Those who find themselves in New York at Christmas will inevitably hear about the exceedingly decorated Rolf’s German Restaurant in Gramercy Park. But is a meal there really worth all the hype? Watch my latest reel to find out!
Bistro Garden from “Dirty John: The Betty Broderick Story”
The ‘80s were, without a doubt, garish, splashy, and over-the-top. But the second season of the true crime anthology series Dirty John: The Betty Broderick Story, which covers the 1989 murders of Dan Broderick (Christian Slater) and his mistress-turned-wife, Linda Kolkena (Rachel Keller), at the hands of his first wife, Betty (Amanda Peet), sure makes the era look good! I am obsessed with Betty’s clothes – her oxford shirts, navy flats, ever-present gold chain, and, of course, that headscarf from episode 3’s beach scene! The locations are pretty chic, as well, none more so than the swanky restaurant Dan and Betty dine at in “Marriage Encounter,” which I recognized on sight as Bistro Garden. One of Studio City’s most oft-filmed spots, I stalked and blogged about the eatery way back in 2010 (hence the dated photo above), but figured it was time for a re-do.
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Bistro Garden was founded by Carolyn Pappas, daughter of famed restauranteur Kurt Niklas, and her husband, Gregory, in 1990. The establishment was an offshoot of Niklas’ two popular Beverly Hills eateries – The Bistro in Beverly Hills, which opened in 1963 at 246 North Canon Drive, and The Bistro Garden, which opened in 1979 just up the road at 176 North Canon. To distinguish the Studio City site from its similarly-named BH counterparts, it was originally given the name “The Bistro Garden at Coldwater.”
The stunning space, inspired by European winter gardens (aka large glass conservatories built to house tropical plants year-round), features two airy dining rooms, a handsome wood-paneled bar, thirty-foot ceilings, skylights, latticework, French doors, and trees strung with twinkle lights. It is easily one of Los Angeles’ most gorgeous restaurants.
Considering that little of the interior has been changed since its opening thirty years ago, the eatery’s use in Dirty John: The Betty Broderick Story must have been a no-brainer!
In “Marriage Encounter,” Bistro Garden poses as the fancy La Jolla restaurant Dan and Betty begin frequenting after Dan finally lands a high-paying job at a law firm. It actually pops up three times in the episode, first in the scene in which Betty embarrasses Dan by mentioning to a friend they run into that they used to be on food stamps.
The couple dines there again later in the episode and Dan complains about having already grown bored with the place.
And finally, it is at Bistro Garden that Betty, after showing off her new Oscar de la Renta dress to friends at the bar, overhears Dan describing Linda to a co-worker as “just so beautiful.”
Dirty John is hardly Bistro Garden’s first onscreen foray.
Jerry (Cary Elwes) proposes to Audrey (Maura Tierney) there in the 1997 comedy Liar Liar.
That same year, Cooper Hargrove (Christopher Orr) presented Valerie Malone (Tiffani Thiessen) with a diamond necklace at Bistro Garden in the Season 8 episode of Beverly Hills, 90210 titled “Toil and Trouble.”
The restaurant masks as New York’s Plaza Hotel, where Lexi Sterling (Jamie Luner) meets with three ex-fiancés of Ryan McBride (John Newton) in the Season 7 episode of Melrose Place titled “How Amanda Got Her Groove Back,” which aired in 1999.
Andy (Steve Carell) and his pals attend a speed-dating event there in the 2005 comedy The 40-Year-Old Virgin.
Bistro Garden portrays the country club where Gabrielle Solis (Eva Longoria) catches a news report that leads her to believe her husband, Carlos (Ricardo Chavira), has been killed in the Season 2 episode of Desperate Housewives titled “Remember: Part 1,” which aired in 2006.
Gabrielle returns to the restaurant the following year in Season 3’s “Not While I’m Around” in order to meet her secret admirer, who turns out to be Zach Young (Cody Kasch).
In the Season 6 episode of The Office titled “Double Date,” which aired in 2009, Michael Scott (Steve Carell) takes his new girlfriend Helene Beesly (Linda Purl) to Bistro Garden to celebrate her birthday and then promptly dumps her upon learning her age.
Julia Fitzpatrick (Jennifer Garner) poses as a waitress there to get back at her boyfriend, Dr. Harrison Copeland (Patrick Dempsey), whom she has just discovered is married, in the 2010 romantic comedy Valentine’s Day.
And in the Season 1 episode of Why Women Kill titled “Positively Lethal in Every Way,” which aired in 2019, Simone Grove (Lucy Liu) celebrates her daughter’s engagement at Bistro Garden.
While IMDB claims that the second episode of the 1985 miniseries Hollywood Wives was lensed at the Studio City Bistro Garden, being that the restaurant did not open until 1990, we know that is not true. Filming actually took place at the Beverly Hills Bistro Garden. In fact, the BH outpost inspired Jackie Collins to write the novel on which the drama was based! Of the restaurant, which shuttered in 1996, Jackie is quoted as saying, “There’s a story at every table. It’s almost like Le Cirque in New York: a place to see and be seen, to get dressed up before you go, to wave across the room at your friends when you arrive.”
For more stalking fun, follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Los Angeles magazine, and Discover Los Angeles.
Until next time, Happy Stalking! 
Stalk It: Bistro Garden, from the “Marriage Encounter” episode of Dirty John: The Betty Broderick Story, is located at 12950 Ventura Boulevard in Studio City. You can visit the restaurant’s official website here.
Frank’s Coffee Shop and Restaurant from “Why Women Kill”
The Grim Cheaper and I often joke that my friend Lavonna should be in charge of our DVR. She has recommended countless shows over the years that became fast favorites, including The Goldbergs, Veep, The Office, and Parks and Recreation. Her latest suggestion, Why Women Kill, hasn’t quite hit the beloved mark for me yet (it’s just a bit too dark and risqué), though its premise – the CBS All Access series centers around a Pasadena mansion and three couples who call it home over various decades – is something I can certainly get behind! And the locations are fab! Early in her viewing, before I started to watch, Von texted me a photo of a diner used in the production to see if I recognized it. Sure enough, I did! The eatery was none other than Frank’s Coffee Shop and Restaurant, a historic Burbank spot I stalked and blogged about back in 2012 after it was prominently featured in fave romcom Larry Crowne. Since its resume has seriously bulked up since then, I figured a redo was in order.
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Frank’s Coffee Shop and Restaurant, which is also known as Frank’s Steak House, was originally established by Frank Kunelis and his wife, Soula, in 1957.
Lined with brown tufted booths and a long wooden counter with swivel stools, the interior looks as if not much has changed since opening day. And I mean that in a good way.
Pretty much the only thing that has been altered over the years is the fare, thanks to Jose Lopez, a longtime chef from another Burbank eatery named Genio’s, who purchased Frank’s in 2008. As Lopez told the Los Angeles Times, “I thought I was going to retire there, but when Genio’s closed, and I bought Frank’s, I put the menus together.” The result is a vast offering of salads, sandwiches, burgers, and traditional American comfort food.
Other than that, though, the restaurant remains much as it was under Kunelis’ tutelage – which is just the way Frank’s customers like it.
Sadly, the eatery began suffering a decline in patronage in early 2012 and closed its doors in March of that year, shortly after I stalked it. Sam Patel, owner of the adjacent Portofino Inn, wound up stepping in and purchasing the place. He kept Jose on as manager and reopened that June much to the delight of locals. Frank’s is still going strong today – especially when it comes to movie and television appearances!
In the August 2019 pilot episode of Why Women Kill, titled “Murder Means Never Having to Say You’re Sorry,” Frank’s masks as the supposed Glendale-area Jansen’s Diner, where Beth Ann Stanton (Ginnifer Goodwin) catches her husband cheating with a waitress named April Warner (Sadie Calvano).
The eatery goes on to appear in subsequent episodes of the series as Beth Ann attempts to befriend April.
Though the chandeliers were swapped out for the shoot, I recognized Frank’s as soon as I laid eyes on the screen captures Lavonna sent me.
Thanks to its retro décor and Anywhere, U.S.A. appeal, the restaurant has long been a favorite of location scouts.
Frank’s was used for exterior shots of the diner where Valerie Malone (Tiffani Thiessen) convinced Ray Pruit (Jamie Walters) to return to Beverly Hills in the Season 5 episode of Beverly Hills, 90210 titled “Squash It,” which aired in 1995. Interiors were filmed elsewhere, though.
The eatery has been featured in no less than five episodes of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation! It first popped up in Season 6’s “Rashomama,” which aired in 2006, as the supposed Las Vegas, Nevada-area coffee shop where the car belonging to Nick Stokes (George Eads) was stolen (pictured below). It then went on to appear in Season 7’s “Law of Gravity,” Season 9’s “Mascara,” Season 11’s “The List,” and Season 12’s “Willows in the Wind.”
Ron Swanson (Nick Offerman) takes his ex-wife, Tammy Swanson (Megan Mullally), out for lunch at Frank’s in the Season 2 episode of Parks and Recreation titled “Ron and Tammy,” which aired in 2009.
Frank’s serves as the central location in the 2011 romantic comedy Larry Crowne. It is there that Larry (Tom Hanks) gets a gig as a line cook after losing his job at the local U-Mart store.
The diner is the site of a confrontation between Wynn Duffy (Jere Burns) and Art Mullen (Nick Searcy) in the Season 5 episode of Justified titled “Shot All to Hell,” which aired in 2014.
Nick Dunne (Ben Affleck) meets his sister, Margo (Carrie Coon), and his lawyer, Tanner Bolt (Tyler Perry), at Frank’s to discuss his case in the 2014 thriller Gone Girl.
Walter O’Brien (Elyes Gabel) and his team commandeer the restaurant in order to save a doomed plane in the pilot episode of Scorpion, which aired in 2014.
Efraim Diveroli (Jonah Hill) presents David Packouz (Miles Teller) with a severance agreement at Frank’s in the 2016 crime drama War Dogs.
In the Season 1 episode of Unsolved: The Murders of Tupac and the Notorious B.I.G. titled “Tupac Amaru Shakur,” which aired in 2018, Detective Greg Kading (Josh Duhamel) and Officer Daryn Dupree (Bokeem Woodbine) meet with an informant named Percy (Amin Joseph) at Frank’s.
The eatery masks as the Denver Diner in the Season 3 episode of Lethal Weapon titled “Panama,” which aired in 2018.
Andrew Cunanan (Darren Criss) and David Madson (Cody Fern) dine at Frank’s and reminisce about the night they first met in the Season 2 episode of American Crime Story titled “House by the Lake,” which aired in 2018.
In the Season 1 episode of I Am the Night titled “Phenomenon of Interference,” which aired in 2019, Jay Singletary (Chris Pine) meets with an old army buddy at Frank’s.
And Leslie Peterson (David Hornsby) shares a meal with Baby Tyler (Caleb Emery) at the coffee shop just prior to heading to jail in the Season 3 episode of Good Girls titled “Nana,” which aired in 2020.
On a Why Women Kill Side-Note – For those wondering, the stunning “Pasadena” mansion at the center of the series isn’t really in Pasadena at all, but Hancock Park. It can be found at 113 Fremont Place. Sadly, it is located in a gated community, so I won’t be blogging about it, but figured I’d provide the info here.
For more stalking fun, follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Los Angeles magazine and Discover Los Angeles.
Until next time, Happy Stalking! 
Stalk It: Frank’s Coffee Shop and Restaurant, from Why Women Kill, is located at 925 West Olive Avenue in Burbank. You can visit the eatery’s official website here.
The Galley from “The Laundromat”
Instagram has been life-changing, as far as ease of taking photographs goes. Before restaurant and shop owners recognized the influencing and advertising power of the social media platform, I was regularly blocked from snapping pictures of places I stalked. Now image capturing is encouraged and it has been nothing short of fabulous for my blog! One locale that never gave me grief over photos is The Galley, Santa Monica’s oldest restaurant. With some of the friendliest servers around and the best food in town, the eatery is one of my favorites in all of L.A. The Galley was actually one of the first places the Grim Cheaper took me for dinner very early on in our relationship and when he lived in Santa Monica, we would drop by almost every Friday night for its stellar happy hour. While I officially stalked it back in March 2013 (hence my dated haircut above) and listed it in My Guide to L.A. – Restaurants in 2015, I failed to dedicate a post to the site because, as far as I knew, nothing had been filmed on the premises. So I was ecstatic when I spotted it while scanning through the 2019 Netflix film The Laundromat earlier this year!
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Established by Ralph Stephan way back in 1934, The Galley was originally located on the Santa Monica Pier. It moved to its current home at 2442 Main Street in 1946.
Dimly lit, warm, and inviting, the watering hole was a hit with the Hollywood set from the get-go. Just a few of the famous names who regularly stopped by include Errol Flynn, Carole Lombard, Edward G. Robinson, Tyrone Power, Ann Sheridan, Joe DiMaggio, and my girl Marilyn Monroe. The latter two supposedly got into quite the argument at the bar one evening which had Joltin’ Joe storming out of the restaurant in anger.
The Galley’s interior is nautical in theme and definitely does not subscribe to the “less is more” mentality. Nearly every square inch of the place is decked out in netting, shells, portholes, and other sea-faring accoutrements, most of which are actual set pieces from the 1935 film Mutiny on the Bounty. Legend has it, the props were given to Stephan by the flick’s stars Clark Gable and Charles Laughton, both of whom were Galley regulars.
Most notable is the Bounty’s large wooden wheel, which hangs from the restaurant’s ceiling.
When Stephan retired in 1989, he sold the beloved eatery to Ron Schur, a longtime patron. As the story goes, Schur was a huge fan of The Galley’s signature salad dressing, a take on Thousand Island. One evening, he asked his regular waitress Millie for the recipe. She refused to tell him, which only served to make him more determined to obtain it. He returned night after night with the same inquiry until Millie finally bellowed, “If you wanna know so badly, why don’t you buy the f*cking place?” Well, Ron eventually did just that, taking over operations in January 1989. The restaurant – and the salad dressing – has been going strong ever since.
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The eatery had fallen into a bit of disrepair prior to Schur taking over, so he immediately began restoring it, set-piece by set-piece. Thankfully, he made few changes, telling The News-Pilot in 1990, “Remodeling is the dirtiest word in the English language.” A man after my own heart! Along with expanding the space, doubling its capacity from 60 to 120, Ron also began serving lunch and added a back patio, now a favorite spot of patrons. Otherwise, though, The Galley remained pretty much as it was when it originally opened decades prior.
Schur, who goes by the name “Captain Ron,” also strung a plethora of multi-colored twinkle lights from the ceiling, creating what the Santa Monica Mirror described as an “ambiance of permanent Christmas.” As Ron informed the paper, he made the addition because Christmas creates “a feeling of good will toward all.” Though the lights definitely foster a feeling of warmth, they also wreaked havoc on many of my photos, as evidenced below.
Famous for its four-pound buckets of steamed clams, all of The Galley’s fare is stellar, though I have to say that I am partial to the chicken tacos, available in the bar. The restaurant’s happy hour, offered daily, is easily the best in Santa Monica with one of the most extensive menus I’ve ever come across. From the crab cakes to the fried calamari to the hot dog, you honestly can’t go wrong no matter what you order!
The eatery pops up several times in The Laundromat as the supposed Lake George, New York restaurant owned by Matthew Quirk (David Schwimmer) and Captain Paris (Robert Patrick). One look at the myriad of multi-colored Christmas lights and bamboo booths and I knew immediately filming had taken place at The Galley.
Considering its longevity and whimsical décor, I’m shocked that the restaurant has not appeared in more productions, but I have not been able to dig up any additional cameos.
For more stalking fun, follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Los Angeles magazine and Discover Los Angeles.
Until next time, Happy Stalking! 
Stalk It: The Galley, from The Laundromat, is located at 2442 Main Street in Santa Monica’s Ocean Park neighborhood. You can visit the eatery’s official website here.
The Peach Pit Pop-Up
Stalking opportunities sometimes get away from me. Such was the case with the Johnny Rockets restaurant on Melrose Avenue in Los Angeles’ Fairfax District. The site, which was actually the well-known burger chain’s first location, had long been on my To-Stalk List. Though I’d dined there numerous times over the years, I had yet to officially visit it for the purposes of a post when it shuttered unexpectedly in 2015. So I was thrilled when I learned that a Peach Pit pop-up was being held on the premises last fall! I quickly secured a reservation and the Grim Cheaper and I headed into L.A. to attend, but the experience wasn’t exactly all I’d hoped for. Considering the place boasts ties to both Beverly Hills, 90210 and its spinoff, Melrose Place, though, I figured it was still worthy of a blog.
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The original Johnny Rockets first opened its doors smack dab in the middle of Melrose Avenue on June 6th, 1986. Established by former fashion merchandiser Ronn Teitelbaum, the tiny Streamline-Moderne eatery was a “non-gimmicky” re-imagining of the diners he visited as a boy in the 1940s, namely Santa Monica’s Incline and West L.A.’s The Apple Pan. Per the Pierce website, “He founded the concept on the belief that everyone deserves a place where they can escape from today’s complicated world and experience the uncomplicated goodness of classic Americana. The name originated by combining the timeless Johnny Appleseed story with the classic Oldsmobile Rocket 88. Together, they embody the concept of classic Americana and the promise of the future.” You can check out an image of the restaurant from its early days here. Boasting just twenty counter seats, the site became a fast hit and even had its share of celebrity fans including Milla Jovovich, who dropped by in 1987, Bob Hope and Elizabeth Taylor. Ronn soon began opening sister sites and offering franchise opportunities. By the time he decided to sell the company in 1995, there were more than 60 locations dotted throughout 6 countries! When he passed away in 2000, the chain counted 138 eateries in 25 states and 9 countries!
Unfortunately, when the lease on the Melrose outpost came up for renewal in 2015, a suitable agreement between landlord and tenant could not be reached and the landmark restaurant shuttered on October 26th of that year. It was the end of an era! Per the Melrose Action website, Johnny Rockets was “the last standing icon of the amazing 80’s era along Melrose Avenue.” The space has remained vacant ever since, aside from the occasional pop-up like the Peach Pit, which was the brainchild of the Fox network and Pop Sugar and ran in conjunction with the premiere of the BH90210 reboot.
The tiny eatery was completely transformed to resemble the West Beverly gang’s ‘90s hangout.
Memorabilia and cast images were everywhere, along with the familiar vinyl record wall decorations!
There was even a loving tribute to Luke Perry.
And the employees were all decked out in traditional Peach Pit garb.
The photo opportunities were endless.
But while things looked pretty good from afar . . .
. . . upon closer inspection, it became obvious the set-up was rather janky.
No part of it was executed particularly well.
It seemed kind of just thrown together, not to mention dirty (as evidenced below).
We visited during the end of the pop-up’s run and things were definitely falling apart. The tile floor in the main dining area was actually just some sort of vinyl adhesive and it was apparent from the peeling and rips that high heels had taken their toll on it throughout the six weeks the place was in operation. (You can see some of said peeling in the bottom left of the pic below.)
The food choices were also extremely limited, with a total of only seven food offerings. And there wasn’t a French fry to be found! I can only imagine what Nat would say! The prices weren’t cheap, either. Including the cost of admission, we spent about $110 to experience the Peach Pit pop-up and I can’t say it was really worth it.
To be fair, the Peach Pit was originally supposed to run for three days only, but it proved so popular that Fox and Pop Sugar handed over the reins to the team behind the Saved by the Bell-inspired pop-up Saved by the Max who extended things an additional six weeks. I don’t think the space was built to withstand that much time.
And I know it must sound like I’m nitpicking here, but I wasn’t the only one. I can’t tell you the number of people I overheard at nearby tables expressing dismay at how poorly executed the whole thing was. Several of my neighbors had been to Saved by the Max and were shocked at how much the Peach Pit paled by comparison. One party even asked for their money back upon entering and taking a look at the menu.
Nevertheless, the space was chock full of nostalgia and I don’t regret my visit for a moment – though I can’t say I’d feel comfortable recommending my fellow stalkers shell out $100+ to attend if the pop-up ever re-opens.
It is pretty fortuitous that the original Johnny Rockets was chosen as the site of the pop-up being that Brandon Walsh (Jason Priestley) drove Sheryl (Paula Irvine) by the restaurant while sightseeing in the Season 1 episode of Beverly Hills, 90210 titled “The First Time,” which aired in 1990. Amazingly, despite the passage of three decades (say whaaat?) and a change in paint color, the place is still very recognizable from its cameo. But that’s not the eatery’s only 90210 connection!
Jason also posed for photographer Jonathan Exley at the Melrose Place Johnny Rockets in 1991.
I remember my thirteen-year-old self first seeing the spread in a teen magazine and knowing instantly that the shoot took place at a Johnny Rockets, though I was unclear which one. When I first visited the Melrose outpost years later, I recognized it immediately and couldn’t have been more thrilled!
But wait, there’s one more Beverly Hills, 90210 tie! The burger joint was also featured weekly in the opening credits of the show’s 1992 spinoff, Melrose Place, which you can watch here.
For more stalking fun, follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Los Angeles magazine and Discover Los Angeles.
Until next time, Happy Stalking! 
Stalk It: The Peach Pit Pop-up, aka the original Johnny Rockets from “The First Time” episode of Beverly Hills, 90210 and the Melrose Place opening credits, was formerly located at 7507 Melrose Avenue in Los Angeles’ Fairfax District. Sadly, both the restaurant and the pop-up are now closed.
Fair Oaks Burger from “Little Fires Everywhere”
I have never been a burger girl (I know, I know), but I’ve long been familiar with Altadena staple Fair Oaks Burger. The veteran eatery sits at the northern end of Fair Oaks Avenue and, though I never popped in for a bite, I passed by it countless times throughout the 15+ years I lived in the area. So I was thrilled when a reader informed me the place would be making an appearance in the new Hulu series Little Fires Everywhere and promptly ran out to stalk it while in L.A. in January prior to my dad’s surgery. I have been anxiously awaiting its appearance ever since and was happy to finally see it pop up in last week’s episode titled “Picture Perfect.” Though its cameo was brief, I figured the locale was still worthy of a post.
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While it seems like Fair Oaks Burger has been around forever, from what I’ve been able to gather, the restaurant was actually founded in 1984.
The burger stand was the brainchild of the Lee family. Though it always operated under the Fair Oaks Burger name, the Lees leased the restaurant out to a different party in 1998 before ultimately returning to take over the reins again in 2008.
Today, the eatery is run by Jung Ja Lee and her daughter, Christy.
As the name suggests, Fair Oaks Burger serves up standard American fare like hamburgers and onion rings, but there are also a plethora of Mexican and Chinese offerings on the diverse menu.
Unfortunately, the restaurant was closed when I showed up to stalk it, so not only was I unable to sample any of the dishes (which I’ve heard are stellar!) . . .
. . . but I was only able to take interior photos through the front windows.
It is in the drive-thru of Fair Oaks Burger that Lexie Richardson (Jade Pettyjohn) and Brian Harlins (Stevonte Hart) get into a heated discussion concerning race in the “Picture Perfect” episode of Little Fires Everywhere. The burger stand looks much the same in person as it did onscreen, minus the snowy detritus, of course.
Though I learned about the restaurant’s appearance on the show long before it started airing, it wouldn’t have been hard to ID the place had I not. As you can see below, the name “Fair Oaks Burger” was visible on the uniform of the cashier in the scene.
Fair Oaks Burger actually has a slew of appearances on its resume! The restaurant poses as Haddonfield Char-Broiled Burger, where Dr. Samuel Loomis (Malcolm McDowell) first meets with Sheriff Lee Brackett (Brad Dourif), in the 2007 Halloween remake.
It pops up as Big Joey’s, where John (James Brolin) and Joan (Dianne Wiest) painstakingly attempt to grab a milkshake, in the Season 1 episode of Life in Pieces titled “Burn Vasectomy Milkshake Pong,” which aired in 2015.
Javon Beard (Sam Adegoke) also takes his girlfriend for a date at the restaurant, which masks as a fried chicken joint, in 2017’s Michael Jackson: Searching for Neverland. Only the interior of the space was utilized, though.
The establishing shot shown is of Southwest Diner at 761 Nevada Highway in Boulder City, Nevada, which I learned from fellow stalker Walter.
For more stalking fun, follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Los Angeles magazine and Discover Los Angeles.
Until next time, Happy Stalking! 
Stalk It: Fair Oaks Burger, from the “Picture Perfect” episode of Little Fires Everywhere, is located at 2560 North Fair Oaks Avenue in Altadena. You can visit the eatery’s official website here.
Casa Vega from “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”
One of the things I most appreciate about Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is the lengths director Quentin Tarantino went to portray an authentic 1960s-era Los Angeles onscreen. To that end, he featured several local historic restaurants from the time that are, thankfully, still around today, including Musso and Frank Grill, El Coyote, and Casa Vega. The latter is a spot I am very familiar with. I’ve dined at the Sherman Oaks landmark several times over the years and even blogged about it once back in 2008. Due to its recent cameo, though, I figured a more current post was in order, so the Grim Cheaper and I headed out there for a bite last September.
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Initially founded in 1956, Casa Vega was the brainchild of Rafael ‘Ray’ Vega, who grew up helping his parents run their own eatery, Café Caliente, on downtown L.A.’s famous Olvera Street. He first set up shop in a small corner space at Ventura Boulevard and Mary Ellen Avenue. The place was such a hit that, within two years, Ray needed to expand and he moved Casa Vega to its current location, a larger site two blocks west at 13301 Ventura.
One of Los Angeles’ oldest continuously operating restaurants, today Casa Vega is run by Ray’s daughter, Christina, who began working on the premises in 1999 upon graduating from college. The eatery has remained just as popular as ever with her at the helm.
Little of the landmark site has been changed since opening day over six decades ago. The lighting remains dim, the same tufted red leather booths line the walls, and the kitchen still spoons out dishes based on Ray’s mother’s recipes. The fare is so delicious that Zagat even rated the place one of L.A.’s best Mexican spots!
Thanks to its stellar food and low lighting, Casa Vega has been a celebrity draw since the beginning. Just a few of the luminaries who have been spotted on the premises over the years include Marlon Brando, Dean Martin, Desi Arnaz, Sandra Bullock, Al Pacino, Jane Fonda, Dyan Cannon, Cary Grant, Miley Cyrus, Selena Gomez, Mark Wahlberg, Heather Locklear, Avril Lavigne, Mariah Carey, Jennifer Aniston, Nick Lachey, Vanessa Minnillo, George Clooney, Michael Jackson, Gwen Stefani, Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks, Nicole Richie, Joel Madden, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Jake Gyllenhaal, Justin Timberlake, Charlize Theron, Anthony Hopkins, and Emma Watson. Tarantino is also a huge fan of the restaurant, so it’s no surprise he chose to feature it in his latest flick.
Casa Vega actually pops up twice in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. It first appears as the supposed Almeria, Spain-area restaurant where Rick Dalton (Leonardo DiCaprio) tells Cliff Booth (Brad Pitt) that he can no longer afford to keep him on as his right-hand man.
That segment took place in the dining room that sits adjacent to the bar. As you can see below, Casa Vega’s rear door was swapped out with a more picturesque one for the shoot.
At the end of the movie, Casa Vega plays itself. It is there that Cliff and Rick dine as a last hurrah before going their separate ways.
That scene was filmed in the rear corner booth of the restaurant’s main dining room.
The front of the eatery was also shown in the segment.
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is not the only production to shoot at the acclaimed restaurant. In the 1978 comedy The End, Wendell Sonny Lawson (Burt Reynolds) tracks his lawyer, Marty Lieberman (David Steinberg), down at Casa Vega and crashes his lunch.
Julie Richman (Deborah Foreman) and Randy (Nicolas Cage) walk by the eatery while on a date in the 1983 classic Valley Girl, though only its neon sign is shown.
Designer Jeff Lewis gives Casa Vega’s exterior and entrance a bit of a facelift in the fourth season of the reality show Flipping Out, which aired in 2010.
The Kardashians really like the place! Per the Reality Tea website, the family’s eponymous series, Keeping Up with the Kardashians, has filmed at the eatery no less than 6 times, including in the episodes “Kris’s Mother-in-Law,” “Design for Disaster,” “The New Normal,” “Cheers to That,” “Fire Escape,” and “Some Moms Just Wanna Have Fun” (pictured below), which aired in 2013. Please forgive me for not posting caps from each episode – it took all I had just to scan through the one!
Eden Sassoon and Lisa Rinna lunch at Casa Vega in the Season 7 episode of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills titled “Compromising Positions,” which aired in 2017. While there Eden tells Lisa, “We love it here cause of the lighting.”
Casa Vega also apparently made an appearance in the Season 1 episode of Barnaby Jones titled “See Some Evil . . . Do Some Evil” back in 1973, but, unfortunately, I could not find the show available to stream anywhere.
Sadly, Casa Vega is currently closed to the COVID-19 pandemic. Shuttering was not a move the restaurant took lightly. In fact, per a 2016 Los Angeles Times write-up, Casa Vega was one of the few area establishments that was open for business the day after the Northridge Earthquake in 1994. As Christina wrote on the eatery’s Instagram, “As soon as it is safe to welcome everyone to our bar and tables we will do so. The storm can’t last forever. The sun will come. Margaritas will flow again.” Cheers to that!
For more stalking fun, follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Los Angeles magazine and Discover Los Angeles.
Until next time, Happy Stalking! 
Stalk It: Casa Vega, from Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, is located at 13301 Ventura Boulevard in Sherman Oaks. The eatery is currently closed indefinitely due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Check its official website for updates.
Le Petit Paris from “Little Fires Everywhere”
Reese Witherspoon is deserving of a major ‘thank you’ from me! Per the actress’ recent productions, I have been introduced to two fabulous downtown Los Angeles restaurants! The first, The Wolves, popped up twice on her Apple TV+ series The Morning Show. And now, via Little Fires Everywhere, I’ve discovered Le Petit Paris, a striking French brasserie situated on the ground floor of the El Dorado Lofts building. I was actually tipped off about the eatery and the filming that took place there last year by a fellow stalker who works in the area. Though I had never heard of the place, one look at Google images had me transfixed! I was fairly certain I had never come across a more gorgeous space in my life. So my mom and I headed out there for happy hour mid-January while in town for one of my dad’s pre-surgical doctor appointments. We returned the following week for dinner after a long day at the hospital just prior to my dad’s surgery. Neither time did it disappoint.
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The El Dorado Lofts building was originally constructed as the Hotel Stowell in 1913. The 12-story, 264-room lodging, commissioned by financier Nathan Wilson Stowell, was designed in the Art Nouveau and Gothic Revival styles by architects Frederick Noonan and William Richards. You can see what the exterior looked like in its early days here.
Upscale and ornate, the hotel catered to wealthy businessmen called to the area for work, though some celebrities also checked in. Charlie Chaplin even lived there for a time, though, surprisingly, per the Paradise Leased blog, he later described it as “a middle-rate place but new and comfortable.” It sure looks like it was pretty fancy to me! Constructed with all locally-sourced materials, the sweeping two-level lobby boasted a grand staircase, gold leaf columns, and a plethora of Batchelder tilework.
Patronage declined during the Great Depression resulting in the building being sold in 1938. It eventually became a low-budget residential hotel known as the El Dorado. The place continued to deteriorate in the years that followed and by the 1980s, it sat abandoned and remained so for the next two decades. The Gilmore and Associates development team finally stepped in, purchasing the building in 2000 and transforming the former hotel rooms into luxury condos, a project that was completed in 2010. (You can check out images of two of the revamped units here and here.) The once-grand lobby was made available as a possible restaurant space and it was then that David and Fanny Rolland set their sights on it. (You can see what it looked like at the time here.)
The husband and wife duo, who hail from France and previously founded two eateries in Cannes, began transforming the 8,000-square-foot space into a magical Parisian-inspired oasis.
Le Petit Paris opened its doors in September 2015.
To say that the 300-seat restaurant is striking would be a gross understatement.
I mean, come on!
With massive skylights, sparkling crystal chandeliers, two bars, a large patio, a fireplace, a towering split staircase, subtle pink and red accents, and a spectacular mosaic floor, Le Petit Paris is easily one of L.A.’s most gorgeous spots!
I especially loved the painting of Leonardo DiCaprio as Jay Gatsby hung near the bar.
Had to do it!
The food at Le Petit Paris is as delicious as the place is beautiful! Both the executive chef and the executive pastry chef hail from France and all of the menu items are homemade on the premises. During our initial happy hour visit, I had a glass of champagne (natch!) and my mom ordered the carpaccio, which she was thoroughly obsessed with. She talked about it for days afterward! So on our second visit, in which we grabbed dinner in the dining room, she was seriously bummed to discover that the carpaccio was only available on the happy hour menu. (She did love the French onion soup she wound up ordering, though.) The following morning, when we arrived at the hospital, my dad asked how our dinner was. When my mom expressed her extreme dismay at not being able to order her beloved carpaccio, my dad looked down at his hospital gown and many IVS, turned to her and said, “Yeah, I feel so sorry for you.” We laughed about that one for days afterward. 
In Little Fires Everywhere, Elena Richardson (Reese Witherspoon) meets up with her former boyfriend, Jamie Caplan (Luke Bracey), at Le Petit Paris, which is said to be in New York, in the episode titled “Duo.”
During our first visit, I asked the bartender about the filming of Little Fires Everywhere and he informed us that while he did not work at the restaurant at the time, ironically he was an extra in the scene that shot on the premises! When he applied for a job at Le Petit Paris months later, he did not realize it was the same place. It was only when he showed up for his interview that he made the connection.
Sadly, Le Petit Paris is currently closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. When the world gets back to normal (oh, what a fabulous day that will be!), I am very much looking forward to sipping a glass of bubbly in one of the restaurant’s plush chairs, soaking up the magical ambiance of the place.
For more stalking fun, follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Los Angeles magazine and Discover Los Angeles.
Until next time, Happy Stalking!
Stalk It: Le Petit Paris, from the “Duo” episode of Little Fires Everywhere, is located at 418 South Spring Street in downtown Los Angeles. You can visit the restaurant’s official website here. Please be advised that the eatery is temporarily closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Check its website for any updates.
Blossom Restaurant from “The Morning Show”
I have had to venture out to downtown L.A. several times over the past few months due to some medical issues my dad is having (his main doctor is there). The silver lining during this stressful time (besides the fact that things seem to be progressing in the right direction for him now, knock on wood!) is that the Millennium Biltmore, the hotel we booked for each of our stays, is within walking distance to the vast majority of filming locations from The Morning Show! Needless to say, I did a lot of stalking while in town! One spot I stopped by on our most recent visit was Blossom restaurant, which masked as the New York deli where Claire Conway (Bel Powley) called Hannah Shoenfeld (Gugu Mbatha-Raw) to apologize in the freshman series’ Season 1 finale, titled “The Interview.”
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Blossom was founded by Vietnamese-born restaurateur Duc Pham in March 2006. Growing up in Anaheim (his family fled their native land following the war, which is a story in and of itself), Duc regularly helped his mom in the kitchen, where he learned how to prepare all of her favorite meals. Though a love of food and cooking was infused in him at a young age, his route to the restaurant industry was rather circuitous, with detours that included studying literature at Oxford and a brief foray into advertising. He ultimately left the business world in 2000 to help his sister establish a new eatery in Chinatown named Via Café. Six years later, he was ready to branch out on his own and opened Blossom.
For this new endeavor, Pham leased the street level corner unit of downtown L.A.’s Canadian Building, a 1904 structure that originally served as the local Canadian Consulate. Designed by the Parkinson & Bergstrom architecture firm, the property was abandoned in the 1960s and sat vacant for 15 years before being resurrected as a mixed-use residential complex. Prior to Blossom’s open, the corner space, which fronts Main and Winston Streets, housed an electronics store.
Directly involved with all aspects of his new eatery, Pham designed the contemporary interior himself, even going so far as to handcraft its wooden tables! Though Blossom was, unfortunately, closed when we showed up to stalk it, the inside was visible through the front windows and it is nothing short of charming. You can check out some photos of it here.
Popular from the get-go, the eatery soon underwent a series of expansions, a sister restaurant in Silver Lake was born, and Pham eventually took over Via Café, transforming it into his third Blossom location.
I first learned about the restaurant last May while poking around the area on Google Street View amid doing research for my post on the Western Union office from The Sting. I noticed Blossom, situated half a block away, immediately thanks to its decidedly New York feel. Figuring the place was a coffee shop, I made a mental note to stop by the next time I was in town. Further digging informed me Blossom was actually a full-service Vietnamese restaurant which intrigued me further. So when it popped up on The Morning Show a few months later, I recognized it straight away.
The blue street sign visible behind Claire in the scene was also a dead giveaway that the segment was shot in downtown L.A. and not NYC as purported on the show.
Blossom was dressed up a bit for the shoot, with large trees placed on either side of the front door. An enclosed area with sidewalk seating was also apparent in the scene. Though no longer intact, per Google Street View that patio was a real feature of the restaurant that has since, for whatever reason, been removed.
The Blossom space actually has quite the onscreen pedigree.
Paul Kimbrough (Max Kleven) lives in the Canadian Building and walks by the corner storefront in the Season 1 episode of Kojak titled “Requiem for a Cop,” which aired in 1973. At the time, the Blossom space was divided into two units, an eatery named The Red Apple and a jewelry repair store.
Though renumbered “3424,” the Blossom site appears twice in Devil in a Blue Dress – first in the 1995 drama’s opening sequence.
Later in the movie, Easy Rawlins (Denzel Washington) parks in front of the storefront while on his way to confront Joppy (Mel Winkler).
The locale portrays Waters & Sons Record Shop in an establishing shot of 1950’s Los Angeles in the 2004 biopic Ray. Look closely, though, and you’ll see that the image is actually re-used footage from Devil in a Blue Dress, interestingly enough.
In the 2009 dramedy (500) Days of Summer, Tom (Joseph Gordan-Levitt) lives in the Canadian Building, though the Blossom space is not seen.
And Blossom’s sister restaurant in Chinatown (the former Via Café space) has also appeared onscreen. It is there that Mia (Emma Stone) emails out invitations to her one-woman show in the 2016 musical La La Land.
For more stalking fun, follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Los Angeles magazine and Discover Los Angeles.
Until next time, Happy Stalking! 
Stalk It: Blossom restaurant, from “The Interview” episode of The Morning Show, is located at 426 South Main Street in downtown Los Angeles. You can visit the eatery’s official website here. The Western Union office from The Sting is right around the corner at 118 Winston Street. The Blossom outpost featured in La La Land can be found at 451 Gin Ling Way in Chinatown.
Ugo Café from “The Morning Show”
The Season 1 finale of The Morning Show might have been one of the finest hours of television ever created! It left me equal parts heartbroken, disgusted, and hopeful, with the last few minutes propelling me out of my seat, literally jumping for joy and teeming with spit and vinegar, ready to take on the world! It was a whirlwind of emotion, to say the least. I was also ecstatic to see Ugo café, yet another location I previously stalked, pop up onscreen. I learned of the DTLA eatery’s use on the freshman Apple TV+ series a while back thanks to an anonymous reader who works in the area and witnessed the filming. So I, of course, had to pop by while in town for a doctor appointment for my dad shortly before Thanksgiving.
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Ugo is a relative newcomer to the DTLA restaurant scene.
The charming coffee shop opened in early 2016 in a West 6th Street space that formerly housed a casual diner named Bruno Cafe.
Its sister eatery in Culver City has been an area staple since 2006, though. Per Ugo’s website, that location is “the only Italian restaurant on the westside of Los Angeles that is VPN certified for authentic Neapolitan pizza.” For those not well-versed in all things Neapolitan, such certification has only been granted to 94 spots in the entire U.S. and guarantees the pizza offerings are “prepared and served according to traditional standards with authentic ingredients. The same way the first pizza was created hundreds of years ago in Naples, Italy.”
The DTLA outpost offers Italian-inspired bites, including fresh-baked pastries, paninis made in-house, salads, pasta (they even have gluten-free noodles!), pizza, soups, coffees, teas, and homemade gelato, which is crafted daily on the premises.
Though I only popped by for a quick looksie and did not get to sample any of the fare, Ugo is an adorable little spot that seems a perfect addition to the neighborhood. Just steps from several hotels, including the Millennium Biltmore, Hilton Checkers, and Westin Bonaventure, not to mention countless office buildings, it makes for an inviting pit stop. And it does have a very New York feel to it, so it is no surprise that it wound up on the NYC-set The Morning Show.
It is at Ugo that Chip Black (Mark Duplass) brings his assistant, Rena (Victoria Tate), in on the plan to stage a secret on-air interview with Mitch Kessler (Steve Carell) in the series’ finale, titled “The Interview.” Only the exterior of the restaurant is featured onscreen, though the interior is quite visible through the windows behind Chip and Rena throughout the segment.
I wouldn’t be at all surprised if Ugo popped up onscreen again in other productions in the months to come. Who knows, it may even feature in the second season of The Morning Show, which, thank goodness, has been given the green light!
For more stalking fun, follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Los Angeles magazine and Discover Los Angeles.
Until next time, Happy Stalking! 
Stalk It: Ugo, from “The Interview” episode of The Morning Show, is located at 502 West 6th Street in downtown Los Angeles. You can visit the eatery’s official website here.