| After a humbling World Series Game 1 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays on Friday, the Dodgers roared back to life the next day with a 5-1 win in Game 2. |
| As Essential California's own Jim Rainey wrote last week, L.A. is desperate for a win after the year it's had. |
| And the Dodgers seem prepared to deliver. |
| With Game 3 kicking off at Dodger Stadium this evening, local restaurants and bars have hauled in extra TVs and added food and drink specials in preparation for back-to-back World Series wins. |
| Whether you're looking for places to watch the game near the stadium or hoping to take advantage of Dodgers food and drink specials, my colleagues on The Times' Food team have options for you. |
| Here are a few of their recommendations. |
Benny Boy Brewing (Lincoln Heights) |
| Want to bring your pup with you to celebrate the Dodgers? Benny Boy Brewing is a favorite pit stop before, during or after a game at nearby Dodger Stadium. Cheer alongside other fans while watching the Dodgers play live on a big screen in the spacious dog-friendly brewery and cider house or on three outdoor TVs in the backyard garden, all with sound on. |
| Alongside the usual cider and craft-beer menu, Benny Boy will be pouring Bullpen Dawg Hazy IPA, made in collaboration with Dodgers pitcher and previous World Series champion Alex Vesia. The beer features an illustration of Vesia on the pitcher's mound and will also be sold in four-packs. (Vesia, meanwhile, is not on the roster as he deals with a family matter.) Pair your brews with a rotating lineup of food pop-ups, including BLK Crust on Monday and Jay's Tacos on Tuesday. |
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| Lincoln Heights cidery and brewery Benny Boy Brewing collaborated with Dodgers pitcher Alex Vesia to make the Bullpen Dawg Hazy IPA. (Benny Boy Brewing) |
LaSorted's (Chinatown) |
| Just blocks from Dodger Stadium, this Chinatown pizzeria serves as a shrine to L.A.'s home baseball team with memorabilia on the walls. In addition to the regular menu, LaSorted's is adding two World Series specials: an al pastor slice made in collaboration with Taquería Frontera and a hot honey maple bacon dog inspired by the Blue Jays' hometown of Toronto. |
| The restaurant will also screen the games across five TVs inside as well as an 80-inch TV on the patio with full sound. All parties are required to spend a minimum of $50 per person. |
Takoyaki Tanota (Downtown L.A.) |
| Eat one of Shohei Ohtani's favorite dishes at this Little Tokyo restaurant. When the owners learned that one of Ohtani's favorite dishes is takoyaki — the fluffy, breaded fried orbs filled with octopus — they knew they had to offer a Shohei special. |
| This year, they're reprising a festive 2024 special in honor of the star player: This $17 combo includes four pieces of takoyaki with a Shohei Blue cocktail, a bright blue concoction that's available for $12 a la carte and involves two shots of sake and two shots of Nankai shochu. |
Pink's Hot Dogs (Fairfax) |
| The normally pink-hued hot dog vendor has been freshly painted Dodger blue for the World Series. In a nod to the Dodgers' eight World Series titles out of 22 appearances, Pink's is selling its new Blue's Dog (made with bacon, chili and cheese) for $8.22 through the duration of the Series, and all proceeds from that particular hot dog's sale go directly to the L.A. Dodgers Foundation, the team's official charity. |
| Much like last year, Pink's is also donating a minimum amount of $2,500 to the charity no matter what. |
Guisados (Echo Park) |
| One of L.A.'s top taquerias is continuing its annual tradition of going blue, at least when it comes to its horchata. Guisados' original Boyle Heights location and the Echo Park location, which is within walking distance of the ballpark, will be dyeing its horchata — or "Dodgerata" — blue on home-game days through the World Series (Oct. 27-28 and possibly 29). |
Today's top stories |
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| LAFD responds to the Lachman fire in Pacific Palisades on Jan. 1. (KeyNews) |
A hiker's video of the Palisades fire raises questions about state's responsibility |
- A hiker's video shows smoke rising from the Lachman fire burn scar on Jan. 2, hours after the LAFD declared it fully contained and days before the catastrophic Palisades fire rekindled.
- Attorneys for fire victims sued California State Parks for failing to adequately monitor the burn scar amid dangerously dry conditions and extreme Santa Ana winds.
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L.A. County has tapped a retired judge to vet a $4-billion sex abuse settlement |
- A retired judge will tackle a $4-billion question: How can officials ensure that real victims are compensated from the biggest sex abuse payout in U.S. history — and not people who made up their claims?
- He will vet cases brought by Downtown LA Law Group after The Times found nine people represented by the firm who said they were paid to sue the county by recruiters. Four of the plaintiffs said they were told to fabricate the claims.
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L.A. County moves to limit license-plate tracking |
- Drivers in Los Angeles County have a powerful new privacy advocate after the L.A. County Board of Supervisors pushed to restrict how their license plates are scanned by law enforcement.
- The board recently voted to ask the Sheriff's Department to more stringently regulate its use of the license-plate data it collects through high-tech camera systems mounted on patrol cars and above roads.
- The measure it approved cited reporting from CalMatters that roughly a dozen police and sheriff's departments throughout Southern California shared such data with federal immigration agencies.
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What else is going on |
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Commentary and opinions |
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This morning's must read |
| | | Restoring California's St. George Reef Lighthouse will cost at least $10 million and helicopter access. It's a race against time -- and rising seas. | | | |
Other must reads |
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| Keep up with California | Your support helps us deliver the news that matters most. Subscribe to the Los Angeles Times. | | | | | |
For your downtime |
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| Sandra Mazer Moss — Times staff writer Deborah Vankin's mother — works out at The Gym Venice with owner Kris Herbert. (Catherine Dzilenski/For The Times) |
Going out |
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Staying in |
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A question for you: What's the best candy to get for Halloween? |
| Catherine writes: "I gulped candy corn by the handful as a kid, and was often able to get it for 'free' during sibling candy trades because I was the only one who liked it. Even now, knowing it's made from a noxious stew of sugar, wax and cornstarch, it's the only corn I'll eat at Halloween." |
| Michael writes: "Hershey's Special Dark are the best! Plus the name and classy wrapper made it feel elevated. I claimed all rights to them when my kids got home from trick or treating!!" |
| Email us at essentialcalifornia@latimes.com, and your response might appear in the newsletter this week. |
And finally ... your photo of the day |
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| (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times) |
| Today's great photo is by Times photographer Robert Gauthier from Saturday's Game 2 of the World Series in Toronto, where Dodgers third baseman and power hitter Max Muncy had sunflower seeds thrown at him after hitting a solo home run during the seventh inning. |
Have a great day, from the Essential California team |
| Jim Rainey, staff reporter
Hugo Martín, assistant editor, fast break desk
Kevinisha Walker, multiplatform editor
Andrew Campa, Sunday writer
Karim Doumar, head of newsletters |
| How can we make this newsletter more useful? Send comments to essentialcalifornia@latimes.com. Check our top stories, topics and the latest articles on latimes.com. |
