Beer Garden

Cambodia might not rank among the world's brewery or beer garden capitals, but change is coming. From its setting on the banks of the Tonle Sap river, Kingdom Breweries, Phnom Penh's newest boutique producer, opened in October 2010, is gearing up to give local brands Anchor and Angkor a run for their riel , using only the best German and Czech hops, premium German malt and top-quality water to produce the brand's flagship pilsner. "Fancy one?" Chief Executive Peter Brongers asked me, offering a bottle of the brewery's first batch from his office mini-fridge.

If you've ever been to Coachella, you know the three-day music festival is a downright marathon. You're in the heat, jumping up and down for your favorite artists, screaming along to every song and fighting your way to the front of each stage. For this, you need fuel in the form of good food and strong libations. The festival is stepping up its food program this year with two on-site restaurants and a beer garden in addition to the regular food vendors and food trucks. Here's a look at all the offerings that will be available when it begins in mid-April: The beer garden will be located at The Terrace, the main festival food hub. There will also be bites from Ruth Chris Steak House , Las Casuelas Quinta , Baohaus and Pink's Chili Dogs . Some of the new food vendors include Wood-Fired Pizza, Just Tossed Organic Salads and Waffle Ice Cream Sandwiches.

Southern California has its share of destination open-air markets — the Rose Bowl Flea Market, the Melrose Trading Post at Fairfax High School, the antique markets at Pasadena City College and Long Beach Veteran's Stadium to name a few. Phillip Dane, who opened the Fairfax High Flea Market in 1991, kicks off the first L.A. Flea Market at Dodger Stadium on Sunday, July 18 in parking lots 10, 11 and 12. The next two L.A. Flea Market events are...

A sudden, severe storm that swept through St. Louis on Saturday collapsed a large sports bar tent outside Busch Stadium, leaving one person dead and more than 100 injured.    The person who died apparently suffered a heart attack, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported . Seventeen of those injured were taken to a hospital, including the man who had the heart attack; four people sustained critical injuries, the paper said. The tent had been set up as a beer garden next to Kilroy's Sports Bar, and a few hundred fans had gathered there to celebrate the St. Louis Cardinals' win over the Milwaukee Brewers earlier in the day, the Associated Press  reported . The incident happened  about 3:50 p.m., about an hour after the baseball game had ended.

If you've ever been to Coachella, you know the three-day music festival is a downright marathon. You're in the heat, jumping up and down for your favorite artists, screaming along to every song and fighting your way to the front of each stage. For this, you need fuel in the form of good food and strong libations. The festival is stepping up its food program this year with two on-site restaurants and a beer garden in addition to the regular food vendors and food trucks. Here's a look at all the offerings that will be available when it begins in mid-April: The beer garden will be located at The Terrace, the main festival food hub. There will also be bites from Ruth Chris Steak House , Las Casuelas Quinta , Baohaus and Pink's Chili Dogs . Some of the new food vendors include Wood-Fired Pizza, Just Tossed Organic Salads and Waffle Ice Cream Sandwiches.

The Chamber of Commerce, in an emergency board meeting Tuesday, decided it would not be economically feasible for the group to manage the city's annual fair because the City Council on Monday eliminated beer sales at the event. As a result of the chamber's decision, the city will scale back the event from two days to one, City Manager Paul Philips said. The tentative date is Sept. 29.

Halloween will start early at the Downtown Plaza, when the city and Fullerton Farmer's Market host "OktoBOOfest" from 4 to 8 p.m. Thursday on Wilshire Avenue between Harbor Boulevard and Pomona Avenue. Storytelling, live music and a children's costume parade are part of the activities planned. A screaming contest, decorating competition and rides for children are also planned. For adults, a beer garden will feature German brews and bratwurst.

Ten black mine workers were killed in a second night of factional fighting at the giant Vaal Reefs Gold Mine southwest of Johannesburg, South Africa, the Anglo American Corp. reported, bringing the two-day toll to 20. The fighting broke out at hostels housing thousands of miners. A spokesman said that "no reasons have been given" for the battles but that they may be related to clashes that broke out two weeks ago when union stewards tried to enforce a boycott of the mine's beer garden.

DJ PARTY Giant presents David Guetta Chinese Theatres, 6925 Hollywood Blvd. 9 p.m. Saturday, $80 Giantclub.com WINE TASTING Irregular at Echoplex 1154 Glendale Blvd. 7 p.m. Saturday, $20 (213) 413-8200 BEER GARDEN Golden Road Brewing 5410 W. San Fernando Road Noon-5 p.m. Saturday, $15-$38 Collaboration.la PIGS & PINTS Filipino-style roast pig and beer Biergarten, 206 N. Western Ave. 1 p.m. Sunday, $30 Foodgps.com ROCK THE VOTE Bridget Kelly and DJ Speedball W Hotel, Whiskey Blue 930 Hilgard Ave. 9 p.m. Thursday, free rsvpwlaevents@whotels.com

Promoters of the Pacific Shoreline Marathon in Huntington Beach want to offer runners a beer after the race as a way to attract more participants, sponsors and dollars to the annual event. And despite the Police Department's objections, they will get their chance on a trial basis at the next race, Jan. 27. The City Council recently approved a beer garden for runners on several conditions, including a limit of two beers per runner and only within the exposition area at Pier Plaza after the race.

Here we are, back at tricked-out Staples. I'm surprised they haven't torn it down, seeing as how it's been around a good 10 years, a rare stretch of preservation in a city that sneers at slightly aged things (Dodger Stadium a relic? Yeah, so is Lindsay Lohan, but I wouldn't let you tear her down just yet). So the Big Staple probably qualifies for historic status, though it lacks the comforting old stadium musk. I'm thinking of that beer hall cologne that develops after a certain amount of Budweiser seeps between layers of plywood deep in the stadium's skin.

Opening a restaurant/bar and calling oneself Dr. Hops takes guts on the West Coast, where breweries have long delighted in maximizing the ingredient for all its tart and bitter glory. "That was a joke, initially," Roger Bott said. "We put it on the website with a little character, and it stuck from there. Home brewing, though, I was always using more hops than anyone said would taste good. " Out of the gate, however, Bott is going for wide appeal, putting the emphasis on balance at his recently opened the Lab in Agoura Hills (30105 Agoura Road)

DJ PARTY Giant presents David Guetta Chinese Theatres, 6925 Hollywood Blvd. 9 p.m. Saturday, $80 Giantclub.com WINE TASTING Irregular at Echoplex 1154 Glendale Blvd. 7 p.m. Saturday, $20 (213) 413-8200 BEER GARDEN Golden Road Brewing 5410 W. San Fernando Road Noon-5 p.m. Saturday, $15-$38 Collaboration.la PIGS & PINTS Filipino-style roast pig and beer Biergarten, 206 N. Western Ave. 1 p.m. Sunday, $30 Foodgps.com ROCK THE VOTE Bridget Kelly and DJ Speedball W Hotel, Whiskey Blue 930 Hilgard Ave. 9 p.m. Thursday, free rsvpwlaevents@whotels.com

Kingdom Breweries, 1748 National Road 5, Phnom Penh; http://www.kingdombreweries.com . Tours are $6.50, which includes two beers. Munich Beer Restaurant, 68 Sothearous Blvd., Phnom Penh. Man Han Lou, 456 Monivong Blvd., Phnom Penh; 011-855-23-721-966. 54 Langeach Sros, 15A,178 St., Phnom Penh; 011-855-17-455-454. Beer garden in the courtyard of a former residential villa. Main dishes from about $3. Sovanna Restaurant, 2C 21 St., Phnom Penh; 011-855-11-840-055.

Cambodia might not rank among the world's brewery or beer garden capitals, but change is coming. From its setting on the banks of the Tonle Sap river, Kingdom Breweries, Phnom Penh's newest boutique producer, opened in October 2010, is gearing up to give local brands Anchor and Angkor a run for their riel , using only the best German and Czech hops, premium German malt and top-quality water to produce the brand's flagship pilsner. "Fancy one?" Chief Executive Peter Brongers asked me, offering a bottle of the brewery's first batch from his office mini-fridge.

Lederhosen aren't required, but new German-influenced beer gardens are popping up in Southern California. A few are closely patterned after the traditional biergartens that originated in 19th century Bavaria to serve plebeian brews in outdoor settings. But many of the establishments in the Los Angeles area have interpreted old-fashioned beer gardens through the prism of local diversity and hipness. They serve a variety of foods, including Asian fusion, and microbrews that are hardly populist.

Has anyone informed KTLA that nearly all the classic movies now can be rented for 99 cents? Case in point: Their recent showing of "Cabaret" was so chopped up by commercials that it was almost impossible to follow the story line. There is a scene in a beer garden where a young man with the face of an angel starts singing; as the camera moves back, you see he is wearing a Hitler youth uniform. It is an absolute masterpiece. Yet Channel 5 saw fit to remove the entire scene. Nothing portrayed the coming Nazi horror so vividly.

If Californians can adopt sushi and karaoke into their eating and entertainment habits, then Akira Yuhara is hoping they'll drink to his version of a Japanese beer garden. The New Otani Hotel's food and beverage director has set up a bar at one end of the building's half-acre, third-floor rooftop garden, which had only been used before as a reception area. To capture the look of a Japanese beer garden, Yuhara surrounded the bar with white banners and overhanging red-and-white electric lanterns.

THE BEST WAY TO INDIANAPOLIS From LAX, nonstop service is offered on Delta, direct service (stop, no change of planes) on Southwest and US Airways, and connecting service (change of planes) on Southwest, Delta, United, American, Frontier and Continental. Restricted round-trip fares begin at $478. WHERE TO STAY Columbia Club, 121 Monument Circle; (317) 767-1361, http://www.columbia-club.org . Elegant private club with traditional and remodeled rooms available to public.

Southern California has its share of destination open-air markets — the Rose Bowl Flea Market, the Melrose Trading Post at Fairfax High School, the antique markets at Pasadena City College and Long Beach Veteran's Stadium to name a few. Phillip Dane, who opened the Fairfax High Flea Market in 1991, kicks off the first L.A. Flea Market at Dodger Stadium on Sunday, July 18 in parking lots 10, 11 and 12. The next two L.A. Flea Market events are...