to let people know.)

The executive chef here is Jamie Lauren, formerly of Beechwood and also of “Top Chef” fame. We actually saw Lauren in the dining room chatting it up with fellow “Top Chef” alum Antonia Lofaso — it was a very L.A. food world moment.

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Recess happy hour at Public School 612

If you’ve been to the downtown L.A. Daily Grill lately, you may have noticed a separate bar space just past the host stand. That’s Public School 612 (AKA PS 612), a new gastropub concept from the owners of the Daily Grill restaurants. This is the first of what the owners hope will be many PS 612 locations.

The bar opens every day at 4:00 p.m. and features food and drink, including a nicely edited beer list. There’s also a Recess happy hour on weekdays from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. with a bar bites menu that tops out at $4. The drink specials don’t include the bar’s cocktails, but there’s a $4 handle of beer (that’s actually available all night long), a $5 Skinny Margarita and a $10 carafe of wine.

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