once bitten

Bite at the Beach is a small annual beer and food festival in Manhattan Beach held at the local movie studios lot. Although it's gone on for a few years, this was the first time I've been. The tickets are usually a bit prohibitive, but I happened to catch an earlybird discount, so figured what the hell and grabbed a couple. It's essentially like a beer fest with a small cup and unlimited pours from local and other breweries, but each beer vendor (or drink - about a third weren't beer) is paired with a food from mostly local restaurants or markets - mostly small bites, though some are pretty large. There were some great standouts (looking at you Sausal and Grow) and despite being uncomfortably cramped and lots of vendors running out early, it's easy to get your fill of both food and drink. It was still a good event, and definitely not the worst way to spend an afternoon.