famous bars – IAMNOTASTALKER

September 25, 2019September 27, 2019

My Guide to Palm Springs – Cocktails

Palm Springs has long been a playground of the show business elite, largely because back in the days of Old Hollywood, the studios required their stars to always be within a two-hour drive from Los Angeles. The desert – picturesque, secluded and a scant 100 miles from Lalaland – therefore became the obvious go-to spot for celebrities to get away. Private and void of paparazzi, the area also became a venue for the rich and famous to cut loose, far away from the watchful eye of the press. So, of course, the city has never been short on places to imbibe. Read on for a list of my favorites.

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1. Adobe Grill (49499 Eisenhower Drive, La Quinta) – It is not so much about the quality of cocktails at this joint, but the picturesque surroundings and stellar views. Situated on the second floor of the La Quinta Resort & Club’s main plaza, Adobe Grill boasts a killer elevated patio overlooking a huge meandering fountain, the vibrant red roofs of the neighboring adobe buildings, grassy expanses, and the Santa Rosa Mountains. Strung with twinkle lights and dotted with small tables and outdoor couches, you won’t find a prettier place in all of the desert to enjoy an aperitif or two al fresco, especially during Palm Springs’ more temperate months.

2. The Nest (75188 CA-111, Indian Wells) – This spot is a trip in all the best ways! The Grim Cheaper and I started coming here about twenty years ago when it was the place in the desert for retirees to cut a rug. Dressed to the nines and sporting pretty amazing moves, 55+ locals (with a heck of a lot more stamina than me!) ruled the establishment’s dance floor till the wee hours of the morning. As such, The Nest offered the best people-watching in the area! As word has gotten out about the place, the clientele has grown to include much younger out-of-towners who not only want to observe the reverie but participate in it as well. Though much different than it was back in the day thanks to the new semi-club-like atmosphere, The Nest remains a guaranteed good time! And it’s still the premier people-watching spot in Palm Springs! Bonus – the food here is excellent, so if you do hit this place up, I suggest grabbing dinner in the main dining room before moving over to the bar area for cocktails and dancing. You pretty much won’t ever find The Nest not at capacity, so reservations are recommended.

3. Tropicale Restaurant & Coral Seas Lounge (330 East Amado Road, Palm Springs) – Though this place opened in 2008, it feels authentically old-timey. Decked out in bright pinks and greens with a decidedly tropical feel, Tropicale is easily the prettiest of all the lounges on this list. With an indoor/outdoor bar, an expansive 2,000-square-foot patio, high-backed banquettes, and a truly retro look, this is the spot to come if you are seeking a true Palm Springs experience. Bonus – it’s also great for dinner!

4. High Bar (100 West Tahquitz Canyon Way, Palm Springs) – Palm Springs’ only rooftop bar! As such, the views can’t be beat. Situated around the Kimpton Rowan Hotel’s sparkling pool, lined with glass walls, adorned with huge golden barrel cacti and dotted with vibrant fuchsia and orange chaises, you’ll be hard-pressed to decide what’s prettier – the mountain vistas or High Bar itself. Even during one of the desert’s uh-ma-zing pink sunsets, it’s pretty much a toss-up. Romantic, gorgeous and intimate, you won’t regret grabbing a cocktail here.

5. Copley’s Restaurant (621 North Palm Canyon Drive, Palm Springs; seasonal) – Craving some Hollywood history with your drink, you say? Well, then run, don’t walk, to Copley’s Restaurant! During the 1940s and ‘50s, the picturesque eatery was owned by none other than Cary Grant, who utilized it as an off-site guest house for famous friends visiting him in the desert. Tinseltown connection notwithstanding, Copley’s (named for head chef/owner Andrew Manion Copley) is one of the desert’s most fabulous spots! Featuring a huge central courtyard (with a fire pit and plenty of casual seating for those wanting to imbibe), a shaded patio, an intimate bar, and a myriad of tucked-away corners, Copley’s is romantic, picturesque and oh-so unique. And while I’ve never dined there, I’ve heard it serves up a mean meal!

6. Melvyn’s Restaurant & Lounge (200 West Ramon Road, Palm Springs) – This place is similar in vein to The Nest as far as being a hot spot for desert denizens to show off their ballroom skills, but Melvyn’s is much classier and more low-key. Nevertheless, the people-watching is top-notch, as is the musical accompaniment. There’s nothing more fun than being a fly on the wall, drink in hand, listening to the live tinkling of the ivories and observing local retirees living their best life. Melvyn’s also boasts quite the Hollywood history. Opened by Mel Haber in 1975, it was a favorite watering hole of such luminaries as Liza Minelli, Joey Bishop, Elizabeth Taylor, and the Rat Pack. Frank Sinatra loved the place so much he held the rehearsal dinner for his wedding to Barbara there and was even known to occasionally offer his voice as accompaniment to the piano that still sits on the premises today. If Melvyn’s walls could only talk!

7. La Quinta Cliffhouse (18250 CA-111, La Quinta) – One of the most popular happy hours in the desert – so much so that if you want to partake, you pretty much have to get to the bar right at 4 p.m. when it opens (if not earlier!). Built right up against the edge of a mountain, La Quinta Cliffhouse provides stellar views, killer drinks, and a fantastic atmosphere no matter what time you go, though. With a massive two-story waterfall, two large patios, and copious windows showcasing the surrounding vistas, you can’t go wrong with cocktails (or a meal – I’m partial to the grilled shrimp) at this place.

8. Ristorante Mamma Gina (73705 El Paseo, Palm Desert) – Another favorite, hard-to-get-into happy hour spot, the offerings at Mamma Gina are extensive (you can check out the HH menu here)! Though jammed from about 5 to 10 p.m. every single night during the season, happy hour is offered all day so you can pop in at any time and enjoy a $15 filet (grilled to perfection and served with a homemade mushroom sauce) and a $6 martini (poured just the way Don Draper would have wanted). Established in 1986 by Piero Pierattoni (who also gave us Piero PizzaVino, which I wrote about in My Guide to Palm Springs – Restaurants), the food served is authentically Italian and incredibly delicious – so good, all of the selections are worth it even at non-happy-hour prices.

9. Jackalope Ranch (80400 CA-111, Indio) – Easily the largest lounge on this list, Jackalope Ranch boasts a 21,000-square-foot main restaurant and 6.5 acres of land! As its website notes, “There is quite a bit to relish here – on and off the menu.” I’ve never actually eaten on the premises (though I’ve heard the fare is solid), but I have grabbed a cocktail and can say the ambiance is lush, divine, and sprawling. Wandering the manicured grounds, champagne in hand, makes for quite the unique cocktail experience. Whether you sit at the main bar, on the lawn under the shade of one of the eatery’s many trees, or next to the onsite pond, I can pretty much guarantee the surroundings will be extraordinary.

10. Vue Grille & Bar (44500 Indian Wells Lane, Indian Wells) – The name really says it all – it’s about the view at this place, though the drinks and food offerings are stellar, too. Overlooking the gorgeous Indian Wells Golf Resort, Vue Grille & Bar is, simply put, stunning! Locals also love the brunch here (complete with a make-your-own Aperol Spritz station!) and the Shots in the Night golf experience, but for me, there’s nothing better than cozying up at one of the patio tables with a crisp glass of bubbly and watching the sunset.

11. Lulu California Bistro (200 South Palm Canyon Drive, Palm Springs) – All-day happy hour with a bustling, colorful front patio and the best mushroom soup in town – what more could you possibly need? Most locals agree. As such, Lulu California Bistro is always packed. A true Palm Springs staple, the service is friendly, the ambiance cheerful and both the food and drinks solid. Sister restaurant Acqua California Bistro at The River in Rancho Mirage (which was also started by Piero Pierattoni and shares the same menu as Lulu) is just as good and boasts fabulous views of the shopping center’s large pond.

12. Stuft Pizza Bar & Grill (78015 Main Street #100, La Quinta) – Yet another beloved, hard-to-get-into happy hour, but, trust me, it’s worth the wait. With an extensive selection (there are over 40 food offerings!) and $4 glasses of wine, you cannot go wrong with a visit to Stuft! I always opt for the crab cakes and a glass of champagne (natch!) and walk away full and perfectly buzzed. The pizzas here are also incredible (and yes, they are available on the happy hour menu). Stuft boasts a sister restaurant located in the Westfield Palm Desert mall, as well, but I prefer the La Quinta outpost with its fabulous side patio and mountain views.

Be sure to check back Friday for my last post in this series, My Guide to Palm Springs – See/Do/Shop. And don’t forget to read my previous guides about the desert’s best hotels, restaurants, coffee houses and places to see/things to do. As always, for more stalking fun, you can follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Los Angeles magazine and Discover Los Angeles.

February 6, 2019February 5, 2019

The Virgil from “A Star Is Born”

I got a text from my friend Liz the other day saying, “Don’t see A Star Is Born . . . OMG!” followed by a bunch of crying face emojis. As Liz and most of my fellow stalkers are well aware, I do not like sad or depressing movies – at all. Liz needn’t have worried. While I have never watched any of the A Star Is Born iterations, I am familiar enough with the storyline to know that they are just not my cup of tea. My friend Lavonna is on the other end of the spectrum, though. She saw the latest installment as soon as it came out, became absolutely obsessed, and, during a recent visit to L.A., stalked a bunch of its locations, including The Virgil, which masked as Bleu Bleu in an opening scene. As fate would have it, upon arriving at the East Hollywood bar, she stumbled upon some crew members from Glow striking set pieces from a shoot that had been done on the premises the day prior. Lavonna struck up a conversation with one them who invited her inside to take a closer look and snap pictures. Figuring it would make for a good blog post, she forwarded the photos on to me. And while I still have yet to see A Star Is Born, thanks to Vudu, where it is available for streaming, I was able to scan through the beginning to familiarize myself with it a bit in preparation for this write-up.

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The Virgil was originally established in June 2012 by nightlife impresarios Louie and Netty Ryan, of Temple Bar Concepts, who also founded Townhouse/The Del Monte in Venice and Santa Monica’s famed Temple Bar (which is now closed), among a slew of others.

The lounge, known for its specialty craft cocktails, occupies a space on the corner of Santa Monica Boulevard and North Virgil Avenue that formerly housed Little Temple, another of the Ryans’ watering holes which opened in mid-2004. Prior to that, the site was the longtime home of The Garage, a rock club owned by Steve Edelson.

Comprised of two spacious areas, the “Stage” room and the “B Side” (the latter of which Lavonna did not get any photos of, but you can see what it looks like here), The Virgil has a distinctly bohemian vibe . . .

. . . with some Moroccan elements thrown in.

With curtains flanking wide openings . . .

. . . and unique carvings adoring various doorways, The Virgil looks like a really cool place to hang out.

In A Star Is Born, Jackson Maine (Bradley Cooper) pops by “Bleu Bleu” to get a drink while on his way home from a performance. The exterior of the bar is only shown briefly in the segment.

Though, as Lavonna informed me, the billboard out front does provide some foreshadowing of the movie’s ending. (And she wonders why I’m resisting watching it! Yeah, that’s gonna be a hard ‘no’ from me!)

It is at The Virgil that Jack first lays eyes on Ally (Lady Gaga) as she spectacularly performs “La Vie en Rose.”

Due to low lighting and rather tight camera angles, not much of the bar can be seen in the movie. We do get a better glimpse of it later in the scene, when Jack is invited to perform onstage while he waits for Ally after Bleu Bleu has closed for the evening. Despite some major set dressing that was added for the shoot (which, per Vulture, took two days to complete), the place is still definitely recognizable from its appearance.

I am unsure if the Bleu Bleu dressing room segments were shot at The Virgil, as well, but I am guessing that they were.

The Virgil is also featured twice in the Season 1 episode of Strange Angel titled “The Sage,” which aired in 2018. The B Side area first pops up as the bar where Jack Parsons (Jack Reynor) laments to his friend Ernest Donovan (Rupert Friend) about not being allowed in to an important business function.

The Stage room then masks as the gentleman’s club that Jack and Ernest visit later in the episode.

As I mentioned earlier, Glow also did some filming at The Virgil, so be sure to look for it in an upcoming episode of the third season.

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

Big THANK YOU to my friend Lavonna for stalking this location for me!

Until next time, Happy Stalking!

Stalk It: The Virgil, aka Bleu Bleu from A Star Is Born, is located at 4519 Santa Monica Boulevard in East Hollywood. You can visit the bar’s official website here.

July 20, 2018January 22, 2020

The Griffin from “NCIS”

Today’s location comes with a caveat. Last Saturday evening while in L.A. for a brief visit, I headed to The Griffin, an Atwater Village bar I had been dying to stalk ever since seeing it in an episode of NCIS almost three years ago. The place did not disappoint and I started writing this post pretty much immediately upon returning home. Unfortunately, later that night the watering hole came under fire due to an unfortunate set of circumstances that began when an extremist hate group held an impromptu gathering on the premises. When word of the meet-up got out, some neighborhood activists popped by to protest. A fight ensued, police were called and both parties were forced to leave. Thankfully, no one was hurt during the melee. The Griffin’s reputation was, though. The establishment, which did not endorse or host the meet-up, bore the brunt of the blame from locals, concerned citizens and many media outlets for even allowing the group to enter in the first place. Now I wasn’t there, but from everything I’ve read, it seems the tavern was unexpectedly ambushed and the staff was guilty of little other than being completely ill-equipped to handle the situation. The Griffin’s owners have since issued an apology and even hosted a neighborhood fundraising event a few days later, but many are still angry. While I considered holding off on publishing this post due to the backlash, I thought better of it. In no way do I believe that the bar owners or staff condone any sort of hatred or support those who do. My experience there had the opposite feeling. The employees that I spoke with could not have been more kind or accommodating, even though I was annoyingly running around snapping copious photographs and asking countless questions about the place’s filming history. Of the watering hole, LA Weekly says, “The Griffin, dimly lit and always welcoming, is magical any night of the week.” I couldn’t agree more – so I’m hitting ‘publish.’

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While watching the Season 13 episode of NCIS titled “Sister City (Part 1)” back in January 2016, I became transfixed with Tusovat’sya, the 4-star Russian restaurant supposedly located on the 700 block of K Street in Washington, D.C. where Leroy Jethro Gibbs (Mark Harmon) and Anthony DiNozzo (Michael Weatherly) tracked down Russian Counselor Anton Pavlenko (Lev Gorn). The cavernous space’s brick arched ceilings practically had me drooling.

While set in D.C., NCIS is shot in L.A., so I knew the eatery had to be somewhere close by. Thankfully, the hunt to find it was easier than Gibbs and DiNozzo’s hunt for Pavlenko. Feeling lucky, I inputted “Los Angeles,” “restaurant,” “cavernous,” and “brick” into Google and one of the first results kicked back was this Thrillist blurb about The Griffin which states, “Decked with arched brick ceilings, Gothic-style chandeliers, and red vinyl booths, The Griffin is like a medieval dungeon in Atwater Village. The cavernous lair is anchored by a stone platform with two fireplaces and a large bar.” The description alone had me convinced me it was the spot I was looking for and once I pulled up images, there was no denying The Griffin had portrayed Tusovat’sya.

I was shocked at the discovery because not only had I long been aware of The Griffin thanks to its use in establishing shots of the bar where Nick Miller (Jake Johnson) works on New Girl, but I had stalked and blogged about the place for Los Angeles magazine back in 2014. Since only the outside of the lounge appeared on the Fox series, I had never ventured inside, though, so I was completely unaware of its unique aesthetic (captured so beautifully on NCIS) . . .

. . . none of which is belied by its pretty, but rather non-descript exterior.

I promptly added The Griffin to my Re-Stalk List, but was not able to make it back out there until this past weekend. Let me tell you, though, it was worth the wait!

The Griffin was originally established in September 2007 at the site of the former La Strada Mexican eatery. While I had assumed that the vaulted, sepulchral space was a historic relic of some sort, possibly an erstwhile bank or wine cellar, our friendly bartender informed us that the extraordinary chamber was actually a build-out commissioned by owners Aaron Chepenik and Jonathan Hensleigh after La Strada vacated the premises.

The duo’s creation is nothing short of majestic.

While researching this post, I was shocked to learn that the design is an almost exact replica of Chepenik and Hensleigh’s inaugural bar venture, also named The Griffin, at 511 Fremont Street in Las Vegas, which opened in January 2007. You can check out some images of it here.

Considering the cinematic feel of both places, it should come as no surprise that Hensleigh’s background is in the movie industry – the successful screenwriter has penned everything from Jumanji to Armageddon to Die Hard with a Vengeance).

With its circular fireplaces, arched ceilings, faux stonework, hanging lanterns, and diamond muntin windows, The Griffin looks like something straight out of a movie – or perhaps a ride at Disneyland.

In a 2008 Los Angeles Times article, Travis Woods lyrically describes the bar as such, “Stepping inside is like drifting into a 16th-century Spanish cathedral — arched stone supports crisscross along the cavernous vaulted ceiling, while two fireplaces hold court at opposite ends of the main lounge, each surrounded by the twin parentheses of semicircular red leather couches and the ellipses of several matching knee-high stools.”

He also states, “A clever, surprisingly cozy environment, it could have easily slipped from ambience to Ambien; instead, it’s classy dungeon-chic without the torture of ridiculous lines, list-wielding bouncers and too-cool L.A. detachment,” which is exactly what we experienced. The Griffin lacks that ultra-hip, holier-than-thou, pretentious vibe that plagues so many area bars. The place may look high-maintenance, but it’s about as laid-back as can be.

The Griffin’s dramatic design has landed it a couple of other onscreen appearances in addition to NCIS.

As I mentioned earlier, the outside of the bar popped up regularly during Seasons 2-7 of New Girl in establishing shots of the watering hole where the gang hung out. (In Season 1, a different exterior was utilized.)

As I also mentioned earlier, only the outside of The Griffin appeared on New Girl. Interior filming took place elsewhere – first at The Prince restaurant located at 3198 West 7th Street in Koreatown and then on a set re-creation of The Prince built on a soundstage at 20th Century Fox Studios in Culver City.

The Griffin also pops up in the Season 2 episode of Love titled “Friends Night Out,” which aired in 2017, as the spot where Gus Cruikshank (Paul Rust) and his buddies hang out and discuss the television series Friends.

The exterior of The Griffin also appears briefly in the episode.

And it is at The Griffin that Henrietta Wilson (Aisha Hinds) and Athena Grant (Angela Bassett) grab drinks in the Season 1 episode of 9-1-1 titled “Point of Origin,” which aired in 2018.

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: The Griffin, from the “Sister City (Part 1)” episode of NCIS, is located at 3000 Los Feliz Boulevard in Atwater Village. The Tam O’Shanter, from the “Dream On” episode of Glee, can be found right next door at 2980 Los Feliz Boulevard.

June 18, 2018June 19, 2018

Bemelmans Bar from the “Sex and the City” Movie

I must be in a very New York state of mind because here I am yet again blogging about a Big Apple locale – a city landmark, actually – the iconic Bemelmans Bar, which is situated inside of The Carlyle Hotel on Manhattan’s Upper East Side. I first learned about the popular lounge thanks to its appearance in the 2008 Sex and the City movie and stalked it – as well as blogged about it – later that same year. I hardly took any photographs of the watering hole on that visit, though, so the place went right back onto my To-Stalk List for my April 2016 NYC trip. As fate would have it, the Grim Cheaper and I happened to pop in while the bar was closed one morning and the super nice employee we spoke with welcomed us inside to snap some pics. Since then I’ve managed to dig up a few more of Bemelmans’ onscreen appearances, so I figured the site was most definitely worthy of a re-post.

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Bemelmans Bar came to be in the 1940s when famed author and illustrator Ludwig Bemelmans, creator of the beloved Madeline children’s book series, was commissioned by The Carlyle Hotel owner Robert Dowling to paint murals on the walls of a new lounge space. In lieu of payment, Ludwig asked for free onsite lodging for himself and his family while he completed the work. The installation, which he dubbed “Central Park,” was finished 18 months later and Bemelmans Bar opened its doors in 1947.

Bemelmans’ playful creation depicts animals such as elephants, rabbits, and dogs frolicking in Central Park during each of the four seasons.

It is the sole Bemelmans commission currently open to the public. As Regan Hofmann stated in a 2014 Punch article, “Of the many murals Bemelmans completed over the years—including the Austrian restaurant Hapsburg House in New York City, a Parisian nightclub on the Île St. Louis and the playroom on Aristotle Onassis’s yacht—the bar at The Carlyle is his only work still intact and available for public viewing.”

Truth be told, though, the murals are no longer entirely the work of Ludwig’s hand.

Not surprisingly considering their age, the pieces have required regular touch-ups and repairs over the years. In fact, The Carlyle Hotel staffs seven full-time painters just to maintain the murals. Their preservation weapon of choice? Wonder Bread! According to Edible Manhattan, during a 2001 restoration, it was found that the best way to remove nicotine stains from the prized paintings was a gentle application of wet slices of the classic white bread.

The bar’s understated décor was carefully chosen to accentuate Bemelmans’ work.

The Art Deco space is comprised of a black granite bar, sleek round glass tables, a 24-karat gold leaf ceiling, large leather banquettes, a grand piano on which live music is played nightly, and lamps with shades that mimic the murals.

The space is cozy, intimate and all-around wonderful.

Bemelmans Bar has long been the stomping ground of visiting elite and local luminaries alike.

Just a few of the public figures who have popped in for a libation or two include Harry Truman, Jackie Kennedy, Bobby Kennedy, Jean Reno, Al Pacino, Steve Martin, Frank Sinatra, Princess Diana, Tom Cruise, Katie Holmes, George Clooney, Robert Redford, David Bowie, Mariah Carey, Paul McCartney, Mick Jagger, Lady Gaga, Liv Tyler, Drew Barrymore, Lorne Michaels, Kate Spade, Zac Posen, Cyndi Lauper, Nick Cannon, Angelica Huston, and Michael Kors.

It is not very hard to see how the site became such a bastion of old New York.

The lighting is dim and hazy (but in the best way possible), the atmosphere fanciful, and the drinks stiff. Some cocktails are even accompanied by a supplemental serving à la a classic diner milkshake. As Richard Carleton Hacker explains in a Robb Report article, “Elegantly presented by red-jacketed waiters, the dry martinis and Manhattans come with an extra-portion ‘sidecar’ carafe kept chilled in ice on the side, so that guests can top up their drinks.”

With its many quiet, tucked away spaces, warm ambiance, and array of film appearances, there is no better place in the city to enjoy an evening out!

In the Sex and the City movie, Carrie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker) takes Louise (Jennifer Hudson) to Bemelmans for cocktails and the two discuss their respective broken hearts. At the end of the scene, Carrie gives Louise this sage advice on age – “Enjoy yourself – that’s what your 20s are for. Your 30s are to learn the lessons. Your 40s are to pay for the drinks!”

In the book Sex and the City: The Movie, producer John Melfi says, “For the scene where Carrie and Louise go out for drinks, we shot in Bemelmans Bar at The Carlyle Hotel. No one had ever shot there before.” He is actually incorrect, though.

Back in 2002, six years before Sex and the City was filmed, Bemelmans was featured in Hollywood Ending as the spot where Val (Woody Allen) met up with his ex-wife, Ellie (Téa Leoni), to discuss working together on a new motion picture.

Bemelmans has also popped up in a few productions post-Sex and the City. Arielle (Bérénice Marlohe) has a rather awkward first meeting with Brian Bloom’s (Anton Yelchin) parents, Arlene (Glenn Close) and Sam Bloom (Frank Langella), at the bar in 2014’s 5 to 7.

Several vignettes from the 2015 Netflix Original Holiday Special A Very Murray Christmas were shot at Bemelmans, including Bill Murray’s duet of “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” with Jenny Lewis.

In the Season 3 episode of Younger titled “A Kiss Is Just a Kiss,” which aired in 2016, Charles Brooks (Peter Hermann) asks Liza Miller (Sutton Foster) to meet him at Bemelmans, but when she walks in and spots him chatting with her daughter’s friend’s parents, she runs away.

Bemelmans is not to be confused with Café Carlyle, an adjacent lounge boasting similar murals, these by Marcel Vertes. That site was featured in the 1986 dramady Hannah and Her Sisters as the spot where Mickey (Woody Allen) takes Holly (Dianne Wiest) to see a performance by Bobby Short, who played himself.

The exterior of Bemelmans was featured at the end of that scene when Mickey is shown walking home after leaving Café Carlyle.

Gabe (Josh Hutcherson) and Rosemary (Charlotte Ray Rosenburg) attend a concert at Café Carlyle in 2005’s Little Manhattan.

Café Carlyle also popped up a couple of times in A Very Murray Christmas.

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: Bemelmans Bar, from the Sex and the City movie, is located at 35 East 76th Street, inside The Carlyle Hotel, on New York’s Upper East Side. You can visit the bar’s official website here.

April 18, 2018April 17, 2018

The Three Clubs from “Swingers”

Besides a great coffee shop, there’s pretty much nothing I love more than an unpretentious bar/restaurant that boasts a retro vibe (as evidenced here, here, here, here, here, and here). Add in a filming location element and I am completely smitten! One that had been on my To-Stalk List for what seemed like eons was The Three Clubs in Hollywood, an onscreen maven most famous for its appearance in the 1996 indie hit Swingers. For whatever reason, though, I kept failing to make it over there – until August 2016, that is, when a good friend who worked on the premises hooked me up with a private tour of the place. I was immediately taken with the bar’s ‘50s aura. Walking inside feels like stepping into a Mad Men episode! Somehow, I never got around to blogging about it, though, which I did not realize until going through my Lightroom library the other day. So I figured it was high time I do so.

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The Three Clubs is a longtime stalwart in the Hollywood bar scene. Established by nightclub impresarios Marc Smith and Matthew Webb on December 27th, 1991 in a former strip mall dive bar near the corner of Santa Monica and Vine, the watering hole has been going strong for more than two and a half decades!

The interior, designed by Marc himself, is largely influenced by Sin City, the Golden Age of Hollywood, and Ol’ Blue Eyes. As Smith told LAist in a 2017 article, “We liked Vegas, we were very into Frank Sinatra. I have to thank the Rat Pack crew for being very pivotal in that world. I had a ’66 T-bird, a ’66 Triumph. We just wanted old things. It was kind of old Hollywood.” With décor elements including tucked-away leather banquettes, wooden wainscoting, and a rock-encrusted doorway, the retro aesthetic is undeniable. The Three Clubs is comprised of two very distinct rooms – the main area, dubbed “the Lounge” (pictured below), is an intimate, low-lit space featuring a large mahogany and leather bar, a black sparkly ceiling, and what the watering hole’s official website calls “casino-style carpeting.”

The Back Bar (pictured below) is a more open space with a small wooden bar, a central stage, raised seating areas, and a disco ball.

Even the cocktail menu was retro-inspired, long before drinking vespers, old fashioneds, and Manhattans was considered cool. As Smith was quoted telling LAist, “I remember talking to a magazine writer about [serving martinis at my lounge] and she was like, ‘What do you mean? That sounds really boring, like [a place] my parents went to. Are you sure?'” The novel concept took, though, and crowds were soon flocking to the place.

The Three Clubs became a celebrity draw from the get-go, as well. Jon Favreau and Vince Vaughn were regulars during its early days – which is how the taproom wound up being featured in Swingers – and are still known to pop in today. Renee Zellweger worked for a time as a bar-back there. And Quentin Tarantino, Matthew McConaughey, Tom Cruise, Emily Osment, Steven Spielberg, Jay Leno, and Billy Idol have also all been spotted on the premises.

The Three Clubs actually pops up twice, portraying two different spots, in Swingers. Toward the beginning of the movie, the Back Bar masks as the Bamboo Lounge, the tiki-themed watering hole said to be located inside the Stardust Resort and Casino where Mike (Favreau) and Trent (Vaughn) meet up with Lisa (Katherine Kendall) and Christy (Deena Martin) after a night of gambling in Las Vegas. The space looks quite a bit different in the scene than it does in real life thanks to a large amount of Hawaiian-themed set dressing that was brought in for the shoot.

Later in the film, the Lounge appears as the bustling interior of The Room, where Mike, Rob (Ron Livingston), and Charles (Alex Désert) assemble before heading to a party in the hills.

Swingers is hardly the only production to have utilized The Three Clubs over the years.

In the Season 2 finale of Mad Men titled “Meditations in an Emergency,” which aired in 2008, a newly pregnant Betty Draper (January Jones) heads to The Three Clubs after doing some shopping and winds up having a tryst with a stranger in the bar’s back office.

Andy (Josh Cooke) pops into The Three Clubs where he meets singer Vanessa (Odette Annable) at the beginning of the 2010 comedy Group Sex.

Val (Al Pacino) and Doc (Christopher Walken) grab drinks at The Three Clubs in 2012’s Stand Up Guys.

In the Season 6 episode of Castle titled “For Better or Worse,” which aired in 2014, The Three Clubs portrays two spots. The Lounge first pops up as Tildy’s Tavern where Kate Beckett (Stana Katic) goes looking for her college love, Rogan O’Leary (Eddie McClintock), and gets him to sign divorce papers.

The Back Bar later plays the Roadhouse strip club where Kate and Richard Castle (Nathan Fillion) track down a stripper named Sapphire (Sarah Karges). Both spaces were dressed heavily for the shoot and are therefore not very recognizable from their appearances in the episode.

Frankie Valli (John Lloyd Young) and Tommy DeVito (Vincent Piazza) are interviewed by Lorraine (Erica Piccininni) at The Three Clubs in the 2014 biopic Jersey Boys.

The bar also supposedly pops up in Parks and Recreation, How to Get Away with Murder, Angie Tribeca, FlashForward, and Private Practice, but I am unsure of which episodes in particular. If anyone happens to know, please fill me in.

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: The Three Clubs, from Swingers, is located at 1123 Vine Street in Hollywood. You can visit the bar’s official website here. The watering hole is open from 5 p.m. to 2 a.m. daily.

July 7, 2017July 5, 2017

Off Limits Cocktail Lounge from “Rosewood”

I’m still in quite a bit of shock – not to mention completely heartbroken – over the recent cancellation of Rosewood. The cancellation was especially stinging being that there are a couple of locations from the former Fox series that I stalked, but have yet to blog about – namely Off Limits cocktail lounge, the supposed Miami-area dive-y bar that Dr. Beaumont ‘Rosie’ Rosewood, Jr. (Morris Chestnut) and partner Det. Annalise Villa (Jaina Lee Ortiz) regularly frequented. In reality, the watering hole (which, like Rosewood, was recently shut down) can be found in Orange County – Anaheim, to be exact – where the vast majority of the Florida-set series was lensed.

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I discovered this locale thanks to an April 2016 The Orange County Register article in which Rosewood co-executive producer Vahan Moosekian was quoted as saying, “We were scouting locations for a bar and house and we looked all over and we found them in Anaheim. The house (on Lemon Street) looked like it belonged in Florida and then we found the (Off Limits) bar just a few miles away.” Thank you, OC Register!

Sadly, by the time I stalked the place in mid-March of this year, it had been shuttered, so I only got to see the exterior. Yelp still has photos of the interior posted, though. You can check them out here.

As I learned from commenters on Off Limits’ Facebook page, the bar’s owner passed away earlier this year and the property was subsequently sold. Much to the dismay of the many longtime regulars, the site’s future is currently up in the air.

Thankfully, the watering hole’s signage has been left intact for the time being.

And what fabulous signage it is!

I’m kind of obsessed. I absolutely love retro roadside signs.

Off Limits cocktail lounge was originally established way back in August 1990. Prior to that, the space housed an upscale cook-your-own steak eatery/piano bar known as The Roberts Room.

Off Limits first popped up in Rosewood’s second episode, titled “Fireflies and Fidelity.” In the episode, Villa explains to Rosie that she “basically grew up” at the bar, spending many afternoons drinking Arnold Palmers while her dad hustled money out of gullible pool players. Despite her classification of the place as a “dump,” it holds special meaning for her. She says, “It’s my sanctuary. Some people go to church. I come here.”

The bar went on to become Rosie and Villa’s regular hangout, appearing almost weekly on the series.

It was utilized so often, in fact, that I am surprised a set re-creation of it wasn’t built at MBS Media Campus, the Manhattan Beach studio where the show was shot. That does not appear to have been the case, though. From what I can tell, the many scenes that took place at Off Limits were actually shot on location at the bar.

Though it was Off Limits’ interior that was mainly featured on Rosewood, the exterior – with its fabulous sign – did show up on occasion.

Off Limits was only utilized throughout Rosewood’s first season. Though it was never discussed on the series, Rosie and Villa just stopped hanging out there during Season 2.

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: Off Limits cocktail lounge from Rosewood was formerly located at 819 South Euclid Street in Anaheim. The site is currently closed.

May 1, 2017April 30, 2017

Moody’s Bar and Grille from “Jerry Maguire”

Oh, how this stalker loves herself a dark, wood-paneled bar! There is just something so warm and inviting about them, which is probably why they are featured regularly onscreen. One that I was quite fixated on tracking down for years was the supposed Tempe, Arizona-area “Crocodile,” where Jerry Maguire (Tom Cruise) got stood up by Cardinals General Manager Dennis Wilburn (Glenn Frey) in the 1996 romcom Jerry Maguire. I finally managed to identify the watering hole as the now defunct Moody’s Bar and Grill, formerly located on the ground floor of the Sheraton Grande (which became the Los Angeles Marriott Downtown in 1997 and then the The L.A. Hotel Downtown in 2012). While the pub was detailed in my two-part post on JM locales in December (you can read Part I here and Part II here), I happened to spot it pop up in an episode of Melrose Place that I was scanning through recently and figured the place was worthy of its own write-up.

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Moody’s first came on my radar while I was researching The L.A. Hotel Downtown for my January 2016 post about the property. In reading about the hotel, I came across a FlyerTalk thread in which commenter “ntamayo” asked which Marriott had been featured in Fatboy Slim’s 2001 “Weapon of Choice” music video starring Christopher Walken. Commenter “Non-NonRev” responded that filming had taken place at the L.A. Downtown Marriott, explaining, “the dead giveaway is the entrance to Moody’s restaurant seen behind Walken early after he begins to dance.”

Upon digging a bit deeper into the location, I came across these photos of Moody’s taken in 2011 and was immediately smitten. As the August 1996 Los Angeles magazine article pictured below describes, the space was “reminiscent of East Coast meeting places” with a “friendly atmosphere and club environment” and a décor “rich with forest green, ivory marble, rich oak woodwork and polished brass.” This website deemed the bar “the Cheers of the West Coast” and, if images of it are to be believed, it definitely gave off that vibe. Moody’s is certainly the type of place I would have loved to grab a cocktail on a cool evening. Sadly though, further research revealed that the lounge had long since closed and, because I had not seen any sort of wood-paneled space when I stalked the the hotel in early 2016, I assumed it had been gutted and revamped into something else during the property’s massive $25-million renovation that took place between 2011 and 2013.

Flash forward to last summer, when I began compiling locations for the Jerry Maguire post. While scanning through the movie, I just about fell over upon realizing that the NFL Draft scene had been shot at the Sheraton Grande.

I immediately got to thinking about the Crocodile scene, during which Jerry is supposed to meet Dennis to discuss Rod Tidwell’s (Cuba Gooding Jr.) new contract. Knowing that location managers tend to shoot as many segments as possible in one spot, I had a hunch that the “Crocodile” might actually have been Moody’s. So I pulled up the 2011 images of the place and compared them to screen captures from Jerry Maguire and, sure enough, the two places were one and the same! I later got confirmation from Greg Mariotti, of The Uncool website, who co-wrote the JM post with me, that the Crocodile segment had, indeed, been lensed at Moody’s. (Interesting side-note – Cameron Crowe named the bar after the Crocodile Café, an actual hangout in Tempe, Arizona that was very popular in the ‘90s. Sadly, that space has also since shuttered.)

Prior to publishing the Jerry Maguire post, I stopped by The L.A. Hotel Downtown once again to see if I could learn the current state of the former Moody’s space and was shocked to discover, thanks to a very friendly receptionist, that, while shuttered, the bar remains intact! The receptionist even called down to the events manager for me to see if a quick tour could be arranged, but, unfortunately, she could not get ahold of him. She did tell me that the lounge was visible through some windows in the front of the hotel, though, which is how I snapped the photos that appear in this post.

Moody’s also popped up in the Season 4 episode of Melrose Place titled “No Lifeguard on Duty,” as the spot where Bobby Parezi (John Enos III) told Peter Burns (Jack Wagner) to stay way from Alycia Barnett (Anne-Marie Johnson).

In researching this post, I discovered a myriad of productions lensed at The L.A. Hotel Downtown that I somehow missed while penning my 2016 write-up – productions like Scandal, Melrose Place, and Criminal Minds. I’ve updated my original post to include the information. You can check it out here.

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: Moody’s Bar and Grille, aka the “Crocodile” from Jerry Maguire, was formerly located on the bottom floor of The L.A. Hotel Downtown, which can be found at 333 South Figueroa Street in downtown Los Angeles. Unfortunately, the restaurant is currently closed.

February 13, 2017February 14, 2017

Library Bar from “Parenthood”

In his bestselling book Outliers: The Story of Success, author Malcolm Gladwell asserts that a person needs 10,000 hours of practice at something in order to become an expert. I’ve been writing my blog for about nine years now, working on it at least eight hours a day, five days a week, which translates to roughly 19,000 stalking hours under my belt. That number is probably a vast understatement, but I think we can all agree that I am an expert on filming locations. Even experts make mistakes, though. Last week, while watching the most recent episode of fave show Vanderpump Rules (Season 5’s “Into the Closet”), a “Coming Up” teaser was shown prior to a commercial break in which Tom Schwartz and Katie Maloney argued (shocker, I know!) at a dimly-lit restaurant lined with books. I excitedly turned to the Grim Cheaper and said, “That’s Library Bar!” – a dimly-lit, book-lined downtown L.A. haunt that we visited a few years back. When the segment aired a few minutes later, though, I saw I was mistaken as the camera panned to a sign reading “The Wellesbourne” at the top of the scene. Whoops! After, of course, adding The Wellesbourne to my To-Stalk List (the place seriously looks so cool!), I decided to do a post on Library Bar ASAP.

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The GC and I stumbled upon Library Bar by chance one evening in 2011 while on our way to stalk/eat dinner at Takami Sushi & Elevate Lounge (which, ironically, later appeared in a Season 1 episode of Vanderpump Rules). Because I am obsessed with books, the name of the place intrigued me and, as we walked by, I told the GC that I wanted to grab a post-meal cocktail there.

What we wandered into later that night felt like the cozy book-lined living room of a friend. For me, it was love at first sight.

The intimate lounge is dotted with cushy couches, a fireplace filled with candles, and lots and lots of books. And yes, the tomes are all real. Patrons are permitted to peruse them while sipping libations. How incredibly cool is that? Bartender Brianna Rettig told the Los Angeles Times in 2007 that one customer even asked her out on a date by putting a note in a romance novel and later telling her to find the book and turn to page 40.

Library Bar was established in 2006 by Will Shamlian and Michael Leko, restaurateurs who originally met while working at Mezzaluna, the Brentwood eatery where Nicole Brown Simpson ate her last meal. The successful duo also gave us Spring St. Bar, 4100 Bar, and Sixth Street Tavern, among others.

Library Bar, which you can check out some more photos of here, has popped up a couple of times onscreen, though not as often as I would expect considering its unique aesthetic. In the Season 5 episode of Parenthood titled “Fraud Alert,” Julia Braverman-Graham (Erika Christensen) asks Ed Brooks (David Denman) to meet up with her at Library Bar, after learning that her husband, Joel Graham (Sam Jaeger), does not want to work on their marriage. Only the exterior of the lounge was shown in the episode.

In the Season 8 episode of 24 titled “Day 8: 9 a.m – 10 a.m.,” Jack Bauer (Kiefer Sutherland) gets into a taxi outside of Library Bar while talking on his cell with Chloe O’Brian (Mary Lynn Rajskub). Because the scene involved a telephone call, it was shown in a split-screen format, which explains the odd screen capture below .

Charlie (James Wolk) attempts to win his ex-girlfriend Lauren Powell (Lauren Miller) back while at Library Bar in the 2012 comedy For a Good Time, Call . . . , though not much of the lounge can be seen in the scene. (Special thanks to Instagram user Cherryeco5 for letting me know about this one!)

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: Library Bar, from the “Fraud Alert” episode of Parenthood, is located at 630 West 6th Street, Suite 116-A, in downtown Los Angeles. You can visit the lounge’s official website here.

January 13, 2017January 22, 2020

McSorley’s Old Ale House from “Rounders”

It has been said that 60% of restaurants close within a year of opening and that 80% don’t make it past year five. Many in New York, though, have real staying power. Take McSorley’s Old Ale House, for example. The East Village watering hole/eatery has been around for more than 16 decades! Yep, 16 decades! I first learned about the place thanks to The History and Stories of the Best Bars of New York while doing research for last April’s Big Apple vacay and figured the fact that Abraham Lincoln once drank there warranted it a visit. So the Grim Cheaper and I headed to the historic tavern, along with our good friends Lavonna (she’s a major Lincoln aficionado – you may remember her from this post), Kim, and Katie, for lunch one sunny afternoon during our trip. At the time, I had no idea McSorley’s was a filming location, so imagine my surprise when I spotted it while watching Rounders with the Grim Cheaper last week! I so love it when a place I have visited pops up unexpectedly onscreen!

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To say that McSorley’s Old Ale House is New York’s OG bar would be an understatement. Originally established in 1854 by Irish native John McSorley, the site was initially dubbed “The Old House at Home.” It held court under that moniker until 1908 when a storm hit Manhattan and knocked down the sign that hung out front. John replaced it with one reading “McSorley’s Old Time Ale House,” thereby changing the name of his saloon. (He later dropped the word “time”, as well.)

I would be remiss if I didn’t mention here that the bar’s origin date has been disputed by various historians, namely researcher Richard McDermott, who asserts that the spot where McSorley’s now stands was a vacant lot up until 1858. The NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission put McDermott’s doubts largely to rest, though, in this 2012 Designation Report, stating, “Supporting the claim that McSorley’s Old Ale House first opened on this site in 1854, tax records reveal that the first improvement on this lot may have occurred in the mid-1850s. Though tax records note the lot as vacant until 1860-61, the value of the lot increased steadily between 1848 and 1856, indicating that a small structure may have been constructed here and not recorded (note: nearby lots did not change in value during the same period). The lot was purchased in 1854 by real estate speculator John W. Mitchell. As noted by Bill Wander, official historian for the pub, Mitchell may have constructed a small “taxpayer” structure on the lot to cover expenses, and McSorley’s could very possibly have operated out of this small structure.”

Regardless, McSorley’s asserts itself as “New York City’s oldest continuously operating saloon.” Other Big Apple bars, like Pete’s Tavern, may assert the same exact thing, but disputing the claim seems entirely beside the point. No one can argue that McSorley’s has history.

In 1864, the two-story structure that originally housed McSorley’s was renovated, expanded and transformed into a five-level tenement. John and his family moved into a unit upstairs and then eventually purchased the building in 1888.

When John passed away in 1910 at the age of 83, his son Bill took over operation of the bar. Bill continued to run the place for the next 26 years, even keeping it open during Prohibition. Though the sale of alcohol was outlawed during that time, McSorley’s managed to dole out ale made onsite in the basement. Bill called his libation “near beer” and authorities were none the wiser. As author Jef Klein states in The History and Stories of the Best Bars of New York, “McSorley’s passed through Prohibition without passwords, secret exits, or hideaways.”

In 1936, Bill sold McSorley’s to a long-time customer/NYC policeman named Daniel O’Connell. Daniel’s tutelage did not last long, though. He passed away just three years later, leaving the bar to his daughter, Dorothy O’Connell Kirwan. The change of hands was ironic considering that McSorley’s did not allow women on the premises at the time. Kirwan promised her father that she would not overturn that rule. She also vowed never to set foot in McSorley’s during operating hours – a promise she kept even after the establishment was forced to admit the fairer sex in 1970 thanks to a lawsuit brought about by two females who were denied entry.

When Dorothy and her husband, Harry, passed away in 1974 and 1975, respectively, their son, Danny, inherited the bar. Just two years later, he sold it to night manager Matthew Maher, who still owns the tavern to this day.

Virtually nothing about the bar (aside from finally admitting women and the subsequent addition of a women’s restroom, which did not occur until 16 years later) has changed over its 163 year history – and I do mean nothing.

The décor, the memorabilia, and even some of the fare (the cheese, crackers and raw onion dish has been offered since opening day!) remain untouched from the time that John McSorley ran the place.

Menu items are written on chalkboards posted throughout the bar and, along with the aforementioned cheese plate, typically include hash, chili, burgers, and a fried chicken sandwich.

Don’t go to McSorley’s hoping for a chilled glass of pinot, though. As the name suggests, the only libation served on the premises is ale.

Notables have long been attracted to McSorley’s no-frills environment. Ulysses S. Grant, Theodore Roosevelt, John Lennon, Woody Guthrie, Peter Cooper, e.e. cummings, Harry Houdini, J. Giels, John F. Kennedy, and Frank McCourt have all sidled up to the ale house’s bar at one time or another.

Ah, yes, and Abraham Lincoln, who stopped by in 1960 while in town to give his famous Cooper Union address.

McSorley’s boasts another connection to Lincoln. An 1865 wanted poster offering a $100,000 reward for the capture of the president’s assassin, John Wilkes Booth, hangs above the bar. Yes, it’s an original.

McSorley’s has also long proved popular with felines. Ironically, while women were not welcome throughout much of the bar’s history, cats were. Up until a city law was passed in 2011 which banned the animals from restaurants, a number of them called the watering hole home. Aside from keeping vermin away, you could often find the McSorley’s cats curled up next to patrons or warming themselves by the pot-bellied stove. When Bill ran the place, as many as 18 roamed the premises. The most recent feline resident was a grey tabby named Minnie. Ironically, McSorley’s was shut down by the health department briefly in November of last year for several violations. One of the violations was – you guessed it – evidence of rats. If only Minnie was still on duty!

Considering McSorley’s historic aesthetic and unique decor, it is not surprising that it has wound up onscreen. I mean, the place just looks like a movie set! In Rounders, it is at McSorley’s that Jo (Gretchen Mol) admonishes her boyfriend, Mike McDermott (Matt Damon), for lying to her about gambling.

The exterior of the bar was featured in the 1998 film, as well.

The ale house also appeared in the 1984 gangster drama Once Upon a Time in America. It is there that a young David ‘Noodles’ Aaronson (Scott Schutzman Tiler) and his friends choose a drunk to “roll.”

In 1991’s The Hard Way, Nick Lane (Michael J. Fox) gives John Moss (James Woods) advice on women at McSorley’s.

And in 2018, Miriam Maisel (Rachel Brosnahan) and Benjamin (Zachary Levi) headed to McSorely’s for a date in the Season 2 episode of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel titled “Look, She Made a Hat.”

Folk singer Dave Van Ronk also posed outside of McSorley’s Old Ale House for the cover of his 1964 album, Inside Dave Van Ronk. One of the bar’s former in-house cats even made it into the photo.

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

Big THANK YOU to my friend Kim for providing many of the images that appear in this post.

Until next time, Happy Stalking! Smile

Stalk It: McSorley’s Old Ale House, from Rounders, is located at 15 East 7th Street in New York’s East Village. You can visit the watering hole’s official website here.

June 3, 2016June 2, 2016

Latest “L.A.” Magazine Article – A Filming Locations Bar Crawl

My latest Los Angeles magazine article is on newsstands now. It is part of the cover story about ten unconventional L.A. walks. You can find it on page 86 of the June issue and you can also read it online here. My article is Walk Number 8, titled “Double Shot.” Enjoy!