The Hills Filming Locations

June 6, 2018June 6, 2018

Don Antonio’s from “The Hills” and “Life in Pieces”

I am a creature of habit, so it should come as no surprise that Don Antonio’s – the subject of my very first blog post back in 2007 – has remained my favorite Mexican restaurant ever since I first set foot inside it over a decade ago. I initially learned about the Sawtelle-area eatery thanks to its many appearances on MTV’s The Hills and it did not take long for the place to become a staple in my and the Grim Cheaper’s dinner repertoire. We ate there so often, in fact, that I used to lament that I was developing a bit of a belly, which I dubbed “Little Baby Don Antonio.” Though we no longer live in Los Angeles, we still make it a point to hit up D.A.’s whenever we are in town. So I was floored when my friend Lavonna recently informed me that the place had appeared in an early episode of Life in Pieces, a show she had just started watching. I happened to be in L.A. a few days later and figured a pit stop at Don Antonio’s was in order so that I could do a proper re-post on the restaurant.

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Don Antonio’s has been a Westside institution ever since it was established by Antonio and Amalia Hernandez way back in 1982.

Very little of the place has been changed over the years.

The low-lit interior is comprised of three main dining rooms, the most popular of which is known as the Cave Room, for obvious reasons.

Marked by faux mud-caked walls and man-made stalactites, the cavernous space is where Spencer Pratt (aka the current Snapchatter of the Year – if you aren’t following him on Snap, you really need to!) and Heidi Montag typically sat while dining on The Hills.

Don Antonio’s made its inaugural Hills appearance in the Season 2 premiere titled “Out with the Old . . . “ In the episode, Spencer takes Heidi to the eatery for their first real date. Upon pulling up to the valet stand, Heidi says, “How’d you ever find this place? It’s like in the middle of nowhere!” To which Spencer replies, “This is my spot! I’ve been eating here since I was like 14.” In a 2017 InStyle magazine article (which opens with the line, “Spencer Pratt enters Don Antonio’s like he’s Donald Trump at the 21 Club.”), Spencer gives a bit of a different story. Explaining how he discovered D.A.’s, he says, “When I was 16, there used to be a muffler place down the street where I used to drop off my car. My older sister, Kristen, brought me here initially. After that, I was hooked. I brought all my homies and we made it the spot. I used to take meetings in the back. Then, for our first TV date on The Hills, [the producers] were like, “Where do you wanna take [Heidi]?” and I was like, “Obviously Don Antonio’s.”

The restaurant went on to appear in numerous episodes of The Hills, including Season 2’s “Everybody Falls” in which Spencer and Heidi discuss moving in together over a steaming plate of fajitas . . .

. . . and Season 3’s “What Happens in Vegas . . . “ in which the duo’s anniversary celebration is interrupted when Heidi gets called in to work.

A myriad of the couple’s press interviews have also taken place at Don Antonio’s, including the InStyle one I linked to above, as well as one for the cover story of Rolling Stone’s May 11th, 2008 issue, which you can read here.

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As Lavonna informed me, Don Antonio’s was featured in the Season 1 episode of Life in Pieces titled “Interruptus Date Breast Movin’.”

In the episode, Matt (Thomas Sadoski) follows Spencer’s lead by taking his boss, Colleen (Angelique Cabral), to Don Antonio’s for their first date.

The duo choose not to go the Spencer and Heidi route of eating in the Cave Room, though, and instead dine in Don Antonio’s main room, which boasts a colorful fish tank.

No matter which room you opt to dine in, a meal at Don Antonio’s simply can’t be beat! As Spencer told Heidi during their initial visit, the restaurant serves “the best Mexican food you’ve ever had in your entire life!”

For more stalking fun, follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Los Angeles magazine and Discover Los Angeles.

Big THANK YOU to Lavonna for telling me about Don Antonio’s Life in Pieces appearance.

P.S. Interested in more Life in Pieces locations? Be sure to check out my friend Michael’s fabulous guest post on the three main houses used on the series here.

Until next time, Happy Stalking! Smile

Stalk It: Don Antonio’s, from The Hills and Life in Pieces, is located at 11755 West Pico Boulevard in Los Angeles’ Sawtelle neighborhood. You can visit the eatery’s official website here.

February 8, 2017February 6, 2017

Avalon Hotel Palm Springs from “The Hills”

Sometimes I stalk places unknowingly. Such was the case with Avalon Hotel Palm Springs, which I visited back in June 2013 when it was known as Viceroy. I was quite taken with the property’s yellow-hued Old Hollywood Regency-style theme and took a myriad of photographs while there, though I did not plan on blogging about the site because I did not realize it was a filming location. As it turns out, it is – from one of my favorite shows, no less! Last week, my good friend Steffi, who lives in Switzerland, randomly messaged me to ask if I had ever stalked Avalon. She thought I might be interested in doing so being that it was at the hotel that Justin Bobby famously gave his on-again/off-again girlfriend Audrina Patridge a diamond ring in the Season 4 episode of The Hills titled, “I Heidi Take Thee Spencer . . . “ I just about fell out of my chair upon learning the news. I mean, how did I miss that one? I immediately headed over to Hulu to re-watch the episode and, sure enough, there was Avalon! So I decided it was high time I blog about the place.

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Avalon Hotel Palm Springs was originally built as the Estrella Inn in 1933. Initially consisting of 13 standalone Spanish-style bungalows, several two-story Mid-Century-esque buildings were added to the property in the 1950s. Though rather non-descript from the outside . . .

. . . one step through the hotel’s main entrance and you are transported back in time to the days when Garbo, Gable and Gardner ruled Tinseltown.

Avalon’s expansive grounds are characterized by red-roofed bungalows, sprawling lawns, and towering palms.

And, as I mentioned earlier, a lot of yellow.

The site’s distinctive Old Hollywood motif came courtesy of interior designer Kelly Wearstler, who purchased the Estrella in 2001 along with her husband, Brad Korzen, CEO/founder of Viceroy Hotel Group and The Kor Group. (Kor also owns Avalon Hotel Beverly Hills.) The couple re-branded and re-styled the inn, opening it as Viceroy Palm Springs in 2003.

Korzen left Viceroy Hotel Group in 2012, but continued to own Viceroy Palm Springs and three years later re-named the property Avalon Hotel Palm Springs. Despite the name change, Kelly’s unique décor was largely left intact.

Today, the 3.5-acre site boasts 3 pools, meeting and event space, the award-winning Estrella spa (the name is a nod to the hotel’s history), and on-site restaurant Chi Chi.

The thirteen one- and two-bedroom bungalows feature fireplaces, full kitchens, private patios, and, my personal favorite, a “bungalow manager,” to take care of guests’ every need. Sign me up!

The hotel’s expansive gardens feature fruit trees, aloe and agave plants, and palms, which join the rose bushes and bougainvillea vines to create a green and pink oasis.

The property has long been popular with the Hollywood set. Back in the Estrella days, luminaries such as Clark Gable, Carole Lombard, Joan Crawford, Ann Miller, Bing Crosby, Tyrone Power, William Powell, Desi Arnaz, Lucille Ball, Orson Welles, Lupe Vélez, Elvis Presley, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and Errol Flynn were all known to check in.

In more recent years, such stars as Katharine McPhee, Becca Tilley, John Mayer, B.J. Novak, Whitney Port, Lea Michele, Hannah Simone, Stassi Schroeder, Ashley Benson, Troian Bellisario, Jesse Metcalfe, Katy Perry, and my man Matt Lanter have all been spotted on the premises (though many were there attending Coachella parties, not necessarily staying at the hotel).

In “I Heidi Take Thee Spencer . . . ,” which was The Hills’ Season 4 finale, Justin and Audrina headed to Viceroy for a “drama-free” vacay away from their friends.

Though the scenes taking place at the hotel were short, as well as few and far between, quite a lot of the property was shown in the episode, including the front entrance, one of the bungalows, the courtyard, and the gardens.

It is while seated next to one of Viceroy’s pools that Justin, in a seeming act of commitment, gave Audrina a gorgeous pavé diamond ring. (The guy may be a total douche, but he sure has great taste in jewelry.) The commitment didn’t mean much, though, obviously, as the two were broken up by The Hills’ Season 5 premiere.

For more stalking fun, follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Los Angeles magazine and Discover Los Angeles.

Until next time, Happy Stalking! Smile

Stalk It: Avalon Hotel Palm Springs, aka the former Viceroy from the “I Heidi Take Thee Spencer . . . ” episode of The Hills, is located at 415 South Belardo Road in Palm Springs’ Tennis Club neighborhood.

November 18, 2013November 10, 2013

Lauren and Jason’s Malibu Rental from “The Hills”

Way back in June 2010, a fellow stalker named Nick emailed me to let me know he had tracked down the Malibu beach house that Lauren Conrad and her then boyfriend Jason Wahler leased for the summer in the Season 1 episode of The Hills titled “Timing Is Everything.” And while the location was one that I had been dying to find for ages, because I was knee deep in wedding planning at the time, I was unable to stalk it. Then, on a rather overcast morning this past March, I remembered the locale while out and about in The ‘Bu and dropped by. For whatever reason, though, the pad slipped my mind yet again shortly thereafter and I failed to blog about it. It was not until two Thursdays ago, when I received the November 18th, 2013 issue of US Weekly with its “Life After The Hills” cover feature, that I was reminded of the residence and that it was long overdue for a write-up. So here goes.

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The modern-style seaside pad, which was originally built in 2005 and sits just east of Las Tunas Beach, boasts three bedrooms, two and a half baths, 3,000 square feet of living space, a chef’s kitchen, a game room, Brazilian cherry wood flooring, onyx marble detailing throughout, and a master suite with an office, fireplace, dual walk-in closets (yes, please!), and a spa tub. According to Zillow, back in 2010 the property was available for sale for $4,195,000 or for lease at $13,000 a month. It later sold in November of that same year for $3,688,000.

The interior of the house is pretty darn spectacular, as you can see below. You can check out some more photographs of the interior on Redfin here.

In the “Timing Is Everything” episode of The Hills, which was the Season 1 finale, Lauren turned down a Teen Vogue summer internship in Paris in order to spend the season living with Jason in a rented Malibu beach house. The rental was shown twice in the episode, but very briefly each time.

The real life interior of the home was also featured in “Timing Is Everything.”

As was the rear of the property, which sits on stilts over the ocean and is, unfortunately, completely unstalkable, as you can see below.

The beach house also popped up briefly at the beginning of The Hills Season 2 premiere, which was titled “Out with the Old . . .” By the start of that episode, Lauren and Jason were, not surprisingly, broken up and Lauren had become known around the Teen Vogue offices as “The Girl Who Didn’t Go to Paris.” (While making screen captures for this post, I got COMPLETELY sucked in to watching both “Timing Is Everything” and “Out with the Old . . .” Man, The Hills was a great show! Why, oh why did it have to go off the air? For those who were as into the series as I was, this article is a fascinating read!)

On a side-note – While watching “Timing Is Everything” and “Out with the Old . . ,” I happened to spot my favorite blogger, Cupcakes and Cashmere’s Emily Schuman, who worked at Teen Vogue at the same time as Lauren, twice. Looks like Emily was even sporting her famous messy bun back then. Love it!

For more stalking fun, be sure to follow me on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. And you can check out my other blog, The Well-Heeled Diabetic, here.

Big THANK YOU to fellow stalker Nick for finding this location! Smile

Until next time, Happy Stalking! Smile

Stalk It: Lauren and Jason’s summer rental from the “Timing Is Everything” episode of The Hills is located at 19220 Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu.

April 8, 2013April 5, 2013

Neptune’s Net from “The Hills”

One location that had been at the top of my To-Stalk list for a couple of years, but had, for whatever reason, remained unstalked was Neptune’s Net – an oft-filmed-at eatery and Malibu institution that was featured on one of my favorite shows of all time, The Hills, in a scene featuring none other than my girl Kristin Cavallari. I had driven by the beachside restaurant countless times (my former boss used to live almost directly across the street from the place) and seen its exterior, but in all my years of living in Southern California had never ventured inside. So when the Grim Cheaper and I were visiting Los Angeles two weekends ago, I decided to take a trip up the coast early one (very overcast) morning to finally stalk the place.

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Neptune’s Net was originally established in 1958 – over five decades ago! – by an aerodynamicist (of all things) named Eastman Jacobs. At the time it was named Jake’s Diner and was considerably smaller than it is today. (I am not sure why the sky looks pink in my photographs below, but, hey, I’ll take it! Winking smile )

The eatery has only changed hands twice during its existence, first in 1974, when it was purchased by Paul and Dolly Seay (who doubled the size of the place and renamed it Neptune’s Net) and then again, in 1991, when it was sold to Michelle Lee and her husband, Chong Sun. Other than the name and size change made almost four decades ago, as well as a patio addition in the early ‘90s, very little of the place has ever been altered. In a September 2001 Los Angeles Times article Lee, a woman after my own heart, says, “This look has never changed. People love to come here because of that. You have sun and ocean and food. Some people say this is the California dream place, because it’s natural and not changing.” Exactly! I have always been of the firm belief that if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!

While the place has often been called a “dive restaurant”, celebs have flocked to it since the beginning. Just a few of the stars who have dined there over the years include Drew Barrymore, Pink, Carey Hart, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Michelle Pfeiffer, U2’s Bono, Adam Sandler, Martin Sheen, Charlie Sheen, Emilio Estevez, Tom Green, Flip Wilson, Jay Leno, Cher, Tom Hanks, Elizabeth Taylor, Larry Fortensky, Pierce Brosnan, Jerry West, Patrick Swayze, Keanu Reeves, Nicolas Cage, Cameron Diaz, Bill Murray, Tori Spelling, Dean McDermott, LeAnn Rimes, Eddie Cibrian, Luke Wilson, Anthony Edwards, Jonathan Winters, Cheech Marin, Heather Locklear, Gene Hackman, Bob Dylan, and Barbra Streisand.

The Zagat-rated beach shack has won numerous awards over the years including being named “Best Seafood Dive” by Coastal Living magazine in 1999. Unfortunately, it was around 10:30 in the morning when I arrived at The Net, far too early for lunch, so I was not able to sample any of the fare. It looked pretty darn good, though. Patrons of the eatery are able to choose their own fresh shellfish from out of the restaurant’s tanks, hand it over to the cooks and have it steamed for them right then and there. So incredibly cool! According to the Los Angeles Times article that I referenced earlier, during the summer months, Neptune’s goes through 200 pounds of Maine lobster and 150 pounds of Alaskan crab a week! That’s a lot of shellfish! For those not into seafood, the restaurant also serves hamburgers, veggie burgers, patty melts, and my personal faves, hot dogs and chicken strips.

In the Season 6 episode of The Hills titled “Mess with Me, I Mess with You”, Neptune’s Net was where Justin “Bobby” Brescia took Kristin Cavallari took on her first motorcycle ride.

Thanks to its unique atmosphere, Neptune’s Net has been featured onscreen countless times over the years. In 1983’s Losin’ It, the restaurant was where Woody (Tom Cruise), Dave (Jackie Earle Haley), Spider (John Stockwell), and Wendell (John P. Navin Jr.) got into a food fight. Of the scene, former owner Dolly Seay said in a June 1997 Los Angeles Times article, “For two years after, I was cleaning up the mess.” LOL

As you can below, the exterior of the eatery looked quite a bit different at that time sans its exterior patio.

In 1991’s Point Break, Neptune’s Net was where Tyler (Lori Petty) worked and where Johnny Utah (Keanu Reeves) begged her to teach him how to surf.

In the 2001 flick The Fast and the Furious, Brian O’Conner (Paul Walker) told Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel) that he wanted in on whatever illegal activity he was a part of while the two were lunching at Neptune’s Net.

In the Season 3 episode of So Little Time titled “Manuelo in the Middle, Part 2”, which aired in 2001, Manuelo Del Valle (Taylor Negron) quit his job as a housekeeper for Riley Carlson (Mary-Kate Olsen) and Chloe Carlson (Ashley Olsen) and became a chef at Neptune’s Net. Only the exterior of the restaurant appeared in the episode, though.

The interior was just a set.

In the 2012 drama People Like Us, Sam (Chris Pine) took Frankie (Elizabeth Banks) and Josh (Michael Hall D’Addario) out for lunch at Neptune’s Net.

And in the soon-to-be released Iron Man 3, a replica of Neptune’s Net was built in Dania Beach, Florida. You can see some great photographs of it on The Comics Factory Facebook page here.

You can find me on Facebook here and on Twitter at @IAMNOTASTALKER. And be sure to check out my other blog, The Well-Heeled Diabetic.

Big THANK YOU to Mike, from MovieShotsLA, for making the Losin’ It screen captures that appear in this post! Smile

Until next time, Happy Stalking! Smile

Stalk It: Neptune’s Net, from the “Mess with Me, I Mess with You” episode of The Hills, is located at 42505 Pacific Coast Highway, just north of the Ventura County Line, in Malibu. You can visit the restaurant’s official website here.

April 11, 2012April 10, 2012

Grub Restaurant from “The Hills”

While scanning through episodes of The Hills this past weekend looking for the scene that was filmed at Pinches Tacos in West Hollywood, which I blogged about yesterday, I just about fell off my chair when I spotted Grub Restaurant pop up in Season 5’s “Can’t Always Get What You Want”. Amazingly, way back in February of 2011, I had dragged the Grim Cheaper out to Grub as part of his Valentine’s Day scavenger hunt across L.A. (during which we had stalked LACMA, Boardner’s of Hollywood, and the HMS Bounty Bar and Restaurant), but at the time I was completely unaware that the place was a filming location. Thankfully, I snapped some pictures of it regardless, as I am always apt to do when visiting new eateries. I first learned about Grub thanks to fave book Peaceful Places Los Angeles: 110 Tranquil Sites in the City of Angels and Neighboring Communities, which I read while planning the GC’s hunt. Of the Hollywood hideaway, author Laura Randall had this to say, “Hidden by a high trellis bloom-full of seasonal morning glories, the restaurant’s small patio is marked by homey touches such as potted plants, mismatched umbrellas, and flea-market antiques. It sort of feels as if you’re eating in a friend’s back garden.” Because the place sounded so absolutely idyllic, I decided to make it the very first stop on our hunt.

Grub Restaurant was founded in 2001 by former San Francisco actress Betty Fraser and Arkansas native Denise DeCarlo, BFF’s who originally met a few years prior while waitressing at a L.A.-area California Pizza Kitchen. The two first launched a catering company in 1995, which they dubbed “As You Like It Catering” and ran out of a 1920s-era bungalow-style duplex in the heart of Hollywood’s Post-Production District. When neighbors began suggesting that they open an eatery in the charming little space, they thought “Why not?” and Grub Restaurant was born. The eclectic and humorous menu (one entrée is named “Our Friggin’ Amazing French Toast”) features upscale “California comfort food” with offerings such as the White Truffle Burger – a large patty topped with roasted mushrooms, Swiss cheese, caramelized onions, white truffle oil, and fresh arugula, and served on a toasted brioche bun – and the After School Special – a cheddar and Swiss grilled cheese sandwich on thick sourdough bread paired with a cup of homemade Creamy Dreamy Tomato Soup. Um, love it! Grub Restaurant has won countless well-deserved accolades over the years including LA Citysearch’s “Best Lunch Spot” in 2003, 2004, and 2005 and “Best Breakfast in Los Angeles” in 2009 and 2010, Los Angeles Magazine’s “Best Tuna Melt in LA” in 2009, and Zagat Survey’s “Top Five Breakfast Spots” in 2007.

Thanks to Grub Restaurant’s proximity to various Hollywood studios and post-production offices, the place has become a mecca for celebs. Just a few of the stars who have gotten their grub on there (see what I did there Winking smile ) include Sacha Baron Cohen, Charlize Theron, Courteney Cox, David Arquette, Tom Sizemore, Jim Caviezel, Bob Guiney, Galen Gering, Zac Efron, Luke Wilson, and Daryl Hannah. Owner Betty Fraser is even a minor-celebrity herself, having appeared on Top Chef, The Today Show and Rachel Ray’s Tasty Travels.

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In the Season 5 episode of The Hills titled “Can’t Always Get What You Want”, Brody Jenner and my girl Kristin Cavallari discussed Brody’s tumultuous relationship with ex-girlfriend Jayde Nicole over breakfast at Grub. Upon first arriving at the eatery, Brody turned to Kristin and said, “You swear by this place”, so I am guessing that KCav used to be a frequent customer.

On a Hills side-note – while watching Season 5 of the series way back in 2009, I became just a wee-bit obsessed with the gold square-shaped necklace that KCav wore in almost every episode. And while I spent countless hours scouring the web trying to figure out who made the darn thing, I came up completely empty-handed. Then, last October, I happened to come across a post on the fabulous The Budgetista blog detailing exactly where I could order one. I ended up buying a gold-plated replica of the necklace (the GC would have killed me had I spent $300 on the actual thing) and not only is it absolutely adorbs, but it is also now one of my favorites. (I am wearing it in the above pic with Idris Elba.) Can’t thank you enough, Budgetista!

Until next time, Happy Stalking! Smile

Stalk It: Grub Restaurant, from the “Can’t Always Get What You Want” episode of The Hills, is located at 911 Seward Street in Hollywood. You can visit the restaurant’s official website here.

April 10, 2012April 9, 2012

Pinches Tacos from “The Hills”

As always seems to happen when Mike, from MovieShotsLA, and I get together, while out doing some stalking in West Hollywood this past Thursday afternoon, the two of us stumbled upon a filming location without even meaning to do so. After stopping by the Sunset Strip’s new Pink Taco to grab some lunch and finding it inexplicably closed, we headed across the street to a different pink-hued Mexican eatery named Pinches Tacos. Upon ordering our food, we made our way to the restaurant’s patio area and, as I am apt to do when dining at a new place, I started doing some iPhone research to see if, on the off chance, Pinches had ever been used as a filming location. Well, let me tell you, I just about fell off my chair when I came across some behind-the-scenes footage of my girl Kristin Cavallari shooting an unspecified Season 5 episode of fave show The Hills in the very spot where I was then sitting! How I had missed that tidbit when the episode originally aired is beyond me, but needless to say I was absolutely floored over the information and promptly grabbed my camera and ran inside to snap some pics and speak with the manager.

The Sunset Strip Pinches Tacos was first founded in 2007 by brothers Miguel, Jorge and Javier Anaya – nephews of Jose Prado, the former longtime chef of The Ivy turned restaurateur who established The Original Cha Cha Cha in Silverlake, Cocina Primavera in Beverly Hills, Prado Restaurant in Larchmont Village, and Cha Cha Chicken in Santa Monica and Northridge. Everything that the fast-fix hot spot serves – from the salsa to the tortillas – is homemade daily using hundred-year-old secret family recipes from the Anaya brothers’ hometowns of Guadalajara and Jalisco. Thanks to its extremely reasonable prices, fresh fare, and late-night hours (Pinches is open until 3 a.m. each Thursday through Saturday), the eatery became insanely popular virtually overnight and three more outposts have since been launched. Besides West Hollywood, the chain currently boasts restaurants in Culver City and Santa Monica, all of which are family-owned and operated. And Alabama native Ty Taylor loved the place so much that he convinced the Anaya brothers to partner with him in founding an annex in Taylor’s hometown of Homewood. That restaurant opened in January of 2011 and is doing so well that the group is already looking to establish another outpost in Birmingham.

And for those wondering where the name “Pinches” came from, while a note on the eatery’s door states that the term is Spanish slang for “kitchen boy”, Google translate dug up a far more interesting (and far more NSFW) meaning, which you can take a look at here. All I can say is LOL.

While the interior of Pinches Tacos is quite adorable, the patio area, which overlooks the Sunset Strip, is where most people choose to eat, including Mike and me. I cannot tell you how cool it was to sit there, just feet from the bustling Strip, and watch all of the cars zipping by, not to mention the countless Hollywood tour buses – one of which you can see in the background of the above picture. Love it!

Because I am extremely picky about my meat, I opted to order Pinches vegetarian tacos and not only were they bursting with flavor – not something one expects from vegetables – and FABULOUS, but, at $2.95 a piece, were less expensive than a Starbucks latte! I am so going to have to bring the Grim Cheaper back there for lunch. Winking smile

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Oddly enough, the behind-the-scenes footage of The Hills that Mike and I watched while at Pinches did not look at all familiar to me, so when I got home I popped in my DVDs of the series and scanned through each and every Season 5 episode. As it turns out, the Mexican eatery appeared in the episode titled “It’s On Bitch” as the spot where Brody Jenner, Jayde Nicole, Stephanie Pratt, Lo Bosworth, Stacie the Bartender (I so love that she was never referred to by her full name), Justin “Bobby” Brescia, and my girl Kristin Cavallari celebrated Frankie Delgado’s birthday. “It’s On Bitch” was actually the very first episode of The Hills that KCav appeared in, so I am extremely embarrassed that I failed to recognize it. I must be losing my mojo or something! Winking smile Besides being a filming location, Pinches Tacos is also something of a celebrity hotspot. Just a few of the stars who have been spotted there include Kat Von D, Jesse James, Leonardo DiCaprio, Emma Roberts, Megan Fox, Brian Austin Green, Australian celebrity chef Curtis Stone, Gabriel Aubry, Balthazar Getty, Isabel Lucas, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, and Top Chef’s Padma Lakshmi.

Until next time, Happy Stalking! Smile

Stalk It: Pinches Tacos, from the “It’s On Bitch” episode of The Hills, is located at 8200 West Sunset Boulevard in West Hollywood. You can visit the restaurant chain’s official website here.

March 8, 2012March 8, 2012

Runyon Canyon Park from “The Hills”

A few years ago, after my good friend Nat happened to spot Runyon Canyon Park pop up in an episode of fave reality series The Hills, she sent me an email asking if I had ever stalked the place. And while I had long known that the locale was not only a big-time celebrity hangout, but also a popular filming location, because I am not a fan of hiking (or working out in general, if we are really being honest here), I had never added it to my “To-Stalk” list. But I assured Nat, who is very much into calisthenic-type activity and who, unlike me does not actually consider walking to Starbucks a form of exercise, that the next time she came to visit, we would definitely hit the place up. Which is how, bright and early a few Sundays ago, the Grim Cheaper, Nat and I found ourselves in Hollywood about to embark upon a morning hike at Runyon Canyon Park. I even bought some new workout pants for the occasion! (Now, shopping – that is definitely a type of exercise that I can get behind!) Unfortunately for Nat, though, because there did not seem to be any restrooms on the trail and because I had downed a Venti iced latte shortly before arriving there, our trek was pretty short-lived. See what I mean? I was just not made for the outdoors. The GC made fun of me relentlessly while we were hiking, by the way, due to the fact that I was carrying my Louis Vuitton purse. Men! I mean, what the heck else was I supposed to do with it? Leave it in the car? As if!

The 160-acre parcel of land that now makes up Runyon Canyon Park was originally named “No Man’s Canyon”. It came to be known by its current moniker thanks to one of its early owners, coal baron Carman Runyon, who used the sprawling site as a hunting and riding venue. In 1929, the grounds were purchased by Irish tenor John McCormack, who had a large mansion built on the premises which he dubbed “San Patrizio”, in honor of St. Patrick. When A&P Supermarket heir Huntington Hartford bought the estate in 1942, he renamed it “The Pines” and commissioned architect Frank Lloyd Wright to build a pool house on the site. Hartford’s friend Errol Flynn was a frequent guest at the pool house and is rumored to have thrown some wild parties there. Sadly, when Jules Berman, a wealthy liquor importer, purchased the property in the late 1960s, he demolished “The Pines”. The Lloyd Wright-designed pool house was subsequently destroyed by a fire in 1972. All that remains of the two historic structures are some ruins located near the Fuller Avenue entrance to the park. So incredibly sad! In 1984, the City of Los Angeles stepped in and acquired the vacant acreage, subsequently turning it into a public park, as it remains to this day.

Thanks to Runyon Canyon Park’s proximity to Hollywood and the stunning views that it boasts (which you can see above), the place has long been a stomping ground of the rich and famous. Just a few of the stars who have been spotted working out there include Gilles Marini, Famke Janssen, Eriq La Salle, Josh Hartnett, Hayden Panettiere, Justin Timberlake, Jessica Biel, Matthew McConaughey, Jake Gyllenhaal, Kathy Griffin, Scarlett Johansson, Josh Duhamel, Kellan Lutz, Ryan Gosling, Dane Cook, Orlando Bloom, Sheryl Crow, Ashley Tisdale, Haylie Duff, Anne Hathaway, Ali Fedotowsky, Amanda Bynes, Matthew Perry, Ali Larter, Joe Jonas, Amanda Seyfried, Adrian Grenier, Natalie Portman, and Chris Pine. And while we did not see any celebs during our hike, when fellow stalker Lavonna was in town this past November, she spotted B.J.Novak, aka Ryan Howard from The Office, walking the trails.

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In the Season 3 episode of The Hills titled “With This Ring . . .”, Whitney Port had a one-on-one training session/date with her personal trainer, Jarett Del Bene, at Runyon Canyon Park.

And in the Season 4 episode of The Hills titled “Who To Choose?”, Lauren Conrad and Audrina Patridge discussed Audrina’s love life while on a hike at Runyon Canyon. And I could swear that the park showed up in yet another episode of the series in which Lauren and Whitney were shown working out, but I cannot seem to find it anywhere.

In the Season 4 episode of Seinfeld titled “The Trip, Part 2”, Jerry Seinfeld (who played himself), George Costanza (Jason Alexander), and Kramer (Michael Richards) visited Runyon Canyon Park immediately after Kramer was released from jail, where he was being held as the supposed “The Fog Strangler” serial killer.

In the 2009 flick Funny People, Runyon Canyon Park was where Ira Wright (Seth Rogan), Leo Koenig (Jonah Hill) and Mark Taylor Jackson (Jason Schwartzman) discussed the illness of fellow comedian George Simmons (Adam Sandler).

Thanks to fave book Hollywood Escapes: The Moviegoer’s Guide to Exploring Southern California’s Great Outdoors (and I just figured out how to write in color on my blog, by the way! In heaven!!!!), I also learned that in the ultra-weird 2001 flick The Anniversary Party, Runyon Canyon was where Joe Therrian (Alan Cumming) and his wife Sally (Jennifer Jason Leigh), along with their friends Skye Davidson (Gwyneth Paltrow) and Levi Panes (Michael Panes), searched for their missing dog, Otis.

Hollywood Escapes also states that 1983’s Breathless and 2005’s Undiscovered were filmed at Runyon Canyon Park, but, unfortunately, I could not find copies of either movie with which to make screen captures for this post.

Some filming locations are also visible from the various Runyon Canyon trails, including the abandoned Solar Drive mansion from Law & Order: Los Angeles that I blogged about last December;

and the John Lautner-designed Garcia House from Lethal Weapon 2, which I blogged about way back in February of 2008. And there is a also private home known as Runyon Ranch located inside of the park that has been featured in countless movies and television shows over the years, including my fave, Beverly Hills, 90210, but I am saving that location for a different post.

Big THANK YOU to my good friend Nat for forcing me to suggesting that I stalk this location. Smile

Until next time, Happy Stalking! Smile

Stalk It: Runyon Canyon Park from The Hills is located at 2001 North Fuller Avenue in Hollywood. You can visit the park’s official website here.

July 13, 2011July 12, 2011

Lucky Strike Lanes in Hollywood

Two weekends ago, while doing some stalking in the Hollywood area, I dragged the Grim Cheaper out to the Hollywood & Highland Shopping Center to grab a quick drink at Lucky Strike Lanes, an oft-used filming location and celebrity hot-spot. While I had first heard about the bowling alley/lounge when it originally opened eight years ago and knew of its appearance on numerous reality series, for whatever reason I did not have much interest in stalking the place. Then, a couple of months ago, fellow stalker Lavonna happened to tell me a little bit of trivia about the alley that had me absolutely chomping at the bit to go see it.

Lavonna informed me that when the iconic Hollywood Star Lanes, which first opened in 1960 and was where the majority of the movie The Big Lebowski was filmed, was torn down back in 2003 to make way for a new elementary school, the owners of the soon-to-be opened Lucky Strike decided to purchase all of the wood that comprised Hollywood Star’s Lane #7. They then proceeded to use that wood to construct the bar at their new establishment. How incredibly cool is that?

They also purchased the exterior neon signage from Hollywood Star Lanes to use as a wall hanging. Love, love, love it!

As you can see above, Lucky Strike Lanes is a VERY cool little spot. Unfortunately, I have to say that I was not all that crazy about the food. And sadly, the GC and I did not have time to do any bowling while we were there, but fellow stalker Lavonna has plans to hit the place up when she comes to visit L.A. in November, so you know what that means – I will definitely be doing a re-stalk!

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As I mentioned above, Lucky Strike Lanes in Hollywood is an oft-used filming location. In the Season 6 episode of The Hills titled “The Elephant in the Room”, Kristin Cavallari, Brodie Jenner, Frankie Delgado, Stacie Hall (aka Stacie the Bartender), and Audrina Patridge and her new boyfriend, singer Ryan Cabrera, spent the evening bowling and flirting at Lucky Strike.

Ryan Cabrera returned to the bowling alley to film the Season 1 episode of the ULTRA-stupid reality show Pretty Wild titled ”The Hearing”, in which he angers series star Tess Taylor by inviting a friend to accompany them on their date.

Vinnie Chase (aka Adrian Grenier), Eric Murphy (aka Kevin Connolly), Johnny ‘Drama’ Chase (aka Kevin Dillon), and Turtle (aka Jerry Ferrara) took their girlfriends, one of whom was Gossip Girl’s Leighton Meester, to Lucky Strike for an evening of bowling in the Season 1 episode of Entourage titled “Date Night”.

In the Season 11 episode of America’s Next Top Model titled “Fierce Eyes”, J Alexander hosted a runway challenge at Lucky Strike in which the models had to practice walking down the super-slippery bowling lanes while wearing high heels.

In the Season 1 episode of No Ordinary Family titled “No Ordinary Sidekick”, Jim Powell (aka Michael Chiklis), along with his family, Stephanie (aka Dexter’s Julie Benz), Daphne (aka Kay Panabaker), and J.J. (aka Jimmy Bennett), and their friends Katie Andrews (aka The O.C.’s Autumn Reeser) and George St. Cloud (aka Romany Malco), spend the evening using their super-powers to bowl at Lucky Strike.

And while I had originally believed that the Season 1 episode of fave show 90210 titled “Lucky Strike” was filmed at the Lucky Strike Lanes in Hollywood, as it turns out filming actually took place at the chain’s Torrance location, inside of the Del Amo Shopping Center.

And the Season 2 episode of Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County titled “Since You Been Gone” was filmed at the chain’s Block at Orange location.

As I mentioned above, Lucky Strike Lanes is also a veritable celebrity magnet. Just a few of the stars who have been spotted there include Drew Barrymore, Liv Tyler, John Mayer, Glee’s Cory Monteith, The Bachelorette’s Ali Fedotowsky and Roberto Martinez, Demi Moore, Bruce Willis, Rumor Willis, Geena Davis, Robin Williams, Paris Hilton, Nick Carter, Matthew Lillard, Fergie and Taboo from the Black Eyed Peas, Mandy Moore, Judy Greer, Vanessa Hudgens, Courteney Cox, Nicole Richie, Trevor Donovan, Jessica Simpson, and even my girl Jen Aniston. I once spotted David Arquette walking into the bowling alley for some sort of celebrity event back in December of 2008 and while I tried to take the above photograph of him, as you can see, it did not turn out very well due to the bright lights on the red carpet. You can definitely tell it is him, though.

Big THANK YOU to fellow stalker Lavonna for telling me about this location!

Until next time, Happy Stalking!

Stalk It: Lucky Strike Lanes is located at 6801 Hollywood Boulevard, inside of the Hollywood & Highland Shopping Center, in Hollywood. You can visit the bowling alley’s official website here.

April 29, 2011November 2, 2011

Villa Blanca Restaurant from “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills”

A couple of weeks ago while out doing some stalking in the Beverly Hills area, the Grim Cheaper and I found ourselves hungry so I suggested grabbing a bite to eat at Villa Blanca, the Italian eatery owned by The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills’ Lisa Vanderpump and her husband Ken Todd. Because Lisa is my favorite Housewife (actually, truth be told, there are only three Housewives that I like on the show – Lisa Vanderpump, Camille Grammer, and Adrienne Maloof-Nassif – the rest of the women I absolutely CANNOT stand), Villa Blanca has long been at the top of my To-Stalk list. Because the restaurant is on the pricier side, though, never in a million years did I ever think the GC would agree to dine there. But the stars must have been seriously aligned that particular evening because, even after looking at the menu and taking a gander at the prices, he happily acquiesced.

Villa Blanca was actually designed by Lisa, who said, “It’s going to be sexy, white, clean, comfortable and inspired . . . gorgeous art, stylish furnishings and creative music selection will bring life and style to the new space. The ambiance will be extremely important to the experience of eating at Villa Blanca – flowers, lighting, chairs, staff – every aspect will look great. If the ambiance isn’t great, you might as well stay home and order take-out.” And she definitely made good on her promise because Villa Blanca is not only beautiful, but it is also extremely unique, comfortable, and intimate. As you can see in the above photograph, there are several tucked-away nooks and crannies featuring small tables and cushy couches covered in pillows, which gives off the sense that you are dining in someone’s living room and not in a public restaurant.

Villa Blanca’s distinctive menu, which was created by executive chef Francis Dimitrius, the former head chef at Koi, features Italian standards made unique thanks to an Asian flair. The GC and I opted for the Lobster Crisp appetizer, which consisted of mini-corn-taco shells stuffed with Maine lobster salad and guacamole, and I have to say that they were absolutely OUTSTANDING. In fact, they were easily my favorite part of the entire meal! YUM! For my entrée I chose the Japanese Mushroom Chicken – a chicken breast covered with marsala wine sauce and accompanied by shimeji, shiitake, and oyster mushrooms – and I just about had a heart attack over it, it was so good! The GC had the Sweet & Spicy Butterflied Shrimp which he also absolutely devoured. The Villa Blanca staff was also incredibly nice and accommodating and answered all of my silly little questions about the filming of The Real Housewives. I honestly cannot say enough good things about this restaurant! I loved, loved, loved the place and cannot recommend stalking it enough!

It did not take long for celebrities to discover Villa Blanca. Just a few of the famous names who have been spotted there recently include Stephanie Pratt, Dancing with the Stars’ Karina Smirnoff, Dakota Fanning, David Hasselhoff, AnnaLynne McCord, Twilight’s Kiowa Gordon, Paris Hilton, Phoebe Price, LaToya Jackson, Paula Abdul, Sophie Monk, Eva Longoria, David Boreanaz, Patrick Dempsey, Chace Crawford, Dustin Hoffman, Sylvester Stallone, Lo Bosworth, Regis Philbin, Kathy Lee Gifford, Gerard Butler, and Kim and Kris Kardashian. Unfortunately, the GC and I did not spot any celebs while we were dining, but a couple of paparazzi did stop by at one point during the evening and poked their noses around to see if anyone famous was on the premises. Love it!

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Villa Blanca was featured regularly on TRHOBH, most notably in the episode titled “Payback’s a Bitch . . . Just Ask Your Husband”, in the scene in which Lisa hosts a fashion show fundraiser for the Children’s Burn Foundation.

On the series, Lisa was regularly shown displaying HUGE arrangements of fresh flowers in various places around the restaurant and I was VERY happy to see that, in real life, there were fresh flowers situated all around the eatery, as well.

Villa Blanca was also featured in the Season 6 episode of The Hills titled “This is Goodbye” in the scene in which Kristin Cavallari, Audrina Patridge, and Heidi Montag grab lunch and discuss Heidi’s bizarre relationship with her husband Spencer Pratt. You can check out some pictures of the scene being filmed on the Zimbio website here.

Until next time, Happy Stalking! Smile

Stalk It: Villa Blanca from The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills is located at 9601 Brighton Way in Beverly Hills. You can visit the restaurant’s official website here.

March 7, 2011March 7, 2011

Buckland Auction House from “Charmed”

I am taking a break from my wedding blogging once again today in order to write about a locale that I stalked this past Thursday evening while on my way to dinner in Downtown Los Angeles – the fictional Buckland Auction House where Prue Halliwell (aka my girl Shannen Doherty) worked during the first two seasons of the television series Charmed. Fellow stalker Chas, from the It’sFilmedThere website, tracked this location down – along with pretty much every other locale that ever appeared on the series – a good two years ago and how he did so is a complete and total mystery to me!

In reality, the exterior of the Buckland Auction House is the back side of a Downtown Los Angeles apartment building known as the Renaissance Tower. The portion of the building which appeared on Charmed is not at all visible from the street nor via Google Street View and can only be reached from the inside of Downtown’s Grand Hope Park, so how Chas managed to find the place while sitting in front of his computer screen all the way across the country in Warsaw, Indiana is absolutely BEYOND me! All I can say is that my hat is definitely off to him on this one! Especially being that I had actually stalked Grand Hope Park once before – and had even blogged about it – yet did not recognize the Renaissance Tower as the Buckland Auction House!

Renaissance Tower Apartments first showed up in the Season 1 episode of Charmed titled “I’ve Got You Under My Skin” in the scene in which Prue interviews for a job as an exhibition curator at the supposed San-Francisco-area Buckland Auction House. Prue lands the job and continues to work at Buckland through all of Season 1 and most of Season 2, until the episode titled “Awakening”, in which she quits her job in order to go back to school to study photography.

As I mentioned above, Renaissance Tower is situated along the south end of Downtown’s Grand Hope Park. Because the park also borders FIDM, aka the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising where Lauren Conrad and Stephanie Pratt attended fashion school on The Hills, the area popped up on regularly on the reality series during its six-season run. In the Season 3 episode titled “A Date with the Past”, the two girls are shown discussing Lauren’s recent house-warming party while sitting on a planter box located on the southern end of the park, just outside of FIDM’s entrance.

In the Season 4 episode titled “Don’t Act Innocent . . .”, Lauren confronts Stephanie about going out with Doug Reinhardt behind her back while the two are sitting on a planter box located on the park’s northern end.

This past Saturday afternoon, I dragged the GC back out to FIDM to stalk the 19th Annual Art of Motion Picture Costume Design currently on exhibit at FIDM’s Museum & Galleries (which I will be blogging about soon) and while there, I, of course, just had to pose like Lauren in the “Don’t Act Innocent . . .” episode. Smile

Grand Hope Park also appeared in the opening scene of the 2009 movie All About Steve, in which Mary Horowitz (aka Sandra Bullock) walks to the supposed Sacramento-area newspaper office where she works as a crossword puzzle editor.

In that scene, Mary walks through the water fountain located in the southeast portion of the park.

Big THANK YOU to Chas, from It’sFilmedThere, for finding this location! Smile

Until next time, Happy Stalking! Smile

Stalk It: Buckland Auction House, from Charmed, is actually the back side of the Renaissance Tower Apartments building, which is located at 501 West Olympic Boulevard in Downtown Los Angeles. The area which appeared on Charmed (which is denoted with the pink circle in the above aerial view) can best be reached from Grand Hope Park, which is located at the southeast corner of South Hope Street and West 9th Street in Downtown Los Angeles. The planter box where Lauren and Stephanie sat in the “Don’t Act Innocent” episode of The Hills is denoted with a blue arrow in the above aerial view and the planter box where they sat in the “A Date With the Past” episode is denoted with a pink arrow. The fountain Sandra Bullock walked across in All About Steve is denoted with a purple circle.