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You like it cheap and easy. Your entertainment, that is. While Westwood boasts some of the best, most sophisticated cultural entertainment that the city has to offer, these activities remain for most something that’s reserved for the weekend and special occasions.

Just as fast food is the typical meal du jour, daily entertainment should be casual and affordable. Think of it as “fast fun.” After all, no one eats filet mignon every night – except, perhaps, the wealthy and unusually carnivorous.

In the spirit of the hamburger, the Village Dish has compiled a list of places on the Westside where you won’t be shunned for having a little French fry grease on your shirt. In some cases, greasy shirts are even preferable.

Picnicking for the Nitpicky

Below the bustling offices of the 20th Century Fox Studios lies Cheviot Hills Recreational Park, a hodgepodge of American pastimes condensed into a few nonconventional city blocks. With basketball and tennis courts, baseball diamonds, an adjoining golf course and enough open space to put David Letterman’s front teeth to shame, the park is a perfect picnic site for the outdoor-inclined. There’s also a playground for kids and a municipal pool that's accessible in the warmer months for a nominal fee.

With its free admission, frequent basketball and baseball games to watch and close Westwood proximity, the Cheviot Hills Recreational Park is an ideal place to take your takeout. The park is located at the corner of Pico Boulevard and Motor Avenue; call (310) 837-5186 for hours and additional information.

Felt Sense

In the bar scene, you're clueless if you're cueless. Some of the best L.A. bars are the ones that offer billiards and other recreational games, and some of the best billiards are on the Westside. Q's, at 11835 Wilshire Blvd., is a second home to many UCLA students. The restaurant and sports bar offers free pool during lunch on weekdays, as well as on Sunday and Monday nights. But Friday and Saturday nights are when the majority of twentysomethings come out to play. Call (310) 477-7550 for additional specials.

14 Below, at 1348 14th St. in Santa Monica, specializes in live music, but also offers three pool tables among its two full bars. There's a night for every kind of music aficionado, and UCLA students get in free before 10 p.m. with their student IDs. Call (310) 451-5040 for room rates and cover charge.

Yankee Doodles, a cornerstone of nightlife on the Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica, offers a sea of pool tables on two floors and projection televisions the size of small theater screens. Call (310) 394-4632 for pool table rates and special events.

A couple miles south of Westwood is a West L.A. bar and restaurant that has no interest in being hip, just good. Break Shot caters to the die-hard sports fan, with game-related parties so huge that they make going to the sporting event seem passé (this is the place to be if the Lakers make it to the finals again). Call (310) 391-3435 for rates on their dozens of pool tables, or drop by at 11970 Venice Blvd. (at Inglewood Boulevard).

Pinned Down

Nothing else conjures the image of beer-bellied men in glossy shoes prancing around with heavy objects quite like bowling. As the notoriously shunned American pastime, bowling enthusiasts have to endure gibes from the hip Los Angeles crowd and tolerate professional coverage that's relegated to late-night time slots on ESPN2.

But there are few other activities where participants not only permit the simultaneous consumption of nachos and chili cheese fries during play, they encourage it. What’s more, bowling incorporates the unique, often therapeutic objective of knocking things over. Whereas many sports hinge on placing a ball in, through or over some kind of net or hoop, bowling’s goal is to destroy a neatly arranged triangle of pins. It’s an ideal de-stresser after a difficult day of work or school.

Two nearby bowling venues are the El Dorado Lanes at 8731 Lincoln Blvd., and the Mar Vista Lanes at 12125 Venice Blvd. Their numbers are (310) 670-0688 and (310) 391-5288, respectively.

Caged Against a Machine

Caught in the lonely period between the World Series and spring training? A night at the batting cages will keep the baseball season alive and prepare you for the unexpected impromptu softball game. Batting cages allow friends to practice batting simultaneously, instead of having to switch off pitching. Precise machines can throw pitches from fast to slow and everywhere inbetween, and there’s no danger of breaking old Mrs. Biller’s window next door.

In The Gap indoor batting cages, at 19240 Van Ness Ave. in Torrance, offers 15 minutes of batting for $12, or 30 minutes for $17. Call (310) 212-6400 for hours and group rates. The batting cages of Sherman Oaks Castle Park, at 4989 Sepulveda Blvd., offer 25 pitches for only $2, 15 minutes for $11.50 and 30 minutes for $19. Group rates are available; call (818) 905-1321 for more information. Castle Park also offers miniature golfing and an arcade.

Traveling Exhibits

Go see some pieces of art that move themselves. The Petersen Automotive Museum is devoted to the study of automobiles and their impact on America's culture. The museum, which is internationally acclaimed for it's design, fills more than 300,000 square feet and exhibits lifelike dioramas and more than 150 rare and classic cars, trucks and motorcycles.

There are many special exhibits, such as Cars and Guitars of Rock and Roll, a raucous and rowdy display that showcases 40 cars, more than 75 classic and custom guitars, historical jukeboxes, and Rock 'n' Roll memorabilia from artists such as Elvis Presley, Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, Slash, Frank & Dweezil Zappa, Madonna, Roy Orbison and Elton John.

The museum is located at 6060 Wilshire Blvd. (at Fairfax). Adults are $7, children (5 to 12) are $5, children younger than 5 are free and seniors are $6. Their hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Tuesday through Sunday; call (323) 964-6331 for more information.

Pottery Heads

Create crafts like Martha Stewart without the inconvenience of actually having to be Martha Stewart. Few activities in such an image-oriented city allow Angelenos to wear paint-smattered shirts and smelly jeans. Even fewer actually encourage it. Rally up some ragged-clad friends and head over to an arts and crafts workshop such as Color Me Mine in Santa Monica. The store lets amateur artists paint pre-made clay or ceramic objects, and then glazes and bakes them in the in-store ovens. Customers can also take classes on making fountains, wrought iron tables with custom tile tops and more.

When you’ve finished your newly glazed vase or bowl, check out the farmer’s market in Westwood on Thursday afternoons and pick up some flowers or fruit to adorn your masterpiece. For prices and times of classes, call Color Me Mine at (310) 393-0069, or visit them at 1109 Montana Ave.

See Shells

Gentlemen…start your turtles! In a city known for its chases, Brennan’s Pub proves that low-speed can be just as exciting as high-speed. Every Thursday night, locals bring their turtles or rent one from the pub and race them in a far-from-death-defying competition. There aren’t any crashes, and the only pit stops from the turtles are for bathroom breaks, but the races draw huge, boisterous crowds nonetheless.

There are seven weight divisions (from “midget” to “monster”), with two rounds each. The evening’s festivities begin around 9:30 p.m. and continue for a couple of hours. Prizes are awarded to the week’s champions. Call (310) 821-6622 for turtle reservations, or just go to Brennan’s at 4089 Lincoln Blvd. and watch the fun.

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