Taste Rare Sake Then Get Spray-On Abs This Weekend in LA
Check out a Halloween luau for charity, and get some Offset-inspired fried chicken, too.
Los Angeles in fall isn’t that different than Los Angeles in summer: Other than a few more leaves on the ground and an earlier and earlier sundown, you can still eat dinner and watch a movie outside on a rooftop, go stargazing at night, or try adaptive scuba diving. But if you’re having a hard time deciding what to do this weekend, we’ve got you covered with all the greatest things to do in Los Angeles—and if you need even more options, we’ve got plenty, like hitting a bunny museum, grabbing a bite at one of LA’s best new restaurants, or taking a short(ish) drive to one of LA’s great suburbs…er, other parts of town.
Where to Eat and Drink in Los Angeles
Ongoing through Tuesday, October 31
Delivery from Pasadena and Chinatown, $15
Everyone’s favorite hot chicken joint Howlin’ Ray’s is also the swaggiest, with killer merch and a fun and rambunctious spirit. For Halloween they’ve partnered with chart-topping rapper Offset to celebrate the holiday and the release of his new album Set It Off. They’ve created a special chicken nugget combo that comes with a limited dipping sauce called Offset’s Southern Drip, a spicy, sweet, and tangy barbecue-adjacent sauce designed to be dripped over your chicken nugz and then shaken up in the special edition black and red box. The effect is fun and delicious, and it’s only available through Postmates.
Saturday, October 28
Santa Monica, $25
When Halloween falls on a weekday, most folks have to move their partying up to the weekend before. That makes Saturday the 28th the big night for Halloween parties of all kinds. This year, skip a house party and head to Ester’s Wine Bar for a DJ and dancing, horror movies projected on the wall, themed cocktails, and great wine. Costumes very much encouraged.
Sunday, October 29
Virgil Village, Prices vary
Halloween is for dressing up, and that extends to kids, adults, pets (see below), and restaurants, too. The fun new izakaya Budonoki is getting into the spirit this weekend, transforming for one night only into an old-school red sauce Italian joint called Budognocchi, checkered tablecloths and all. It sounds like one of those ideas where they came up with the name and then fit a concept around it, but they’ve gone all in—the menu is full of funky and fun takes on classic Italian dishes, from the Blood Orange Negroni Slushie to Shrimp Scampi with garlic koji butter, and the signature Budo-gnocchi rice cakes have parmesan and black truffle.
Fun Festivals in Los Angeles
Saturday, October 28
Santa Monica, $30–$75
Perhaps you’d like to use your Halloween revelry as a way to do some good in the world this year. In that case, consider the Dead Man’s Luau, a nautical nightmare-themed musical festival thrown by OC based musician and firefighter Wes Chiller. Chiller will be performing live, as will several other bands and DJs. There will also be art, tattoos, a silent auction, and a limbo contest. A portion of the evening’s proceeds will be donated to Surfers Healing and the Maui Fire Department’s Lahaina Ohana Relief fund.
Saturday, October 28
Manhattan Beach, Free entry
If you want to get a little rowdy by the beach this weekend, StrandBar is throwing a Halloween Horror Ball. The bar will be decked out for the season, and they’ll have a DJ and dancing, special themed drinks, and a costume contest. The party starts at 8, and the costume contest starts at 10, with categories including Best Costume, Best Couple, and Most Creative Design.
Saturday, October 28
Santa Ana, $55
There’s a dude out there somewhere whose two passions are elaborate cosplay and fine craft ales, and boy do we have the party for him. The fifth annual Brewers Mash is an outstanding Halloween-themed beer festival where the beer samples are unlimited and costumes are encouraged, and Orange County’s best independent brewers will be there pouring samples of everything from IPAs to Pastry Stouts. The setting is lovely, too, on the expansive grounds of the Heritage Museum of Orange County.
More Fun Things to Do in Los Angeles
Friday, October 27 through Wednesday, November 1
Downtown, $175
If your Halloween costume needs a little extra attention—or if you’d rather outsource the hard work to a serious professional—book an appointment at the Ritz-Carlton Spa downtown. They’ve brought in serious special effects makeup artists and transformed the spa into a Barbie-themed doll shop ready to re-create Margot Robbie’s instantly iconic hairstyles, Ryan Gosling’s just a little too-perfect abs, or whatever else you’re into this year. Pricing includes a consultation with a makeup artist, and also the makeup, extensions, blow outs, styling, and spray-on abs.
Saturday, October 28 – Sunday, October 29
Little Tokyo, Free entry
The Japanese American Cultural and Community Center is a hidden gem in Little Tokyo, with a stunning garden, a lovely event space, and one of the best restaurants in town. And now they’re becoming a little less hidden by adding on MISE, a beautifully curated shop by JACCC’s experts-in-residence Jane Matsumoto and Patricia Wyatt, who traveled to Japan and brought back shelves full of artisanal goods for home cooks and party hosts. They’re opening with a bang this weekend with a Tsubamesanjo Artisan Fair, a series of tastings, workshops, and activities led by Japanese artisans who have flown in from Tsubamesanjo in Niigata Prefecture, Japan, expressly for this event. There will be sake tastings, an onigiri class, knife sharpening and cutting workshops, gardening classes, and more.
Halloween Events
Ongoing
Various locations
Halloweekend is here, and all of of the city’s long-running Halloween events are in the home stretch: put a cap on the season with Delusion, the Haunted Hayride, Universal’s Halloween Horror Nights, Nights of the Jack, Knotts Scary Farm, and Shaqtoberfest, and stay tuned to Thrillist for more details on this year’s bestevents.