Tickets are now on sale for this year's event. 

Do you know what you're doing the second Sunday in March? Well, you do now. (And no, this will not conflict with March Madness; Selection Sunday is March 16.) On Sunday, March 9 this esteemed publication will be hosting its sixth annual food and wine event, LA Weekly's The Essentials, an all-afternoon affair with 30 or 40 of this town's finest restaurants providing you with all kinds of marvelous things to eat, and plenty of things to drink to go with them.

From noon to 5 p.m. at L.A. Mart in downtown L.A., you'll be able to sample terrific food from the chefs at A.O.C., Allumette, Angelini Osteria, Animal, Bestia, Beverly Soon Tofu, Border Grill, Bucato, Cacao Mexicatessen, Chichen Itza, Chi SPACCA, Church & State, Coni' Seafood, Craft Los Angeles, Crossroads, Drago Centro, Father's Office, Got Kosher, Gottsui, Goldie's, Good Girl Dinette, Guerilla Tacos, HomeState, Horse Thief BBQ, Hinoki & the Bird … 
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… Il Grano, Jitlada, Kogi BBQ, Little Sister, Loteria Grill, Lucques, Mariscos Jalisco, Mexicali Taco & Co., Nickel Diner, Night + Market, Oinkster, Salt's Cure, Sotto, Sqirl, Star King BBQ, Starry Kitchen, Superba Snack Bar and more. 

If you remember back to our previous events (food coma notwithstanding), you'll recognize some of the restaurants, but this year there will be plenty of new ones too. As for the name, we're calling this The Essentials because the event will coincide with our 99 Essential Restaurants special issue, coming out on March 7, conveniently enough the Thursday before all this eating and drinking. Some of the same restaurants will be in both event and issue – but not all, because, well, the more terrific restaurants and chefs we can celebrate, the better – both in print and in real life.  

Our sponsors this year include Anheuser Busch, Birchware, Clover Juice, Gelson's, Handsome Coffee, Hornitos, Kinky Liqueur, Melissa's Produce, Palm Springs, Pinnacle Vodka, Natural History Museum, Risata, Taxi Magic, UCLA Extension, X Lanes, Amella Caramels, Beyond The Olive, Bloom Honey, Jabberwocky, M. Greenwood Jams, San Angel Mole, Savour This Sauce, Taart Pan, Lee Lee Jewels, and Nutmeg Granola.

Tickets are $45 this year for general admission and $65 for VIP, which gets you in and eating from noon to 1 p.m., or before everybody else shows up at 1. For more information and to buy tickets, visit our online site. And remember, that March 9 is also the L.A. Marathon, so plan accordingly. 

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