Kung Pao China Bistro from “The Office”

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Last Thursday night’s episode of The Office which was titled “The Search” was hands-down one of my all-time favorite episodes of the series ever!  I absolutely LOVED, LOVED, LOVED it!  So, when fellow stalker Owen sent me an email the following day which listed all of the locations featured in it, I just about died of excitement!  As it turns out, Owen loved the episode just about as much as I did and spent a few hours tracking down each and every locale where filming had taken place.  The one I was most excited about stalking was Mr. Choo’s Chinese Food restaurant, which in reality is Kung Pao China Bistro located in Studio City.  So I dragged the Grim Cheaper right on over there after stalking the nearby Aroma Coffee & Tea Company which I blogged about yesterday.  Well, amazingly enough, when we pulled up to the restaurant, the GC informed me that he had not only eaten there before, but that he had eaten there regularly while living in the Sherman Oaks area a little over a decade ago!  As it turns out, Kung Pao China Bistro was one of his mom’s very favorite Los Angeles restaurants and every time she came to visit she would insist on dining there.  Well, believe you me, as soon as I heard that I gave him quite a lashing being that he had watched “The Search” episode of The Office with me!  How he did not recognize a place that he used to visit regularly is absolutely beyond me!  I mean, have I not taught him anything???  Winking smile 

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In “The Search”, Michael Scott (aka Steve Carell) and Jim Halpert (aka John Krasinski) goes on a sales call in Scranton, Pennsylvania.  While stopping at a local gas station (which in reality is the Civic Center Gas Station and Mini Mart located at 6171 Van Nuys Boulevard in Van Nuys), so that Michael can use the restroom, Jim gets an emergency phone call and winds up leaving Michael stranded, without a wallet or a cell phone.  Instead of panicking, Michael decides to take the opportunity to go on a “walkabout” and one of his stops is Mr. Choo’s Chinese Food where he eats a large meal even though he has no money to pay for it.  Well, Mr. Choo is none too happy with Michael’s “dine and dash” plan and decides to punish him in the best way he knows how.

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In the meantime, Erin Hannon (aka Ellie Kemper), Holly Flax (aka Amy Ryan), and Dwight Schrute (aka Rainn Wilson) go on a “manhunt/rescue mission” to track Michael down and bring him safely back to the Dunder Mifflin office. 

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They end up wandering into Mr. Choo’s, only to they discover that Michael has been placed on the restaurant’s “Thief Wall”.

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And in a genius bit of writing, after Dwight, Erin, and Holly leave Mr. Choo’s, the camera closes in on a photograph of fellow Dunder Mifflin-ite Creed Bratton (aka Creed Bratton) on the “Thief Wall”, a moment which had me literally LOL-ing.  Smile

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The owners of Kung Pao China Bistro literally could NOT have been nicer and allowed me to take all the photographs of the place that I wanted, even though I was not actually dining there.  They also answered all of my silly little questions about the filming and told me that everyone involved was extremely nice. 

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The owner also let me know that the reason her property was ultimately chosen for the episode was because of the large parking lot situated directly adjacent to the restaurant.  The location manager was apparently very excited that there was a parking area where all of the production trucks could be held that was in such close proximity to where filming would be taking place.

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I could not remember exactly where the “Thief Wall” was located in the episode (which is why I really need to start carrying screen captures with me when I go on these stalking ventures!), so I unfortunately did not get a good photograph of the right spot.  It is just to the right of the restaurant’s front door, though.

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

Until next time, Happy Stalking!  Smile

Stalk It: Kung Pao China Bistro, aka Mr. Choo’s Chinese Food restaurant from the “The Search” episode of The Office, is located at 11838 Ventura Boulevard in Studio City.  The Civic Center Gas Station and Mini Mart which was also featured in the episode is located at 6171 Van Nuys Boulevard in Van Nuys

Aroma Coffee & Tea Company in Studio City

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As I mentioned in Monday’s post, despite my drama-filled day on Friday, this past weekend actually turned out to be pretty darn nice.  It all started with a Saturday morning stalking trip out to Studio City’s Aroma Coffee & Tea Company, which I had read about the previous week while doing some online research on the similarly-named Aroma Bakery & Café on Sunset Boulevard.  As it turns out, Aroma Coffee & Tea Company is a big-time celebrity hotspot and since I love all things having to do with coffee and celebrities, I was absolutely DYING to stalk the place!  So, bright and early Saturday morning I dragged the Grim Cheaper right on out there.  And let me tell you,  I pretty much fell in love with the place immediately upon walking through its front doors.  The full-service café is actually a former residence which owner Mark Gunsky transformed into a restaurant just about fifteen years ago.  And I have to say that the result of his work is quite possibly the most charming little café I have ever visited.

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The quaint little Aroma Coffee & Tea Company is tucked away on Studio City’s bustling Tujunga Avenue and one could easily walk right by it without even realizing it was there. 

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But that has apparently not been a problem because, as you can see in the above photographs, the place was absolutely JAM-PACKED when we showed up to stalk it.  We could hardly get in the door!  It is not very hard to see why the shop has become so popular over the years, though.

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There literally wasn’t one thing about the café that I didn’t absolutely LOVE – from the adorable little French bistro tables situated on the front sidewalk;

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to the charming living room area complete with working fireplace and built-in bookshelves;

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to the front porch;

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to the quaint backyard;

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to Portrait of a Bookstore, the teeny tiny little bookstore/gift shop tucked into the back of the Aroma space, which Yelp recently named “pound for pound, the coolest bookstore in L.A., if not the entire world”.  Every aspect of Aroma Coffee & Tea Company was warm and welcoming and I absolutely cannot wait to go back there for a re-stalk!  Oh and the coffee was FABULOUS, too!  It was just as good as Starbucks and while some people might consider that a jab, in my eyes there is no higher compliment when it comes to coffee! 

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Just a few of the stars who have been spotted at Aroma Coffee & Tea Company in recent months include Ashley Tisdale, Vanessa Hudgens, Rachel Bilson, Zac Efron, AnnaLynne McCord, Ashley Greene, Kellan Lutz, Vanessa Minnillo, Heather Morris (aka Glee’s Brittany Pierce), and William Shatner.  In fact, the place is such a celebrity hotspot that back in November of 2007 TMZ conducted a video feed of the premises which it streamed live on its site!  LOL

Until next time, Happy Stalking!  Smile

Stalk It: Aroma Coffee & Tea Company is located at 4360 Tujunga Avenue in Studio City.  You can visit the restaurant’s official website here.

Drago Ristorante from “Entourage”

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Last Monday afternoon, I found myself having to kill a few hours of time while my car was being repaired at a mechanic’s shop on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood, so I headed across the street to grab a latte and some lunch at a restaurant named Aroma Bakery & Café.  I had never before dined at Aroma, but thought the name sounded vaguely familiar and had a brief recollection that it had once been featured on the hit HBO television series Entourage.  Well, my memory is obviously not quite as good as I thought because as it turns out the restaurant was never actually featured on the show (it was Urth Café that I had been thinking of), but my mis-memory ended up to be very fortuitous.  While I was researching Aroma Bakery on my Blackberry, I came across a thread on the Chowhound website detailing numerous area restaurants which had been featured on Entourage and I almost fell off of my chair when I saw that one of the eateries mentioned was Drago Ristorante in Santa Monica, a place that I have actually dined at numerous times before, but had never realized was a filming location!  Then I almost fell off my chair once again when I received a call from the Grim Cheaper a few days later, informing me that his boss had just invited us to dinner at Drago Ristorante that Friday night!!!  Talk about synchronicity!  So, a few days later the GC and I headed out to the West Side for some dinner and some Entourage stalking.  Yay!

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Drago Ristorante was originally opened in 1991 by native Sicilian chef Celestino Drago, who had previously founded Celestino restaurant in Beverly Hills.  Drago became a virtual overnight success and now, almost two decades later, it is a veritable Santa Monica institution.  Celestino has also become something of a celebrity chef along the way and has since opened up several other eateries including Dolce Forno bakery in Culver City, Entoneca Drago and Il Pastaio, both in Beverly Hills, Drago Centro in Downtown Los Angeles, and Celestino in Pasadena.  And I have to say that Drago is EXCELLENT!  I opted for the Petto Di Pollo, Funghi  Trifolati entrée which featured king trumpet mushrooms that were quite possibly the largest mushrooms I have ever seen in my entire life!  They were A-MA-ZING and I would have honestly been happy eating a handful of them by themselves, but I , of course, also chose to gouge myself on the chicken which was doused in a light truffle sauce.  And, oh my lord, was it good!  I should forewarn my fellow stalkers that the restaurant is on the pricey side, so if you are looking for a reasonable night out, Drago would not be a good choice.  If you don’t mind dropping a couple pennies, though, it is ENTIRELY worth the expense.

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In the “Oh, Mandy” episode of Entourage, Vince Chase (aka Adrian Grenier) meets up with Mandy Moore, who played herself on the series, at Drago Ristorante in order to talk about the upcoming movie Aquaman, in which they are both set to star.  While the two are dining, Eric Murphy (aka Kevin Connolly), Johnny ‘Drama’ Chase (aka Kevin Dillon), and Turtle (aka Jerry Ferrara) wait for Vince in their car out in front of the restaurant.  Drago Ristorante also appeared in an early season episode of fave reality show The Bachelor, although I am not sure of exactly which episode or which season. The place is also something of a celebrity hot spot.  The GC’s boss saw Ed ‘Neill, Anne Bancroft, Mel Brooks, and Garry Marshall there all on one night a few years back!

Entourage Locations

On an Entourage side note – Thanks again to the Chowhound website, I recently discovered that HBO has a locations tab on the Entourage section of its website  which lists the main locales featured in each and every episode of the show.  HOW INCREDIBLY COOL IS THAT???  Why do ALL shows not do this????  Love it!  Love it!  Love it!

Until next time, Happy Stalking!  Smile

Stalk It: Drago Ristorante, from the “Oh, Mandy” episode of Entourage, is located at 2628 Wilshire Boulevard in Santa Monica.

Susina Bakery & Cafe from “90210”

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One location that I have been on the lookout for for almost two years now is the café where Adrianna Tate-Duncan (aka Jessica Lowndes) ran into former boyfriend Navid Shirazi (aka Michael Steger) in the Season 1 Valentine’s Day-themed episode of 90210 titled “Of Heartbreaks and Hotels”.  What can I say?  Because I am such a coffee fiend, I am an absolute sucker for any sort of filming location that involves a café of some sort.  For whatever reason, though, I just could not seem to find the place and, after a few months of looking, promptly forgot about it.  Then, two weeks ago, the Grim Cheaper and I were out doing some stalking in the Beverly Hills area when we decided to grab a quick bite to eat.  In a fortuitous turn of events, I consulted my Blackberry to find restaurants near to where we were stalking and happened upon the website for Susina Bakery & Café.  Thanks to its distinct yellow-colored walls and cherry wood décor, I recognized the place immediately as Navid and Adrianna’s coffee shop.  And while we did not end up eating there that day, I quickly added the restaurant to my ever-growing To-Stalk list and finally dragged the GC out there this past Saturday afternoon for a late lunch.  Yay!

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Susina Bakery & Cafe, which originally opened in late 2002 under the name Sugar Plum Bakery, resembles an old-fashioned European patisserie and was designed by Bill Brzeski, the award-winning production designer responsible for the look of such films as Matilda, As Good As It Gets, The Hangover, Catwoman, and Stuart Little 1 and 2.  The shop was founded by Jenna Turner, a chef who grew up in the business thanks to her mom who owned and operated SugarPlum Bakery in Deal, New Jersey.   After receiving a Masters in Business and training under such legendary chefs as Wolfgang Puck and Fred Eric, Jenna teamed up with pastry chef Anna Delorefice to open a bakery of her very own.  The place was a virtual overnight success, with such stars as Halle Berry, Audrina Patridge, and Oliver Martinez all stopping by for a bite to eat.  In 2004, the duo changed the name of their restaurant to Susina, which means “plum” in Italian, so as not to be confused with the commercial bakery Sugar Plum, Inc. in Virginia Beach.

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And while the cakes and sweets at Susina are rumored to be out of this world, because I am diabetic, I regretfully was not able to sample any.  But I did absolutely fall in love with the “Kiss Me”/”Hug Me” cookies pictured above.  Aren’t they adorable?!?!  And I can honestly say that Susina’s cobb salad was hands down one of the best I have ever eaten in my entire life!   I honestly don’t know what was in that thing, but it was unlike any other salad I have ever before experienced!  I literally ate every last bite – there was not one scrap of lettuce or morsel of blue cheese left in that bowl!  It was simply A-MA-ZING!  The GC also loved his homemade turkey and white cheddar cheese panini.  Susina is also absolutely ADORABLE and it is not very hard to see how it ended up being featured as a location on 90210.

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In the “Of Heartbreaks and Hotels” episode of 90210, recently-broken-up former flames Navid and Adrianna accidentally run into each other at Susina Bakery & Cafe on Valentine’s Day and awkwardness, of course, ensues.  It was quite lucky that we happened to stalk the bakery when we did as it was all dressed up for Valentine’s Day, much the same as it was when it appeared on 90210.

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The “Of Heartbreaks and Hotels” episode of 90210 will always hold a very special place in my heart as it marks the first time that fave actor Matt Lanter appeared as bad boy Liam Court on the show.  But I digress.

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Oddly enough, Susina Bakery & Café VERY closely resembles a different coffee shop (pictured above) where Adrianna and Navid, who have once again broken up, accidentally run into each other in the Season 2 episode of 90210 titled “Another Another Chance”.  And unfortunately, as was the case with Susina, I am having quite a bit of trouble tracking this one down.  Ideas anyone?  It seems to be some sort of a florist/cafe and if I had to guess I’d say it was located somewhere in the San Pedro/South Bay area.

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I honestly cannot recommend stalking Susina Bakery & Cafe enough!  The food and ambiance are both FABULOUS and the prices are very reasonable, which pleased the GC to no end.  I have a feeling the restaurant is going to become one of my regular haunts in the very near future.

Until next time, Happy Stalking!  Smile

Stalk It: Susina Bakery & Café, from the “Of Heartbreaks and Hotels” episode of 90210, is located at 7122 Beverly Boulevard, just off of North La Brea Avenue, in Los Angeles.  You can visit the restaurant’s official website here.

72 North – The Real Life Emerald City Bar from “Grey’s Anatomy”

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While Mike, from MovieShotsLA, and I were watching True Blood being filmed in Pasadena last Wednesday night, we got to talking with the owner of The Old Towne Pub about all of the filming that has taken place in the area over the years.  The owner was extremely knowledgeable and clued us in to a lot of locations that neither of us had previously known about, the most exciting of which for me was the downstairs bar of the former McMurphy’s Restaurant & Tavern, now 72 North, which is used as the supposed Seattle-area Emerald City Bar where all of the Seattle Grace interns hang out each week on the hit television series Grey’s Anatomy.  I was EXTREMELY interested in stalking McMurphy’s upon finding out that after filming the Season 2 episode of the series titled “Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head” on location there, producers had an exact replica of the place rebuilt at ABC Prospect Studios, where Grey’s Anatomy is lensed, that they then used for filming each and every week, which I thought was just about the coolest thing ever!  Even though I have never watched Grey’s Anatomy, finding that out was like discovering that Central Perk from Friends was modeled after a real life coffee shop that one could actually visit!  So incredibly cool!  Sadly, McMurphy’s Restaurant and Tavern closed its doors a few years ago and the new owners completely gutted and remodeled the place, renamed it Dullahans, and it subsequently closed down yet again just a short while later.  It was then sold once again to new owners and renamed 72 North.  Miraculously though, through all of the changes of ownership and the extensive remodel, the downstairs bar area was left untouched and still looks pretty much exactly the same today as it did when Grey’s Anatomy first filmed there back in 2005.  YAY!  So, this past Friday night I dragged the Grim Cheaper right on out to stalk the place.

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Ever since Emerald City Bar, or Joe’s Bar as it is also sometimes referred to on Grey’s Anatomy, appeared in the “Raindrops Keep Falling on my Head” episode, it has been featured almost weekly on the series as the regular hangout of Meredith Grey (aka Ellen Pompeo), Christina Yang (aka Sandra Oh), Derek Shepherd (aka Patrick Dempsey), and the rest of the Seattle Grace gang.  The above screen captures were taken from the “Raindrops” episode, during which filming took place at the actual downstairs bar area of McMurphy’s Restaurant & Tavern.

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The above screen captures were taken from later episodes of the series, during which filming took place at the studio-built replica of the bar.

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The downstairs bar area at 72 North is currently only used for special events and private parties, but one of the super-friendly bartenders offered to open it up for me so that I could snap a few pictures of the place.  And even though Bartender Joe’s Seattle-inspired decorations were of course no longer in place, the bar is still very recognizable from the series.  So incredibly cool! 

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Unfortunately, I did not get a great picture of the bar’s front doors while I was stalking the place, but you can kind of see them in the above photograph.

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72 North’s downstairs room can actually be reached via an exterior staircase much like it was portrayed on Grey’s Anatomy.

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72 North has a kind of sports/dive bar-type atmosphere, but, let me tell you, the food they serve there is nothing short of FABULOUS!  This is not your ordinary bar food in any way, shape, or form!  The chicken was cooked to absolute perfection and, as I have mentioned numerous times before, I am extremely picky about my chicken.  The GC and I ordered up a vegetable plate while we were there  and not only was it amazing, but it was also absolutely HUGE!  It was literally the size of a platter one would serve at a party!  And the cost of that vegetable dish?  Because it was happy hour, the tray was only $3!  I am not kidding!  Our entire meal came to $27 and we each had a cocktail!  Needless to say, the GC was absolutely THRILLED upon receiving the check and told me that we could go back to stalk the place anytime I wanted.  Winking smile

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Until next time, Happy Stalking!  Smile

Stalk It: 72 North, aka the real life Emerald City Bar or Joe’s Bar from Grey’s Anatomy, is located at 72 North Fair Oaks Avenue in Old Town Pasadena.  The downstairs bar is the area that is shown on the series.  You can visit the restaurant’s official website here.

Watching the Filming of “True Blood”

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Last Wednesday evening I got a text from the owner of POP Champagne & Dessert Bar – my very favorite restaurant and the spot where the Grim Cheaper and I held the rehearsal dinner for our wedding last August – alerting me to the fact that the hit HBO television series True Blood would be filming at his eatery the following evening beginning at 9 p.m.  He invited me to come down to watch and even though I’ve never seen even one episode of the vampire series, I was beyond excited!  I immediately called up Mike, from MovieShotsLA, and asked him to join me as True Blood is his very favorite show.  So, the next night at around 8 p.m. the two of us headed out to POP and were floored to see those ubiquitous yellow filming signs that I so love on the streets surrounding the restaurant.

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True Blood was actually first being shot inside of The Old Towne Pub, a bar that is located right next door to POP, and when filming wrapped there, the production was then set to move outside, to POP’s back entrance, which, oddly enough, was standing in for the front entrance to The Old Towne Pub.  Confused?  I was.  For whatever reason though, even though the two doors look very similar (POP’s back entrance is pictured above left and The Old Towne Pub’s entrance is pictured above right), producers had decided that POP’s back door suited their filming needs better than The Old Towne Pub’s actual entrance.  

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And even though only POP’s back door and the alleyway directly outside of it would be appearing in the episode and none of the restaurant’s actual interiors would be seen, the eatery was required to close its doors during the shoot.  So, I ,of course, just had to take a picture standing in front of the sign announcing that POP would be closing early that evening.  Love it!

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According to one of the crew members that we spoke with, the Old Towne Pub and POP Champagne Bar were being used for a flashback scene that was taking place in a punk bar in 1980’s London.  The courtyard outside of the two bars and the alleyway were dressed to look like 1980’s London for the shoot and there were several British cars parked there, which was very cool to see. 

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The sides of the alley were also packed to the brim with all sorts of filming equipment and props.

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According to one of the security guards that we spoke with, actors Stephen Moyer, who plays Bill Compton on the series, and Ryan Kwanten, who plays Sookie Stackhouse’s brother Jason, were in attendance that evening (at least I think that is what he said, but again I have never seen the show, so I cannot be positive of who was actually there).  Sadly though, we did not spot either of them.  We first watched the filming from a distance in the courtyard area behind the two bars, but we unfortunately could not see very much from there at all.  Then the owner of The Old Towne Pub, who had been standing with us, informed us that we should venture upstairs to the courtyard’s outdoor patio where we would have a much better vantage point.  Well, wouldn’t you know it, just as we made our way up to the second story patio, both Stephen and Ryan were wrapped for the night and walked off of the set.  Apparently they took photographs with several fans who were also watching the filming on their way out, too, so Mike and I majorly lost out!!!  While we were on the patio, we did get to watch a scene being filmed with some of the episode’s guest stars, though, which I was floored about.  Even though I do not watch the show, as you all know I LOVE to watch filming of any sort, so I was in absolute heaven.  And the crew truly (pun intended!) could NOT have been nicer, either.  The first crew member that we spoke with upon arriving at POP was actually a real a-hole and I was fearful that they all might be unfriendly towards us.  But, as it turned out, I really needn’t have worried as the rest of the crew was INCREDIBLY friendly and answered all of our questions about the filming and allowed us to take as many pictures as we wanted.  YAY!  One of them even came up to me to chat about the jacket I was wearing as he had just bought the exact same jacket for his girlfriend for Christmas.  LOVE IT! 

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The following evening, I dragged the GC out to stalk the The Old Towne Pub so that I could snap some picture of the restaurant’s interior where filming had taken place.  Our original plan was to grab a bite to eat there, but unfortunately the restaurant does not serve food and the two of us were absolutely starving, so we did not end up staying.  The server on duty was super nice, though, and let us take all of the photographs of the place that we wanted even though we were not actually eating there.  I definitely plan on re-stalking this location after the True Blood episode airs and doing a more in-depth post on it as an episode of the HBO series Hung was filmed there as was the 2000 movie Bedazzled.

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Mike took the above video on his iPhone of the two guest stars rehearsing the scene that we watched being filmed.  He also took all of the photographs which appear in this post, so, a big THANK YOU goes out to him for allowing me to share them all on my site.  THANK YOU, Mike, from MovieShotsLASmile 

Until next time, Happy Stalking!  Smile

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Stalk It: POP Champagne and Dessert Bar is located at 33 East Union Street in Old Town Pasadena.  You can visit the restaurant’s official website hereTrue Blood was filmed at POP’s back entrance on Aayes Alley, which is denoted with the pink arrow in the above aerial view and which can be reached from East Holly Street.  The episode was also filmed inside of The Old Towne Pub, which is located at 66 North Fair Oaks Avenue, directly behind the Container Store, in Old Town Pasadena.  You can visit that restaurant’s official website here.

Caffe’ Opera – aka Dog Years Diner from “American Pie”

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Shortly after selling their house a few months back, my parents moved into an apartment building in Old Town Monrovia.  Since that time, they have become regular patrons of their new favorite restaurant, Caffe’ Opera – the very spot that stood in for Dog Years Diner, the supposed Grand Rapids, Michigan-area hangout of Jim Levenstein (aka Jason Biggs), Chris Ostreicher (aka Chris Klein), Kevin Myers (aka Thomas Ian Nicholas), and Paul Finch (aka Eddie Kaye Thomas), in the 1999 gross-out comedy American Pie.  So, when my parents suggested that we dine at the eatery on my dad’s recent birthday, I jumped at the chance as, even though I wasn’t a big fan of the flick, I had always wanted to stalk the restaurant due to the fact that both the interior and the exterior of it had been used in the movie.  The building where filming took place is actually the historic Monrovia Savings Bank Building which was originally constructed back in 1923.  The bank operated at the site until 1934, at which point it consolidated with a sister branch located just up the street.  Different businesses subsequently moved into the space, until 2003 when it was taken over by Varo Angeletti, the original owner of Pasadena’s Sorriso Ristorante which I blogged about back in November, who used it as the site of his new Italian bistro, Caffe’ Opera.

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Caffe’ Opera is a FABULOUS restaurant that serves up some absolutely HUGE portions!  I opted for the Crusted Rosemary Chicken entrée and it was A-MA-ZING!  The GC and I have actually been back there with my parents twice now since my father’s birthday and the place has been spectacular each time.  Honestly can’t recommend stalking it enough.  I would suggest splitting an entrée with your date, though, as the servings are literally HUMONGOUS!

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At the time that American Pie was filmed, the Caffe’ Opera space was actually a vacant storefront inside of which producers built the interior of the Dog Years set.  The set was actually based on a real life restaurant in Grand Rapids, Michigan named Yesterdog Diner where Adam Herz, the movie’s screenwriter, hung out during his high school years.  You can see some photographs of the actual Yesterdog restaurant here

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Sadly, the interior of the Monrovia Savings Bank Building was completely renovated in 2000, two years after American Pie was filmed, and looks completely different today than it did onscreen. 

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Sadder still is the fact that the exterior of the building was also remodeled at the time and looks quite a bit different today than it did when filming took place, although, unlike the interior, it is still vaguely recognizable.  The changes to the exterior include the awning being swapped out, the front doors being moved to the opposite side of the building, and the large tree out front being chopped down.

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The “6 Blocks From Downtown See Great Falls” mural is, of course, not there in real life.

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But you can see the building’s then-real life “402” address plaque in the movie’s closing scene.  So cool!

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Until next time, Happy Stalking!  Smile

Stalk It: Caffe’ Opera, aka Dog Years Diner from the first American Pie movie, is located at 402 South Myrtle Avenue in Old Town Monrovia.  You can visit the eatery’s official website here.  Caffe’ Opera is located just a few doors down from the since-demolished building that stood in for the Tiki Post in fave movie Never Been Kissed (its former location was at 408 South Myrtle Avenue) and across the street from the Monrovia Coffee Company (which can be found at 425 South Myrtle Avenue), which also appeared in the flick.  Yesterdog Diner, the restaurant upon which Dog Years was based, is located at 1505 Wealthy Street SE in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

The Smoke House Restaurant – Where Jim and Pam Held Their Rehearsal Dinner on “The Office”

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This past weekend, while out doing some Christmas shopping with the Grim Cheaper, the two of us found ourselves in the Burbank area absolutely ravenous.  For whatever reason, though, I could not think of a good place to eat, so the GC suggested we grab a bite at that “old Burbank restaurant across from Warner Brothers Studios”.  Because my blondness was in full force that day, I had no idea what on earth he was talking about and just about died when he pulled into the parking lot of the Smoke House Restaurant – the very spot where Jim Halpert (aka John Krasinski) and Pam Beesly (aka Jenna Fischer) hosted the rehearsal dinner for their wedding in the Season 6 episode of fave show The Office titled “Niagara”.  And although I have actually stalked this location once before and have even blogged about it, because it was long before The Office had shot there and long before I was even a fan of the show, I decided the restaurant was worthy of a repost.

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The original 46-seat Smoke House restaurant first opened in 1946 at the corner of Pass and Riverside Avenues in Burbank.  The eatery was a hit with the Hollywood set from the very start, with such stars as Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, Frank Sinatra (who even has a steak named after him on the Smoke House menu), Judy Garland, Milton Berle, Jack Parr, James Dean, Burl Ives, Walt Disney, and Errol Flynn stopping in regularly to grab a bite to eat.  Due to its promise of serving up “fine food at fair prices”, the restaurant became such a Burbank staple that its owners were quickly forced to expand.  They started looking for a larger building to move into and, as fate would have it, found one in actor Danny Kaye’s recently constructed Red Coach Inn.  Due to city regulations and the Up In Arms actor’s busy filming schedule, Kaye was unable to open the restaurant/night club and in 1949 he sold the never-been-used property to the owners of the Smoke House.  The establishment is still located in that very building to this day.   And, six decades later, the place is still going strong.  In more recent years, such stars as Robert Redford, Kevin Costner, Megan Fox, Andy Garcia, Miley Cyrus, Tish Cyrus, and the entire cast of Friends (who used to stop by regularly after filming) have all been spotted dining there.

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George Clooney is such a fan of the place that he named his production company “Smokehouse Pictures” in honor of the legendary restaurant.  The actor also did a photo shoot at the eatery in the booth pictured above.

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One look at the Smoke House interior and it’s not very hard to see why it has succeeded for over sixty years.  With it’s dim lights, dark red booths, and wood-paneled walls, stepping inside the eatery definitely brings one back to a forgotten era.  It’s exactly the type of place I’d imagine Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis Jr. hanging out at back in the heyday of Hollywood. 

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Oh, and did I mention the food?  During this particular visit I ordered the restaurant’s Cobb Salad and it was easily the biggest salad I’ve ever seen in my entire life!  I didn’t even get through one third of it and I was literally STARVING when we showed up at the restaurant.  On our previous visit, the GC and I ordered up the eatery’s famous “World’s Greatest Garlic Bread” and I can honestly say that the restaurant wasn’t being arrogant when they conceived that name.  It literally was the best garlic bread I’ve ever had in my life!  Smile  Truth be told, though, all of the Smoke House food is FABULOUS, but be forewarned, their portions are ABSOLUTELY ENORMOUS!  The restaurant’s staff is also INCREDIBLY nice and, even though the place was pretty packed at the time, everyone I spoke with took the time to answer all of my silly questions about the filming that has taken place there over the years.

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In the “Niagara” episode of The Office, the Smoke House stood in for the supposed Niagara Falls-area restaurant where Jim and Pam held the rehearsal dinner for their wedding.  The majority of that scene was filmed in the restaurant’s back room, which, luckily enough, was being set up for a private party while we were there, so I was able to snap a bunch of photographs while the room was empty!

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Some filming also took place in the restaurant’s bar area.

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The Smoke House’s side room was used in the scene in which Michael Scott (aka Steve Carell) and Dwight Schrute (aka Rainn Wilson) are shown eating breakfast the morning following the rehearsal dinner.

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The Smoke House was also featured in the Season 1 episode of Desperate Housewives titled “Move On”, in the scene in which Susan Mayer (aka Teri Hatcher) sings a deeply personal rendition of the song “New York, New York” to her ex-husband Karl (aka Richard Burgi) while at a local karaoke bar. 

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The Desperate Housewives scene was filmed on the stage located in the restaurant’s bar area.

You can watch Susan’s karaoke scene by clicking above.

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  The eatery has also appeared in CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, Cold Case, and in a Season 2 episode of the reality series The Two Coreys, but I cannot for the life of me figure out which episode and it is driving me absolutely crazy!  Does anyone out there know?

Until next time, Happy Stalking!  Smile

Stalk It: The Smoke House Restaurant, where Jim and Pam hosted their rehearsal dinner in the “Niagara” episode of The Office, is located at 4420 West Lakeside Drive in Burbank.  You can visit the restaurant’s official website here.

Our Movie Locations-Themed Scavenger Hunt

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My good friend/party planner extraordinaire Natalie Drees has become famous in our circle over the past few years for creating absolutely amazing customized scavenger hunts.  She plans one for pretty much every event she hosts and not only are they insanely fun, but they also provide a fabulous way for people to get to know each other.  So, once it was decided that our rehearsal dinner would take place at POP Champagne & Dessert Bar in Old Town Pasadena and that all of our family and friends would be invited, I asked Nat if she wouldn’t mind creating a movie locations-themed hunt to cap off our evening.  And, thankfully, she said yes!  Because Nat lives in San Francisco and therefore does not know the Pasadena area all that well, though – nor is she particularly into this thing that we call stalking – she enlisted the help of fellow stalker Owen to carry out the endeavor.  And I have to say that the two pulled it off beautifully!

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Natalie figured that most of our guests wouldn’t be quite as into filming locations as I am, so she based the scavenger hunt not around finding where a specific production was filmed, but around finding particular restaurants and bars in Pasadena that also happened to be filming locations.  If teams could subsequently figure out what was filmed at each particular restaurant or bar – by talking to their servers or using their iPhones – extra points would be awarded, but filming location knowledge was not in any way required to participate.  Besides figuring out which location each clue referred to, teams would also be required to obtain specific items from each location in order to complete the hunt.  As always, each team was given a set of pens, a bag to collect all of our scavenger hunt items, and a book detailing our assignment, the rules of the game, and the clues.

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The booklets were handed out at the end of the rehearsal dinner at POP Champagne Bar and my best friend Kylee, who was managing the hunt, gave all of the teams five minutes to read them over, before yelling out “On your mark . . . get set . . . go!”.  At that point our entire group of fifty literally RAN out of the restaurant!  It was like a mass exodus and I can only imagine what our fellow diners were thinking!  LOL  The scavenger hunt clues read as follows:

Clue Number 1 –  

It’s been said “men want

a lady on the street . . .”

Perhaps women want

An “uomo” who can take the heat.

Once they find him,

They’ll take some “pane”.

Bring it  back to the judge

And you’ll “vincere”.

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The solution to Clue Number 1 was the restaurant Il Fornaio, which was featured in the 2000 movie What Women Want and was actually the very first movie I ever saw being filmed upon moving to Los Angeles.  Before purchasing a house, my parents and I lived in an apartment in Old Town Pasadena and we would walk down to Il Fornaio to grab a bite to eat at least once a week.  We got to know quite a few people who worked at the eatery and one night one of the servers let us know that Mel Gibson was going to be filming a movie at the restaurant the very next day.  So, my mom and I, of course, headed back there bright and early the following morning to watch!  It was an extremely cool experience for both of us and while we did not get to meet Mel Gibson, he did wave to us and say ‘hi’ several times while on his various cigarette breaks.  Anyway, Nat came up with the brilliant idea of using foreign words in each clue which correlated to the type of food served at the restaurants we were supposed to visit.  In the case of Il Fornaio, which is Italian, she used several Italian words – “uomo” translates to “man”, “pane” to “bread”, and “vincere” to “win”.  Well, once I read the words “women want”, I knew exactly which restaurant the clue was referring to and my team (which consisted of me and the GC, my best friend Robin and his girlfriend Steffi, and Mike, from MovieShotsLA, and his fiancé Ame) immediately headed on over there.  Unfortunately though, my mom, of course, also immediately figured out the answer to the clue and was right on our heels!  In the movie, Il Fornaio appeared in the scene in which Nick Marshall (aka Mel Gibson) has lunch with his daughter Alex Marshall (aka Ashley Johnson) after buying her a prom dress.

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One of the rules of the game was that all teams would have to purchase a round of drinks at each and every bar, so as not to anger the various managements by having large groups of people running in and out of the restaurants, causing a disruption.  When we arrived at Il Fornaio, Mike suggested that we each get a shot as we could drink them quickly and then be on to our next location.  Well, I am a complete and total lightweight and typically do not drink anything other than champagne and I really did not want to be doing shots at each and every bar we went into the night before my wedding, so I quickly ixnayed that idea.  But the next thing I knew, my friend Steffi had six full shot glasses lined up in front of her.  I immediately said, “No, I can’t drink a shot!” to which she replied, “These are champagne shots!”  I had no idea what on earth a champagne shot was, but she informed me that she had asked the bartender to pour a bit of champagne into six shot glasses.  The bartender at first balked at the idea, but when Steffi explained that I was a soon-to-be bride who only drank champagne, she agreed and poured us our “champagne shots”.  We are holding them in the above photograph and I can honestly say that that particular moment was one of my favorites of the entire wedding.  So incredibly cute!!!!!!

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Clue Number 2

Don may ride a white horse

To get to this filmed bar.

If he were in gay Paris

This would be more on par.

Once he arrived

A “serviette” he’d obtain.

In Pasadena it’s this,

Hopefully without a stain.

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The solution to Clue Number 2 was Cheval Blanc Bistro, which I blogged about back in December of last year and which was used in the original Father of the Bride movie as the spot where George Banks (aka Steve Martin) takes Bryan MacKenzie (aka George Newbern) for a drink.  Because there are not many French restaurants in Old Town Pasadena, this was an easy one.  Also tipping me off to  the clue’s answer was the fact that Don is my dad’s name, aka the name of the “father of the bride”.  Amazingly enough, my mom and her team were hot on our tail upon arriving at this particular bar, as well!  My aunt Lea, who was on my mom’s team, had asked the bartender at Il Fornaio if she knew of any French restaurants in the area and the bartender told her that the only place she could think of was Cheval Blanc.  My mom’s best friend, who speaks fluent French, immediately said “Cheval Blanc means white horse!  That’s the place!” and they took off for the restaurant.  At Cheval Blanc we were required to obtain a “serviette”, aka a “napkin”.

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Both my team and my mom’s team spent quite a bit of time at this restaurant and ordered a round of drinks and relaxed since we were so far ahead of all of the other groups.  And amazingly enough, my mom’s team happened to meet an actor while at Cheval Blanc and they got his autograph for an extra 50 points!  He wasn’t anyone famous, but he did have his own IMDB page, so he counted as a “star”.

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Clue Number 3 –

You can get a roll

In California’s 91105.

This filming location

You may not recognize.

You won’t need a fork,

But two pieces of wood

To experience

Lindsay’s favorite hood.

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The answer to Clue Number 3 was, of course, Maikobe Japanese Restaurant – aka the former Ruby’s Diner which stood in for the Peach Pit on my favorite show of all time Beverly Hills, 90210.  For anyone who knew anything about me or anything about the city of Pasadena for that matter, this clue was a no-brainer.  In an unfortunate twist of bad luck, though, Maikobe had unexpectedly closed its doors just a few days before our rehearsal dinner, so when we showed up there for the scavenger hunt, we could not go inside to obtain our “two pieces of wood”, aka a set of chop sticks.  Mike immediately started looking around for other sushi restaurants in the area and noticed one directly across the street from Maikobe (perhaps this is why the place went out of business! Winking smile) and ran right on over to grab some chopsticks.  BUT, amazingly enough, my mom’s team had happened to grab a set of chop sticks at Sushi Roku near Il Fornaio earlier during the hunt (they had gone in to collect matchbooks for extra points and the hostess had, for whatever reason, also given them chopsticks!), so as soon as her team realized Maikobe was closed, they immediately started running to the last stop on the hunt and ended up coming in first place!  So, yes, even though Mike, from MovieShotsLA, and I were on the same team, we LOST the scavenger hunt!!!!!  Unbelievable!!!!  But at least now you can see where I get my stalking skills from!  In our family, the apple definitely does not fall far from the tree!  On a side note – you can see a great picture of what Maikobe looked like back when it was Ruby’s Diner here.

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Clue Number 4 –

At this Latin lounge with a fitting name

Their life together they can star living

Before their honeymoon, as husband and dame.

Ask for this in your drink-o.

Tie it in a knot with your tongue

To get an extra cinco.

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The solution to Clue Number 4 was Vive Lounge, where fave movie A Lot Like Love was filmed.  At the time the movie was filmed, the place was a Chinese-Malaysian fusion restaurant named Nonya, but that eatery closed down back in 2006 whereupon Vive moved in.  Amazingly enough, very little of the  décor was changed upon the transition and the restaurant still looked almost exactly the same as it did in the movie.  Because there is only one Latin-themed lounge in Pasadena, my mom and her team were easily able to figure out what location the final clue was referring to.  Especially once they realized that “vive” translates to “live” in Spanish.  For winning the hunt, each member of my mom’s team was awarded with a bag of microwave popcorn and a pass for a free movie at any AMC Theatre.  So incredibly cool!  All in the all, the scavenger hunt turned out FABULOUS and all of our guests, even those who seriously lagged behind, absolutely LOVED it.  It was the perfect end to a perfect evening.  On a sad side note, though – the GC and I walked by Vive this past Friday night and discovered that it had closed it doors!  I can only hope that the new owners also choose to keep the original Nonya’s décor so that all of us stalkers can still appreciate it.

Until next time, Happy Stalking!  Smile

Stalk It: Natalie Drees can create customized scavenger hunts for parties and corporate events based upon any and all sorts of themes.  You can contact her via her event planning website Pop Planning.  Il Fornaio, from What Women Want, is located at 24 West Union Street in Old Town Pasadena.  You can visit Il Fornaio’s website here.  Cheval Blanc Bistro, from Father of the Bride, is located at 41 South De Lacey Avenue, also in Old Town Pasadena.  You can visit the Cheval Blanc website here.  The former Maikobe restaurant, aka the Peach Pit from Beverly Hills, 90210, is located at 45 South Fair Oaks Avenue in Pasadena, but is currently vacant.  Vive Lounge, the former Nonya restaurant from A Lot Like Love, is located at 61 North Raymond Avenue in Pasadena, but is also currently vacant.  You can visit the former Vive Lounge website here.

The Whisper Lounge – One of Michael Buble’s Favorite L.A. Restaurants

 
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Last week, Michael Buble’s tour marketing manager, Tory Class, who I follow on Twitter (@ToryonTour), sent out a link to a recent interview the cutie crooner had done with The Hollywood Reporter during which he named his five favorite places to hang out in Los Angeles.  I, of course, watched the video immediately and just about died when he mentioned the Whisper Restaurant and Lounge at The Grove as one of his favorite area restaurants, being that the Grim Cheaper and I had just dined there a few months prior.  I, unfortunately, did not take any photographs of the place at that time, though, so I promptly added the eatery to my ever-growing “To Stalk” list and informed the GC that we would be dining there that very weekend.  And we, indeed, did, this past Saturday night.  Ironically enough, Michael actually mistakenly referred to the place as the “Viper Lounge” in his interview, but being that there is no such restaurant at The Grove and being that there is only one spot there that has the word “lounge” in its name, I was able to figure out which establishment he was talking about.
 
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The Whisper Restaurant and Lounge, which first opened in January of 2004, is owned and operated by billionaire real estate developer Rick Caruso (no relation to actor David Caruso), the man who was the brains behind both The Grove shopping center and the more recent Americana at Brand in Glendale.  The eatery was modeled after the private supper clubs that thrived during the heyday of Hollywood and was designed to resemble a 1940’s speakeasy (hence the “whisper” in the name), with dim lighting, dark wood-paneled walls, large leather booths, an indoor/outdoor canopied patio, and Rat Pack music on the stereo.  It’s a very quiet, intimate spot and both the GC and I fell in love with the place immediately.  Being that it is on the pricier side, though, I almost fell right off my bar stool when the GC announced that he couldn’t wait to bring my parents back there as he knew that they would also love it and suggested that we do so this upcoming weekend!
 
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In The Hollywood Reporter interview, Michael mentioned that the restaurant serves “the best flat crust pizza ever” and I have to say that I wholeheartedly agree with that sentiment.  The GC and I opted for the Wild Mushroom and Truffle version and it was nothing short of A-MA-ZING!  The couple dining next to us ordered the Pizza Margherita with prosciutto added to it and, holy schmoley, did it look good.  I am going to have to sample that myself on my next visit there.  The Grilled Baby Broccoli with Garlic Butter side dish that I ordered was also spectacular – easily the BEST broccoli I have ever eaten in my entire life.  I was seriously tempted to lick my plate clean.  Winking smile  The service was also impeccable and lacked any sort of the typical L.A. snootiness that is usually found in upscale Hollywood-area restaurants.  The bartender was INCREDIBLY nice and, because she had only worked at the Lounge for two months, was not sure if Michael Buble had ever frequented the place, so she sought out a few of the more veteran servers to find out for me, and, sure enough, they confirmed that the singer is a regular patron.  So incredibly cool!  While we were dining, we also had the pleasure of meeting the  Assistant General Manager, a SUPER nice man named Eric Todd, who was very excited to hear that Michael had mentioned the eatery in a recent interview and did not think I was at all weird for stalking the place because of it.
 
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Apparently, Michael Buble is not the restaurant’s only famous fan.  In fact, the place seems to be a veritable celebrity haven.  Just a few of the stars who have been spotted there recently include Halle Berry, Kim Kardashian, Kris Kardashian, Bruce Jenner, Spencer Pratt, Heidi Montag, Keanu Reeves, Cameron Diaz, Jennifer Lopez, Leah Rimini, Lauren Conrad, Jessica Simpson, Lara Flynn Boyle, Vivica A. Fox, Nick Lachey, David Spade, Sam Worthington, former Bachelor- contestant Jerry Ferris, and Antonio Sabato, Jr.  And while we, unfortunately, did not spot any celebs while dining at the restaurant, we did see actress and former Real World-er Jacinda Barrett and her husband, actor Gabriel Macht, and comic book legend Stan Lee, who was doing a signing at Barnes & Noble, while walking around The Grove earlier in the day.
 
 
Michael Buble’s Five Favorite Places in L.A.

You can watch Michael Buble’s Hollywood Reporter interview by clicking above.  And for those who are not able to watch, his five favorite Hollywood haunts are as follows: 1. Koi Restaurant, 2. The Chateau Marmont hotel, 3. His house in West Hollywood, 4. The Grove and the Whisper Lounge, and 5. Disneyland!  Because I am an absolute Disney freak, I was incredibly excited to hear that last one.  Of the park, Michael says, “When I walk in there now and I go through the gates, I’m seven years old.  I go right back.  I just, I can’t get enough of it.”  Love it!  And congratulations are also in order here as MB won his very first American Music Award this past Sunday night for Favorite Adult Contemporary Artist!  Whoo-hoo!

Justin Bieber’s AMA Speech

On an AMA side note – I just have to say that I absolutely LOVED Justin Bieber’s speech after winning Favorite Pop/Rock Male Artist, in which he acknowledged the King of Pop, saying, “I want to thank Michael Jackson because without Michael Jackson, none of us would be here.”  Love it!  Then when he called Usher up on stage after winning the Artist of the Year award, I literally got tears in my eyes!  (You can watch his Artist of the Year award speech by clicking above).  What can I say?  I love me some Biebs! 

New Kids on the Block and Back Street Boys 2010 AMA’s Performance

I also absolutely LOVED LOVED LOVED the NKOTB/BSB performance!  It was – dare I say it – the best performance of the night and, because I’ve had New Kids on the Blocks songs on my iPod for as long as I can remember, so think I am going to have to get myself some tickets for that tour! 

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On another side note – While doing some stalking in Hollywood this past Saturday morning, the Grim Cheaper and I spotted the above-pictured Tom Cruise look alike in the forecourt of Grauman’s Chinese Theatre and I just about died from excitement!  The guy looked SO much like the movie star that it was absolutely UNCANNY.  The GC and I both did a double take and for a few brief moments I actually believed he was the real Tom Cruise doing some sort of a press appearance at the legendary Hollywood theatre.

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The guy was being absolutely MOBBED by people wanting to take a photograph with him and I have to admit that in the ten-plus years that I have lived in Los Angeles, never once have I paid – or been tempted to pay – to have my picture taken with the faux celebrities or superheroes who make their living on the Boulevard, but I HAD HAD HAD to get my picture taken with Tom.  Smile  There was absolutely NO way I was going to let that opportunity pass me by.

Until next time, Happy Stalking!

The Whisper Lounge

Stalk It: The Whisper Lounge is located inside of The Grove shopping center, near where Farmers Market Place meets Gilmore Lane, across the street from the Wonderland Bakery, in Los Angeles.  The restaurant’s exact location is marked with a pink arrow in the above aerial view.  You can visit the restaurant’s official website here, its Facebook page here, and you can follow the Lounge  on Twitter here.  The Whisper Lounge is currently hosting a “Blues Beats, Exquisite Eats” event each Sunday night, with live jazz music and a five-course tasting menu.  You can find out more information about “Blues Beats, Exquisite Eats” here.