famous restaurants – Page 2

December 18, 2019December 17, 2019

The Federal from “Four Christmases”

I tracked down today’s locale thanks to some very insider information. Back on December 19th, 2012, I wrote about the San Francisco pad that portrayed Brad (Vince Vaughn) and Kate’s (Reese Witherspoon) residence in Four Christmases. Just a few hours after hitting “publish,” I received an email from the production designer of the 2008 holiday romcom, Shepherd Frankel, who had this to say, “Wow – I loved reading your blog and seeing your detective work unfold. Truly amazing. So interesting to read for me and I actually designed the film!” His kind words just about made me fall over with excitement! Though I often contact crew members to inquire about locations, a production designer getting in touch with me was a first! Once I regained my composure, I wrote him back and, of course, asked for some help in IDing a few additional locations from the film, namely the restaurant where Brad’s firm’s holiday party was held. And Shepherd was happy to help! Though he did not remember the name of the eatery, he informed me that it was a former-bank-turned-restaurant in Long Beach. Using those search parameters, I quickly figured out that filming had taken place at The Madison at 102 Pine Avenue. Sadly, I also quickly figured out that the gastropub had recently closed. I added it to my To-Stalk List regardless, hoping it would reopen at some point, which, thankfully, it did as “The Federal” just months later, at which point I ran out to stalk it. Though I’ve briefly covered the place a couple of times before – first in my post about sister restaurant The Federal Bar in North Hollywood, then in My Guide to L.A. – Bars, and finally in a Scene it Before column for Los Angeles magazine – I figured this holiday season was the perfect time for a full-blown write-up.

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The 13-story, 146,000-square-foot building that houses The Federal was initially built in 1925 as the Long Beach headquarters of the Security Trust and Savings Bank of Los Angeles. The stately site was designed in the Italian Renaissance Revival style by architects Aleck Curlett and Claud Beelman. (The latter also gave us The Mayfair Hotel from The Office, The Standard, Downtown L.A. from Fracture, and the California Bank Building from Girls Just Want to Have Fun.)

The towering structure, known today as the “Security Trust and Savings Bank Building” as well as “Security Pacific National Bank,” was originally comprised of offices on its upper levels and a grand 3-story, 8,925-square-foot bank space complete with a basement vault on its lower floors.

When Security Trust and Savings, which had been renamed Security Pacific Bank, moved out in 1991, the bank space sat vacant for a time before catching the eye of Terry Antonelli and Enzo DeMuro, the famed restauranteurs who in 1990 founded Long Beach staple L’Opera in another former bank building located right across the street. The duo decided to lease the site and worked their magic transforming it into upscale eatery The Madison, which opened its doors in May 1999. During the conversion, the room’s gorgeous beamed ceilings, which had incredibly been covered over to make way for an air conditioning system at some point, were once again unveiled.

Shortly after its debut, Los Angeles Times restaurant critic S. Irene Virbila wrote, “I’ve been to The Madison Restaurant & Bar, a posh new steakhouse, three times, and each time I’ve walked through the door, I’ve had to catch my breath because the size and grandeur of the rooms are overwhelming. Built in the days before ATMs, when banks functioned as secular cathedrals and women donned hat and gloves to do their banking, the former Security Bank is one of Long Beach’s stateliest historic buildings.” As you can see below, her words were not hyperbole. The space is nothing if not breathtaking!

The Madison enjoyed a nice long run, remaining in operation until September 2012, just a few months before I learned about it.

Shortly after its closure, Morgan Margolis, the nightlife impresario behind The Federal Bar in North Hollywood (and son of Mark Margolis, aka Mr. Shickadance, the landlord from Ace Ventura: Pet Detective), toured the space and decided to open a sister Federal location on the premises. The Federal Long Beach opened just a few months later. Thankfully, not much of the interior was altered in the changeover.

Still as grand as ever, the gorgeous eatery features 2 full bars, seating for 300 patrons, rich wood paneling, towering columns, an extensive menu of healthy and not-so-healthy comfort foods, and a speakeasy situated in the basement vault! Quite the unique atmosphere to grab a bite!

My photos truly don’t do the space justice. Unfortunately, the natural light beaming in through the windows wreaked havoc on most of the images I snapped while there, but at least they give you the gist of The Federal’s beauty.

It is at The Madison that the Rohlich and Tweel LLC 8th annual Christmas party is held in Four Christmases, during which Brad and Kate explain to Brad’s co-workers how they get out of spending the holidays with their families each year. (Their advice? Just lie and tell everyone you’re doing charity work. “You know, something like building houses in third world countries. Teaching English as a second language in Puerto Rico. Delousing orphans in Somalia. Helping Chinese kids capture lobsters – boil them, gut them, clean the weird stuff out of the middle. We find that the more details you give, kinda throws them off the scent.” After all, “You really can’t spell families without ‘lies.’”)

Though Shepherd and his team decked the restaurant out in Yuletide finery for the shoot, not much of the place was shown onscreen. But what was visible remains very recognizable.

We get a much better view of the restaurant via Dinner for Schmucks. In the 2010 comedy (and I use that term loosely), Tim (Paul Rudd) meets with some clients at The Madison and chaos quickly ensues thanks to the misguided efforts of uninvited guest Barry (Steve Carell). In looking at the screen capture as compared to my photograph below, you can see the changes made to the site before it re-opened as The Federal. For some inexplicable reason, a beam running across the vast dining area was installed which really cuts off the room in my opinion.

The main bar (on the left-hand side below) was also partially closed off and the beige upholstered booths swapped out for black leather versions. You can check out some more images of the interior of The Madison here. Oh, how I wish I could have seen it before it closed! Despite the unfortunate changes, The Federal is still a stunning place to grab a bite or cocktail when in Long Beach!

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

Until next time, Happy Stalking! Smile

Stalk It: The Federal, aka the former The Madison from Four Christmases, is located at 102 Pine Avenue in Long Beach. You can visit the eatery’s official website here. L’Opera Restaurant, from Charmed, can be found right across the street at 101 Pine Avenue. You can visit that establishment’s website here.

December 6, 2019April 1, 2020

The Wolves from “The Morning Show”

My obsession with The Morning Show is no secret. I’ve blogged about its locations four times already (here, here, here, and here) and it isn’t even on its eighth episode! Readers have obviously taken note because I recently received an email from one who works in downtown Los Angeles informing me that some filming of the new Apple TV+ series had taken place at an area bar named The Wolves. One look at images of the watering hole had me absolutely drooling. Dark, old-timey and full of stained glass and rich woods, it was like no other spot I had ever seen. So to the top of my To-Stalk List it went and my mom and I headed out there just a few days later while in town for a doctor appointment for my dad. It wasn’t long after that The Wolves popped up on the series, appearing in the episodes titled “Open Waters” and “The Interview.”

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The spot that now houses The Wolves was previously home to the rather austere F Square Printing, which, per its signage, served as a copy/business center, art gallery, and karaoke venue all in one. The odd combo shop shuttered in 2013 and sat vacant for a time before being snapped up by restaurateurs Al Almeida, Daniel Salin, and Isaac Mejia, who saw potential in the stark storefront and spent the next two and a half years building it out to create an incredible Belle Époque-inspired bar. The two-story lounge opened its doors last September. Though the stunning exterior feels like a façade straight out of Paris, France, or perhaps Disneyland . . .

. . . the interior is the real sight to behold!

Knowing nothing of the site’s past prior to entering, I was convinced that the magical space, which is situated on the ground floor of the Alexandria Hotel, was some sort of historic ballroom. Owner Almeida, an incredibly friendly Jeremy Renner lookalike whom we had the great pleasure of chatting with, set me straight, though, regaling us with the complete lowdown on the design and background of the unique watering hole. It is incredible to think that just a few years ago it looked like this!

Though the Batchelder tiles that cover the floor are, amazingly, original to the space (you can even see them in this image of F Square Printing), the rest of The Wolves is the result of an incredible collation of antiques.

Inspired by turn-of-the-century Paris, Almeida, Salin, and Mejia sourced pieces from all over the globe to furnish the bar.

The mahogany booths that line the drinkery, authentic 1920s seating formerly situated in a restaurant in Seneca, New York, were a Craigslist find.

The mirrors situated at the back of each booth were also vintage discoveries.

The carved wooden doors are from Argentina circa 1890.

And the pièce de résistance, the dramatic domed ceiling, was an eBay score delivered in panels via flatbed truck that was procured from Paris, Illinois where it formerly canopied a train station.

Initially spanning 22 feet, to fit The Wolves’ 11-foot ceiling, the piece was split in half and the two sections installed adjacent to each other, forming a double arch atop the lounge’s main room.

The Wolves even boasts a secondary bar situated in the rear known as Le Neant (French for “the nothingness”), an intimate room cloaked in deep reds that is utilized for special events, as well as the many tastings and dinners hosted onsite.

Nothing about the bar is typical, not even the name, which is a nod to Martin Scorsese’s 2002 period drama Gangs of New York. Salin, a huge fan of the film, initially wanted to dub the watering hole in honor of one of the gangs portrayed in the story (my memory is failing me now – I’m going to blame the bubbly I consumed while speaking with Almeida – but I believe it was either the “Dead Rabbits” or the “Gopher Gang”), however the moniker just didn’t work for a saloon. So the owners brainstormed other animal names, eventually landing on “The Wolves.”

It is absolutely no surprise that the gorgeous bar found its way to the screen.

In the “Open Waters” episode of The Morning Show, Audra (Mindy Kaling) tries to poach Daniel Henderson (Desean Terry) for her own series over lunch at The Wolves.

The two journalists sit in one of the lounge’s antique booths in the scene.

And in the series season finale, Yanko Flores (Nestor Carbonell) drinks his troubles away at The Wolves after being dumped.

The Wolves was also featured in another recent Reese Witherspoon production! It is at the bar that a young Elena Richardson (AnnaSophia Robb) parties with her boyfriend Jamie Caplan (Luke Bracey) on their last night in Paris in 1976 in the Season 1 episode of Little Fires Everywhere titled “Duo.”

Per Almeida, a couple of photo shoots have also taken place at The Wolves and I have no doubt the bar will be popping up in many more productions in the near future.

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

Until next time, Happy Stalking! Smile

Stalk It: The Wolves, from the “Open Waters” episode of The Morning Show, is located at 519 South Spring Street in downtown Los Angeles. It is open from 5 p.m. to 2 a.m. daily. You can visit the bar’s official website here.

November 13, 2019November 13, 2019

City Supper Club from “He’s Just Not That Into You”

Back in February, I wrote a Scene it Before column for L.A. magazine covering a few locales from He’s Just Not That Into You in honor of the romcom’s 20th anniversary. While researching, I was thrilled to come across a mention on production designer Gae Buckley’s website that the supposed Baltimore-area City Supper Club, where Alex (Justin Long) worked in the film, was not a studio-built set as I had long assumed, but an actual restaurant! I, of course, promptly reached out to Gae in the hopes that she could ID the place for me. Though she didn’t get back to me before my article went to print, when she did respond she was a wealth of information, notifying me that a shuttered eatery on the northeast corner of Hollywood and Vine in the heart of Tinseltown had masked as City Supper Club. A quick Google search showed me that the space had since re-opened as 33 Taps Bar & Grill. Despite the new tenant, interior photos posted on Yelp still bore somewhat of a resemblance to what had appeared onscreen! Ecstatic, I ran out to stalk it a couple of months later. I’m pouting in the above photo, though, because, unbeknownst to me, 33 Taps had shuttered in the interim and I arrived at a vacant, boarded-up building.

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33 Taps was situated on the ground floor of The Lofts at Hollywood and Vine, a 12-story, 116,000-square-foot Late Gothic/Art Deco structure designed by Aleck Curlett in 1929. Commissioned by drug store magnate Sam Kress, the property was originally known as the “Bank of Hollywood Building” thanks to the financial institution of the same name which occupied its street level.

In an ironic twist, the site’s namesake shuttered in December 1930, after less than two years in operation! The structure was sold shortly thereafter and subsequently redubbed the “Equitable Building.” The former Bank of Hollywood space then became home to Citizens National Bank and, in later years, the Bernard Luggage Company and American Airlines.

The Equitable Building, which is on the National Register of Historic Places, fell on hard times and was allowed to dilapidate, along with the rest of downtown Hollywood, from the ‘70s through the ‘90s, but was finally rescued by Tom Gilmore in 2000. The developer purchased the property for $5 million and set about rehabbing it to the tune of another $6 million. The restoration process took two years to complete.

Part of that restoration included a build-out of the ground floor to accommodate the new Hollywood and Vine Diner, a dark wood-paneled space reminiscent of the great Tinseltown restaurants of yesteryear. You can see what it looked like here.

The upscale eatery, helmed by Scott Shuttleworth and Richard Heyman, opened in 2002. It had about as much staying power as the Bank of Hollywood, though, initially shuttering in 2004 before being revived a few months later and then ultimately closing for good in 2007, the same year that He’s Just Not That Into You was shot. The restaurant’s furnishings were left intact after the closure, making it an ideal spot for the production to utilize.

The Equitable Building underwent another massive renovation around the same time, during which the upper floors were converted from offices to condos, a project that cost $50 million to complete. The 60-unit property is now known as The Lofts at Hollywood and Vine.

After the shuttering of Hollywood and Vine Diner, that space, too, was significantly remodeled and subsequently debuted as Dillon’s Irish Pub in November 2009. The bar had a short shelf life, as well, closing in April 2013 (though it did move for a time to a different Hollywood Boulevard location) and 33 Taps opened in its place a few months later. The name of the 8,051-square-foot sports bar was derived from the 33 beers it had on tap.

Lasting about six years, 33 Taps closed its doors in June 2019 and its former home is under construction yet again, as you can see in the photos below, which I took through the front windows. Per Eater LA, an Italian eatery named Soprano will be opening there in the near future.

The numerous changeovers (especially the most recent) have taken a toll on the space’s recognizability from He’s Just Not That Into You, unfortunately. When the film was shot, the restaurant’s large U-shaped bar was situated directly across from the front doors . . .

. . . at the base of the grand staircase leading up to the second floor (which you can just see in the background below).

That same area today is pictured below. For whatever reason, when Dillon’s Irish Pub moved in, the bar was relocated to the opposite side of the staircase (as you can see in this photo) and the area where it formerly stood was closed off.

Today, the only remnants of the City Supper Club are those stairs, sadly. Gone is the aforementioned central retro bar;

the dark oak walls (they’re still there, they’ve just been painted over);

. . . and the many rounded partitions.

Oh, how I wish I had visited Hollywood and Vine Diner when it was still in operation – or, at least, had made it to 33 Taps before its recent closure!

As noted on Gae’s website, Alex’s office was not an actual element of Hollywood and Vine Diner, but a set specifically constructed for the shoot at the rear of the bar.

Only the interior of Hollywood and Vine Diner was utilized in He’s Just Not That Into You. The exterior of City Supper Club was faked outside of Duda’s Tavern at 1600 Thames Street in Baltimore.

Thanks to the Seeing Stars website, I learned that Hollywood and Vine Diner, prior to shutting down, appeared in the 2009 thriller Taken as the restaurant where Kim (Maggie Grace) tried to convince her father, Bryan Mills (Liam Neeson), to let her go to Paris.

In the scene, Bryan, Kim and Kim’s mom, Lenore (Famke Janssen), sit in the spot where the eatery’s bar now stands. That space was a dining room when Hollywood and Vine was in operation.

Though the former bar area isn’t shown in Taken, the adjacent staircase is just visible in the top middle of the screen capture below, which should help you get your bearings when looking at the various images.

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

Until next time, Happy Stalking! Smile

Stalk It: 33 Taps Bar & Grill, aka the former Hollywood and Vine Diner from He’s Just Not That Into You, was located at 6263 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood. The restaurant closed recently and currently sits vacant.

November 8, 2019November 18, 2019

Cicada from “The Morning Show”

I don’t know what all the hullabaloo regarding The Morning Show being terrible is about. The Grim Cheaper and I trepidatiously tuned in earlier this week and, considering all the jeers reviewers are spewing, were shocked at how much we enjoyed the new Apple TV+ series! We devoured the three episodes that have aired so far in one sitting and literally loved every second! So artfully done and intriguing is the show that it even managed to pull one over on me, locations-wise! Set in NYC, I assumed all filming had taken place there as well. While I did have a few “That looks like L.A.” moments throughout episode 1, it was not until Bradley Jackson (Reese Witherspoon) walked up the instantly recognizable split staircase of downtown’s iconic Cicada restaurant at the start of episode 2 that I realized my mistake! A quick look at the drama’s Wikipedia page confirmed that it was largely lensed in Los Angeles, with a few exteriors shot in the Big Apple. Hoping to throw a little love The Morning Show’s way, I figure it is the perfect time to blog about Cicada, a spot I stalked ages ago (while scouting wedding venues prior to my 2010 nuptials!) but somehow have yet to write about.

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Any article about quintessential Los Angeles restaurants will undoubtedly feature Cicada. Initially established as Rex iI Ristorante in 1981, the landmark eatery sits on the ground floor of the Oviatt Building in the heart of downtown. The 13-story structure was the brainchild of James Oviatt, a famous clothier who outfitted the likes of Clark Gable, John Barrymore, and Gary Cooper during the Golden Age of Hollywood. Originally employed as a window dresser at Desmond’s Department Store, Oviatt partnered with fellow employee Frank Alexander in 1911 to open their own haberdashery, the exclusive Alexander & Oviatt. It was an instant success. A 1925 visit to Paris’ International Exhibition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts (which introduced Art Deco to the world) inspired James to construct a gilded architectural marvel of his own in L.A. Thus the Oviatt Building was born in 1928.

Designed by Albert Walker and Percy Eisen, the exquisite structure featured maillechort detailing, hand-carved wood paneling, more than 30 tons of glass artworks created by René Lalique, and an arcade with an ornate frosted-glass ceiling courtesy of artist Gaetan Jeannin (pictured below).

Sadly, much of both Lalique and Jeannin’s pieces were later sold off and have since been replaced with facsimiles, though some of their original works remain, like the doors below.

The building’s pièce de résistance was easily its street-level salon which housed the new Alexander & Oviatt haberdashery. Gilded, grand and absolutely striking, the boutique featured a large open sales floor flanked by wooden cabinets filled with the finest clothes money could by, a magnificent split staircase, a mezzanine which was home to the women’s department (aka the Salon des Elegances), and an outdoor palm grove, where patrons could experience the wares in natural light.

Though L.A.’s premier place to shop for fine clothing for decades, Alexander & Oviatt saw a decline in patronage in the 1960s and closed its doors in 1967. The once-popular boutique subsequently sat vacant for years. By that time, the building was showing its age. Enter Wayne Ratkovich and Don Bowers, developers who, seeing potential in the once-grand structure, made an offer to buy it in 1977 and subsequently dedicated $5 million into a major renovation. A huge part of that renovation was a reimagining of the former Alexander & Oviatt space, which was transformed into an exclusive eatery courtesy of Mauro Vincenti. Because the Oviatt had been declared a Historic-Cultural Monument in 1978, the nuts and bolts of the boutique’s interior, thankfully, couldn’t be changed, but the Rome-born restauranteur outfitted it with décor and design elements inspired by a dining room from the 1930s-era Italian cruise ship the SS Rex. Mauro dubbed the place “Rex il Ristorante,” which translates to “Rex the Restaurant.” The gorgeous site was soon the spot to dine in L.A.

Vincenti sadly passed away in August 1996 at the untimely age of 53. His widow kept his famed eatery open until the following January when the lease on the site expired. Stephanie Taupin subsequently took over the 14,000-square-foot space and re-located her West Hollywood restaurant Cicada there.

Though the interior was given a bit of a facelift, the ceiling painted with gold leaf and much of the décor swapped out, thanks to its Historic-Cultural Monument status, the former boutique still looks not only much as it did when Rex was in operation but Alexander & Oviatt as well!

It is easily one of the most gorgeous places in L.A.!

I mean!

In the first episode of The Morning Show, titled “In the Dark Night of the Soul It’s Always 3:30 in the Morning,” Corey Ellison (an absolutely brilliant, but utterly unrecognizable Billy Crudup) and Chip Black (Mark Duplass) dine at what is supposedly the Archer Gray Hotel in New York, where they discuss future strategy for their program after one of the hosts, Mitch Kessler (Steve Carell), gets fired for sexual harassment. It is the top screen capture below that gave me that initial “That looks like L.A.” moment while watching and I actually turned to the GC and said, “Wow, that place is the spitting image of Cicada.” Facepalm!

It took Bradley venturing up the staircase and around Cicada’s mezzanine at the top of the second episode, “A Seat at the Table,” for the pieces to fall into place for me.

The Morning Show is hardly the only production to feature Cicada. In fact, the restaurant is practically royalty when it comes to Hollywood! So much so that it would be impossible for me to chronicle all of its cameos here, but read on for a list of some of the more significant.

In easily its most famous appearance, Viviane Ward (Julia Roberts) tosses an escargot shell across the Rex il Ristorante dining room in the 1990 classic Pretty Woman.

Rex also served as a locale in another Richard Gere film – the 1992 thriller Final Analysis. It was there that Heather Evans (Kim Basinger) suffered from an extreme bout of pathological intoxication while out to dinner with her husband, played, ironically enough, by Julia’s brother, Eric Roberts.

David Murphy (Woody Harrelson) confronts Diana (Demi Moore) and John (Robert Redford) outside of Rex in the 1993 drama Indecent Proposal.

Longfellow Deeds (Adam Sandler) takes Babe Bennett (Winona Ryder) on a romantic date at Cicada that ends in a massive fight with other diners in the 2002 comedy Mr. Deeds.

The following year, Cicada popped up as the spot where Bruce Nolan (Jim Carrey) brought girlfriend Grace Connelly (Jennifer Aniston) to tell her that he was finally given the anchor job in Bruce Almighty.

Charlene Morton (Queen Latifah) teaches Peter Sanderson (Steve Martin) to dance there in the 2003 comedy Bringing Down the House.

John (Brad Pitt) and Jane (Angelina Jolie) share a seductive tango at Cicada in 2005’s Mr. & Mrs. Smith.

Mad Men utilized the restaurant in no less than three episodes. In Season 1’s “New Amsterdam,” which aired in 2007, it was both the restaurant where Pete Campbell (Vincent Kartheiser) dined with his wife and her parents . . .

. . . and where he later met clients for a drink.

The following year, Roger Sterling (John Slattery) tried to convince his daughter to have a big wedding over dinner at Cicada in Season 2’s “Three Sundays.”

And Don Draper (Jon Hamm) won a Clio Award at the restaurant in Season 4’s “Waldorf Stories,” which aired in 2010.

George Valentin (Jean Dujardin) overhears some unkind words from Peppy Miller (Berenice Bejo) while at Cicada in the 2011 film The Artist.

In 2015, the exterior of Cicada, as well as that of the Oviatt Building, portrayed the outside of Hotel Cortez in American Horror Story: Hotel.

Though no filming actually took place inside, Hotel Cortez’s lobby was very closely modeled after the interior of Cicada.

Cicada occasionally masked as the entrance to Lux nightclub during the third season of Lucifer, which began airing in 2017.

Cicada also masquerades as the restaurant where Rick Dalton (Leonardo DiCaprio) dines while filming on location in Italy in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (which is not yet out on DVD so I am unable to make screen captures of that scene), as well as the bar from which Marvin Schwarz (Al Pacino) calls him (which is shown briefly in the trailer as pictured below).

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

Until next time, Happy Stalking! Smile

Stalk It: Cicada, aka New York’s fictional Archer Gray Hotel from The Morning Show, is located at 617 South Olive Street in downtown Los Angeles. You can visit the restaurant’s official website here.

October 31, 2019November 12, 2019

Woodsboro Police Station from “Scream”

Happy, happy Halloween! I can’t believe it is already time to wind down my Haunted Hollywood posts, but here we are. Another October in the books! The season definitely turned into a full-blown Scream-fest on the blog (as predicted a couple of weeks ago) and I am a-OK with it! Amazingly, there are still quite a few locales from the 1996 horror flick that I have yet to write about, so I figured I’d finish things off this year with Oakville Grocery Co., the former Healdsburg City Hall which masked as Woodsboro Police Station onscreen. Like all the other Scream sites I’ve blogged about recently, I stalked this one back in 2016 while in Northern California for a brief visit.

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The southeast corner of Matheson and Center Streets in downtown Healdsburg was home to the area’s City Hall for 110 years. The original building, a towering three-story brick and stone Romanesque Revival structure which you can see here and here, was erected in 1886. Comprised of city offices, a library, a post office, and a gym for a nearby school, it was razed in 1960. The building that replaced it was a vast departure from its predecessor with a decidedly mid-century modern feel. Designed by A.C. Steele, the new Healdsburg City Hall was dedicated on July 4th, 1961. Built at a cost of just over $175,000, the one-story, 7,544-square-foot site housed both city offices and the police station and featured a beamed overhang, a front patio, pebble rock siding, and globe lighting. You can check out a photo of it here. It is that building that appeared in Scream.

In the hopes of making downtown Healdsburg more tourist-oriented, City Hall was moved to a new, larger building a couple of blocks northwest at 401 Grove Street and the police station re-located next door to 238 Center Street in 1996, shortly after Scream was lensed. The former city hall site was subsequently given a massive overhaul and transformed into the Oakville Marketplace, home to a winery, a jewelry store, a spa, a clothing boutique, and an upscale deli/market named Oakville Grocery Co. Boasting a Mediterranean façade, the 9,000-square-foot retail complex is hardly recognizable from its days as City Hall, though structurally it remains the same.

Though I abhor the fact that a Scream location has been gutted, Oakville Grocery Co., which takes up a third of the former City Hall space, has long been our favorite spot to eat when in town. With a large front patio complete with a fireplace, a wide selection of specialty grocery items, and excellent deli sandwiches, Oakville just can’t be beat!

Healdsburg City Hall pops up as Woodsboro PD twice in Scream, first in the scene in which Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell) is brought in by Deputy Dewey (David Arquette) to make a report following the attack by Ghostface. As you can see below, the exterior is recognizable from its 1996 cameo in shape only, unfortunately.

I first saw Scream in December 1997 with some friends who had rented it on DVD over Christmas break. I remember being shocked when the end credits rolled and I spotted a nod to the City of Healdsburg in the “Filmmakers Wish to Thank” section, suggesting filming had taken place there. The charming Northern California town was only about an hour away from where I then resided and a stone’s throw from where my aunt lived (and still lives). I begged my mom to take me up there pronto and a few days later she obliged. At the time I was not entirely sure what portions of the movie had been filmed in the area – this was long before location websites that could point me in the right direction existed – so when we arrived, my mom suggested I pop into the local police station to inquire, which I distinctly remember garnering an eye roll and a “Seriously, mom?!?” from me. I did as she recommended, though, and just about fell over when the detective I spoke with informed me that filming had actually taken place at the former police station! By then, the remodel had already occurred and Oakville Grocery Co. was in full swing, but he walked us over to explain where the station used to be and which areas of it had appeared onscreen – proving further that mothers always know best! As he told us, the actual interior of City Hall was utilized as Woodsboro PD in the movie.

An interview that fellow stalker Ashley of The Drewseum recently emailed me a scan of leads me to believe that it was the City Hall portion of the building, not the actual police station, utilized in Scream. In the blurb, production designer Bruce Alan Miller says, “There’s a City Hall on the corner of the square that we turned into our police station. We just changed some signs and put a few things in the windows. We couldn’t use a real police station, because we would have been at their mercy, and we couldn’t be disrupting their police activity.” Though I was unable to unearth any photos of the interior areas featured in Scream, I did find 1961-era pictures of Healdsburg City Hall’s lobby, courthouse, and city council chambers. (Here’s another of the lobby for good measure.)

Perhaps even more famous to Scream fans than Woodsboro Police Station is the alley that runs alongside it, where Dewey escorts Sidney and Tatum (Rose McGowan) after Sidney gives her statement. Said alley can be reached via Center Street, just south of Oakville Grocery, but it, too, has largely been remodeled. The door that the girls walk out of in the scene, unfortunately, fell casualty to the 1996 renovation, though the pipe visible just beyond it still stands.

The door’s former location is pretty much where the middle glass block window is currently situated, as denoted with an orange rectangle below.

The rain gutter and window due east of the door’s former location are also still intact, which was thrilling to see! Along with the aforementioned pipe, they are pretty much the only elements that remain from the time Scream was filmed.

The dumpster enclosure and chain link fencing situated at the rear of the alley also largely remain the same.

It is in the alley that Sidney famously gives Gale Weathers (Courteney Cox) a fist to the face.

Had to do it!

During my ‘97 visit, my officer friend informed me that the people standing across the street in the punching scene were not background actors hired to be there, but interested locals hoping to catch a glimpse of the filming. Taking advantage of the situation, Wes Craven installed barricades to give the illusion that the crowd was made up of lookie-loos waiting outside the station for news about the murders of Casey Becker (Drew Barrymore) and Steve Orth (Kevin Patrick Walls). In his commentary on the Scream Collector’s Series DVD, Craven calls them “free extras.”

Woodsboro Police Station also shows up in a later scene in which Dewey drops the girls off to go grocery shopping while he checks in with his boss, Sherriff Burke (Joseph Whipp).

That segment gives us a better look at City Hall’s former exterior. It truly was a piece of mid-century perfection!

Today, the entrance to Woodsboro PD serves as the exterior of the Virginia Carol clothing boutique (the shop with the yellow awning below).

Man, what I wouldn’t give to have seen the old City Hall building still intact!

The happiest of Halloweens to all of my fellow stalkers!

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

Until next time, Happy Stalking! Smile

Stalk It: Oakville Grocery Co., aka Woodsboro Police Station from Scream, is located at 124 Matheson Street in Healdsburg. Healdsburg Town Plaza, which portrayed downtown Woodsboro in the movie, is right across the road at the intersection of Healdsburg Avenue & Matheson Street.

September 23, 2019September 27, 2019

My Guide to Palm Springs – Restaurants

As I’ve mentioned many times on this blog, I am in no way a foodie, preferring chicken strips and ranch dressing to foie gras and jus. My Guide to Palm Springs – Restaurants will reflect that. Here you’ll find the best of the best comfort food, down home cooking, delis, and cafés, with a few fine dining options thrown in. If you are looking for a more epicurean experience while visiting the area, I defer to my friend Molly of Almost Makes Perfect. You can check out her desert recommendations here. (From what I’ve heard from others who are of the gourmand variety, Cork & Fork, Farm, and Workshop Kitchen + Bar are the best foodie spots in town and Wilma & Frieda is the place for homemade baked goods, which, being diabetic, I don’t eat.) For my list, I based my dollar rating on The New York Times restaurant key and grouped the eateries from least to most expensive. A few of the spots are seasonal (in other words, closed during Palm Springs’ hot summer months, typically from June through September) and are denoted as such next to their address. So without further ado, bon appétit!

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1. Keedy’s Fountain & Grill ($) 73633 CA-111, Palm Desert – The Coachella Valley’s best greasy spoon and the kind of place that serves breakfast all day, Keedy’s has long been a family favorite. Somewhat of a hidden gem (despite the fact that it has been in operation at the same spot since 1957!), I am always flabbergasted when locals have never heard of it. Open for breakfast and lunch (and always packed to the gills), we typically hit this place up in the morning. I prefer the basics (poached eggs and sausage patties), but Keedy’s is most loved for its pancakes, which are often described as “the best in town.” The ‘50s atmosphere is great here, too. And despite being constantly crowded, Keedy’s is run like a well-oiled machine, so the wait times are never terrible.

2. Bobby’s Detroit Coney Island ($) 79630 CA-111, La Quinta (seasonal, closed for the month of August) – My family’s other favorite greasy spoon, this spot serves up great breakfasts, though my preferred dish is Nancy’s Crispy Chicken Salad, topped by chicken strips that I would have bet money were homemade on the premises but apparently are not. (The creamy garlic dressing – a secret family recipe – is crafted inhouse daily, however.) The hot dogs here are also out of this world and the service is insanely friendly. My mom and I popped in once for a late lunch around 1:45 p.m., not realizing the restaurant closes at 2. We were welcomed right in, served a fabulous meal and it wasn’t until they starting locking up when we headed to the door that we realized our gaffe. Though we apologized, our server would have none of it, thanking us profusely for coming in. Bobby’s is a gem!

3. The Sandwich Spot ($) 276 North Palm Canyon Drive, Palm Springs – Tucked away and tiny, one can easily walk right by this spot without realizing it is there, which is a true shame because it serves up some of the best sandwiches in the valley! With an extensive menu of over 24 hoagie offerings (each of them fabulous!), my favorite thing about this eatery is that any choice can be made as a salad, so it’s diabetic-friendly for me! (I’d be remiss if I did not give an honorable mention to TKB Deli & Bakery here. I don’t love the place, but everyone else I know does. In fact, I think I might be the only person in the Coachella Valley who is not a fan. The restaurant is so beloved that it secured the Number 1 spot on Yelp’s Top 100 Places to Eat in 2018. I think the homemade bread is what sets it apart. Being diabetic, I typically don’t eat bread on sandwiches and, sadly, without it, the offerings at TKB are seriously lacking, IMO. That is, thankfully, not the case at The Sandwich Spot.)

4. Sunnylands Café ($) 37977 Bob Hope Dr, Rancho Mirage (seasonal) – This is my favorite spot to grab a quick bite whenever the GC and I are in the area running errands. The salads here are great and inexpensive, but the real draw is the ambiance. Overlooking Sunnylands Gardens, this place has views for days! If you eat here and have a few moments, be sure to explore both the attached museum (admission is free and exhibits change regularly) and the surrounding landscape. It is all spectacular! And if you’re architecturally inclined, book a tour of the historic Sunnylands estate, former home of philanthropists Walter and Leonore Annenburg and a stomping ground of countless U.S. presidents.

5. Luscious Lorraine’s ($) 73910 CA-111 Suite F, Palm Desert – Vegan, gluten-free and, paleo friends – this is the spot for you! Specialized offerings for every kind of dietary restriction (there’s even a pregnancy-prep menu!), this place is health-minded, but incredibly good. As I’ve mentioned before, my family has pretty disparate dietary needs, but that’s never a problem at Lorraine’s. From lentil mushroom patties to macro nutrient bowls to tempeh sandwiches, there’s something for everyone here, no matter what ails you! (Photo below via the Luscious Lorraine’s website.)

6. La Quinta Baking Company ($$) 78395 CA-111, La Quinta – My mom’s pick for the best breakfast in town, La Quinta Baking Company is quaint, intimate and charming. And while not a big breakfast person myself, I have to say the spread here is exceptional. The baked goods (all homemade, as is most of what is served on the premises) stretch as far as the eye can see in the front case and the omelets (with American cheese melted on top!) are revelations! Truth be told everything is good here and the restaurant is picturesque both inside and out, especially the front patio. It’s like a little slice of Europe right in the desert.

7. Eureka! ($$) 74985 CA-111, Indian Wells – Another of my mom’s picks, she has a particular affinity for the hamburgers at this place. Eureka! is famous for them, no doubt. I am not a burger person myself, but the salads here are excellent, especially the cobb. The eatery also offers great drinks and appetizers, as well as full blown meals. In fact, whenever the Grim Cheaper doesn’t feel like cooking and suggests take-out, Eureka! is my first request.

8. Sherman’s Deli & Bakery ($$) 401 East Tahquitz Canyon Way, Palm Springs – The club here (which I order non-stacked, the bacon extra crispy, with added cheddar and avocado, sans bread) is hands-down one of the best.sandwiches.anywhere. Sherman’s has countless offerings, though, including salads, pastas and pretty much anything else you could ever hope to order. You almost need a full day to go through the menu! And you honestly can’t go wrong with a selection. Sherman’s is a true Palm Springs landmark! The deli also boasts a sister location in Palm Desert (which was featured on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives!), but I prefer the original.

9. Manhattan in the Desert ($$) 2665 E Palm Canyon Dr, Palm Springs – My other favorite area deli, Manhattan in the Desert truly is like a little slice of the Big Apple right here in PS! I’m partial to the turkey, bacon, cheddar and avocado sandwich (and yes, it’s great even without bread), but this is another spot where you can’t go wrong with a selection. All sandwiches are “mile high,” stacked to perfection and served with a free sampling of delicious pickled goods.

10. King’s Highway ($$) 701 East Palm Canyon Drive, Palm Springs – I rarely eat carbs or breakfast, but when I am craving both, this is the spot I head. King’s Highway at the Ace Hotel serves up some of the best avocado toast in the world! The place seems to change up the dish on the reg (currently it’s served with confit tomato, onion sprouts, crispy shallots and a soft-boiled egg), but each variety I’ve had has been nothing short of spectacular. The GC finds the rest of the menu a little odd (I’m a creature of habit and have only ever ordered the avo toast), but all the others I’ve taken here really enjoyed it. A reimagined Denny’s, the ambiance is pretty cool, too.

11. The Old Spaghetti Factory ($$) 71743 CA-111, Rancho Mirage – For me, this one is all about the décor, though the food is excellent, too. Walking through the doors of The Old Spaghetti Factory in Rancho Mirage is like stepping onto a highly stylized movie set. Towering red tufted booths, crystal chandeliers, wood-beamed ceilings (there’s even a vintage trolley car!), the place feels more like the Beast’s castle from Beauty and the Beast than a restaurant. Fantastical, whimsical, and oh-so-much fun, there’s truly no other spot like it in the desert.

12. Murph’s Gaslight ($$) 79860 Ave 42, Bermuda Dunes – This place may be a little rough around the edges, but it cooks up some of the best fried chicken I’ve ever had! The plastic dining ware it’s served on? Well, that’s just part of the charm – as are the questionably-colored gravy and ubiquitous canned fruit/sponge cake dessert. It’s all about the chicken here and trust me, it’s fantastic! Friends who I’ve brought to Murph’s undoubtedly say, “This is just like my [insert relative who hails from the south] used to make!” And it’s served bottomless, family-style with mashed potatoes, corn bread, veggies, biscuits, salad, and dessert included. Dining here is a true experience. And yep, Murph’s has a full bar with champagne, as pictured below. Fried chicken and champagne? That’s pretty much my perfect meal.

13. The Pink Cabana ($$$) 44985 Province Way, Indian Wells – Hands-down the Coachella Valley’s prettiest restaurant, The Pink Cabana is a designer’s dreamland! All soft blushes and subtle greens with incredible tilework, the newcomer (it opened in 2018) is gorgeous! And the food is fabulous to boot! Go for the Instagram opportunities, stay for the chicken tacos (my fave menu item)!

14. Bella Vita ($$$) 74970 Country Club Dr, Palm Desert – This is the site of one of my and the GC’s favorite Coachella Valley meals. Fairly close to where we used to live, we wound up here unexpectedly during a particularly disastrous anniversary. I can’t remember the circumstances now (as is the case with most things that initially seem disastrous), but our initial plans somehow got ruined and we found ourselves at Bella Vita last minute. I was in the worst mood, the kind nothing nor no one can get me out of. And then I walked through the front doors into one of the most warm and inviting spaces I’d ever visited, the scent of homemade Italian food promptly hitting my senses, and by the time we sat down and that first sip of bubbly hit my lips, I was immediately transformed. The night turned out being one of our best anniversaries ever – all thanks to Bella Vita!

15. Piero’s PizzaVino ($$$) 73722 El Paseo #1, Palm Desert – Florence-born Piero Pierattoni is behind numerous desert eateries, each one more fabulous than the last! (Several will be included in my upcoming Guide to Palm Springs – Cocktails thanks to their excellent happy hours.) This casual spot serves up authentic Italian food (all culled from generations-old family recipes straight from Italy), but is best known for its traditional Neapolitan Pizza, which is perfectly airy, crisp and cheesy! I typically go for the more diabetic-friendly pancetta-wrapped asparagus and grilled artichokes, though truth be told we’ve never had a bad meal here. Piero is often on hand to chat with patrons and, let me tell you, the guy is a character! There’s nothing better than grabbing a drink at the bar and listening to him regale guests with tales of his beloved native country.

16. Armando’s Dakota Bar and Grill ($$$) (73260 El Paseo, Palm Desert) – My pick for the best Mexican food in the desert and I’m not alone in that assessment. Pretty much everyone who comes to the area makes it a point to eat at Armando’s. A Palm Desert staple since 2001, the offerings here are exceptional, the service friendly and the margaritas strong (so strong, in fact, the restaurant limits patrons to two per visit!). The front patio, overlooking the shops on El Paseo, is an especially idyllic spot during more temperate months.

17. Arnold Palmer’s Restaurant ($$$$) 78164 52nd Avenue, La Quinta (seasonal) – Fine dining at its, well, finest, Arnold Palmer’s (opened by the golf great in 2004) serves up some of the desert’s best food. And the ambiance is priceless. With huge rear and side patios, mountain views, a club-like interior, unique mementos on display (including one of The King’s four Masters jackets), and even a putting green where patrons can hit balls, it’s also one of the area’s prettiest and most unique spots. You can’t go wrong with a meal here. (For the record, I’m partial to the crab cakes.)

18. Lavender Bistro ($$$$) 78073 Calle Barcelona, La Quinta (seasonal) – The food here is excellent, some of the best I’ve had in the desert (the mushroom soup is a can’t miss!), but this spot’s real claim to fame is its courtyard. Central, sprawling, decked out in shades of purple, and adorned with about a million twinkle lights, the space made me gasp aloud the first time I saw it. It is a magical little fairyland that the photo below really does not do justice to. As such – and very deservedly so – Lavender Bistro is regularly named Palm Springs’ most romantic restaurant by just about every publication out there.

19. Misaki Sushi & Grill ($$$$) 46600 Washington Street, #1, La Quinta – This hard-to-find spot (it’s hidden away behind a Trader Joe’s) is hands-down the Coachella Valley’s best sushi restaurant. And I would know, I’ve been dragged to pretty much all of them! While not a sushi fan myself, both the GC and my best friend, Robin, are. The two were devastated when their favorite desert spot, Gyoro Gyoro, closed in 2018 and promptly went on a quest to find another local place up to par. That quest ended as soon as they landed at Misaki. It’s been our go-to spot ever since. During their first visit, they ordered the dish below and it was so intricately plated, Robin commented that he was shocked a miniature train circling the sashimi hadn’t been included. And yes, it apparently tasted just as good as it looked!

20. Cunard’s Sandbar ($$$$) 78120 Calle Tampico, La Quinta (seasonal) – Don’t make the same mistake the GC and I did by judging a book by its cover with this one. Rather dumpy from the outside, we assumed Cunard’s Sandbar was a dive bar and avoided it the first few years we lived here. It was not until my friend Kim touted the place’s virtues on Facebook that I realized it was actually a restaurant. We decided to give it a whirl shortly thereafter and haven’t looked back since!

Sandbar is Old School Italian at its finest! In fact, it reminds me a lot of my beloved Vitello’s before it was completely revamped. Dimly lit, cozy and intimate, the restaurant even has quite a few celebrity fans including Gena Rowlands who dines on the premises so regularly she has her own table! Though the food is good, it’s really the ambiance and retro vibe that set this place apart. Sandbar is tiny and typically packed, so reservations are recommended.

21. Zin American Bistro ($$$$) 198 South Palm Canyon Drive, Palm Springs – My and the GC’s favorite Palm Springs restaurant! When we stayed at the nearby Korakia Pensione for a week, we ate at Zin every. single. night. Though other eateries were recommended to us, we found ourselves returning night after night, craving one of the place’s delectable dishes. There’s literally nothing I’ve tried here that I didn’t absolutely love, but some of the standouts include the Wild Mushroom Truffle Soup, Vegetable Tartar, Fresh Burrata salad, Carpaccio, and the Crispy Chicken Sandwich. The nice part about Zin is that you can overindulge in a decadent meal or keep it extremely healthy and, either way, it will be delicious!

Bonus – Tiffany’s Sweet Spot (79410 CA-111 Suite 101, La Quinta) – Craving dessert? Do not pass go, do not collect $200, head straight to Tiffany’s Sweet Spot in La Quinta! While this place is not a restaurant, I felt compelled to include it on my list for those wanting a a to-go treat. The tiny walk-up bakery, situated in a strip mall, serves cupcakes that are on par with Magnolia Bakery in New York (the best cupcakes in the world, IMO). Over 20 varieties are available each day and all are made to order. Each flavor can also be purchased gluten free and I actually think the gf samplings are better than the regular. This is my neighborhood’s go-to spot when anyone on the street is celebrating a birthday. Favorites include the Triple Chocolate, Salted Caramel Mocha, and Tres Leches.

Be sure to check out the other posts in My Guide to Palm Springs series about the desert’s best coffee houses, hotels, bars and places to see/things to do. And, as always, for more stalking fun, you can follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Los Angeles magazine and Discover Los Angeles.

August 26, 2019August 25, 2019

The Daisy – Where O.J. Simpson and Nicole Brown Met

I love a good true-crime podcast. One that recently got me hooked is Confronting: O.J. Simpson with Kim Goldman, which just finished its first season. In it, the sister of murder victim Ronald Goldman interviews numerous key players in the so-called Trial of the Century, including jurors, prosecutors, witnesses and one of the defense team’s private investigators. It is raw, real, heartbreaking and informative – I even learned a few new things about the case, which I didn’t think possible. Listening also reminded me of a Simpson-related location that I stalked way back when but have yet to blog about – the former site of The Daisy in Beverly Hills. It was at the tony members-only discotheque that O.J. first laid eyes on a young Nicole Brown, thereby setting off their turbulent 17-year relationship. It is sobering to think that without The Daisy there would be no O.J. and Nicole, the events of June 12th, 1994 would not have occurred, and the cultural landscape of Los Angeles, nay the world, would be very different today.

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The small brick building that housed The Daisy, which has long since been razed, was initially constructed as a private residence in 1941. Just two years later, famed restauranteur and self-proclaimed Russian prince Michael Romanoff enlisted architect Douglas Honnold to transform the dwelling into his eponymous nightclub, Romanoff’s. The lounge (you can see what it looked like here) would go on to become one of the best-known hot spots in Hollywood history. An entire post could be dedicated to Romanoff’s, in fact, but since this piece is about The Daisy, I’ll keep my reporting on it scant. The eatery’s patronage read like a Who’s Who of Tinseltown, with Cary Grant, Humphrey Bogart, Charlie Chaplin, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and Jack Warner all counted as regulars. In 1951, when Romanoff’s moved a few blocks away to 140 South Rodeo Drive (that’s where Sofia Loren was famously snapped gazing disdainfully at Jayne Mansfield’s décolletage – one of history’s most iconic images), its former home became the Friars Club. That, too, relocated in 1961 and the following year The Daisy opened in its place. It was the first members-only disco to exist in Beverly Hills.

Established by Jack Hanson, who was best known as the founder of Jax, a wildly popular Beverly Hills clothier that outfitted the likes of Marilyn Monroe, Audrey Hepburn, Jackie Kennedy, and Twiggy, The Daisy was a hit from the outset. The Hollywood elite who patronized it had to shell out an initiation fee of $250 and membership was limited to 400. The steep price tag did not curb the club’s popularity, which was packed to the gills most nights with such luminaries as Steve McQueen, Robert Redford, Sonny and Cher, Warren Beatty, Julie Christie, Mia Farrow, Natalie Wood, Paul Newman, Grace Kelly, Bobby Darin, and Peter Sellers all dining, dancing, and playing pool on the premises. The extensive menu even had dishes named after many of its famous regulars, from Ray Bradbury to Katherine Ross. As Hanson told the press in 1977, “Seven nights a week for nearly 10 years, this place was filled with the biggest celebrities in the world. I was king of the town.”

The Daisy was the site of countless historic events in pop culture, not a surprise considering its elite clientele. Aaron Spelling met future wife Candy there in 1965, while they were both on dates with other people (she was doubling with Tina Sinatra and Sammy Hess). In the winter of that same year, Frank Sinatra had a terse exchange with writer Harlan Ellison over a pair of boots, which journalist Gay Talese famously chronicled for Esquire magazine. And it was at The Daisy that, on August 11th, 1969, Diana Ross introduced the Jackson 5 as Motown’s newest group. The place truly is hallowed ground when it comes to Hollywood history.

The late ‘60s brought a decline in The Daisy’s patronage, largely thanks to newer clubs like The Factory which were popping up all over L.A., and it eventually closed in 1970. At that point, Hanson rebranded the place into a health food restaurant/cabaret (where’s Luann de Lesseps when you need her?) that went by the same floral moniker. The eatery didn’t last long, though, and in 1976, Bryan MacLean, a founding member of the rock group Love, leased it, opening a Christian nightclub on the premises. Though initially popular, dancing was not allowed and alcohol was not served, and it, unsurprisingly, closed within a year. So Hanson quickly took over the reins again, reopening The Daisy at the site. This time initiation fees were $500, but, as before, the high fee did not deter customers. It was not long before the club was hoppin’ once more.

In 1977, Nicole Brown, then 18 and fresh out of high school, landed a job as a waitress at The Daisy. During her very first shift, she caught the eye of O.J., then 30, married, and one of the club’s regulars. (He, too, had a dish named after him – the “O.J. Simpson” consisted of scrambled eggs and a sliced orange. Let that sit for a minute.) Though Nicole had no idea who the sports star was at the time and despite the fact that he was not exactly single, the two began an affair and within months were living together. The rest is much publicized – and very tragic – history.

Along with being a pop culture phenomenon, The Daisy is also a screen star. It was there that Leon (Bill Duke) told Julian (Richard Gere) he had to go back to Palm Springs for a job in the 1980 drama American Giglio.

It was also at The Daisy that Ross Conti (Steve Forrest) and Elliot (Beverly Hills, 90210’s Joe E. Tata!) discussed some illicit images in the second episode of the 1985 miniseries Hollywood Wives.

While much has been reported about The Daisy’s early, popular years, I could not find any info whatsoever on its demise and have seen it reported that the club was closed and demolished in both the early 1980s and in 2005. Aerial views don’t provide much clarity, either. Whatever the year, at some point the building was razed to make way for new retail space. Today, the former Daisy site is home to the boutiques Saint Laurent and Moncler.

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

Until next time, Happy Stalking! Smile

Stalk It: The former site of The Daisy, where Nicole Brown first met O.J. Simpson, can be found at 326 North Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills. The Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Anderton Court Shops complex is located right next door at 333 North Rodeo.

July 29, 2019July 29, 2019

Bean Town from “Big Little Lies”

Big Little Lies sure made use of Sierra Madre this season (in case you missed my other posts on the city’s BLL appearances, you can check them out here, here and here). And it is not very hard to see why. The San Gabriel Valley town, situated just east of Pasadena, is charming, picturesque and extremely evocative of the past. It is like Pleasantville come to life! The place is also very reminiscent of Carmel, where the show is set, though it is even more quaint than the Northern California hamlet if you can believe it. And the hit HBO series utilized pretty much every square inch of it, including Bean Town, the beloved coffee house at 45 North Baldwin Avenue, which stood in for a pizza parlor, of all things, in episode 4. Though I blogged about the café back in February 2009, due to its recent small screen cameo, I decided it was time for a redo.

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I learned about Bean Town’s appearance on Big Little Lies thanks to the employees at Mother Moo Creamery (situated just down the road at 17 Kersting Court), whom I spoke with while researching my article about locales from the series for the June issue of Los Angeles magazine. They informed me that the coffee shop was altered significantly for the shoot and, boy oh boy, was it ever! So much so that, even with the insider information, I had a heck of a time figuring out what was lensed on the premises.

It was not until I started scanning through the café’s Instagram feed that I figured things out. During the March 2018 shoot, Bean Town’s owners graciously posted several photos of the space dressed for the filming. The set of images showed the coffee shop decked out to look like an upscale Italian restaurant, with large pieces of art dotting the walls, autumn decorations splayed on tabletops, and garlic strands hanging from the ceiling. One look and I knew immediately that Bean Town was the spot where Mary Louise Wright (Meryl Streep) took grandsons Josh (Cameron Crovetti) and Max (Nicholas Crovetti) for “the beeeeesssst pizza in the wooooooorld!” in “She Knows.” Virtually none of the café is actually shown in the scene (which is surprising considering the energy apparently spent on decorating it). What you see below is the extent of its appearance.

Despite the scant footage, though, enough was visible for me to be able to positively identify the place. As you can see, the artwork, fall wreath and decorative plate positioned behind Mary Louise in the segment match the décor pictured in Bean Town’s Instagram photo of the café’s back wall perfectly.

In everyday life, that back wall looks considerably different.

Per Bean Town’s Instagram, the coffee shop was closed for a full four days for the shoot, from Tuesday, March 27th through Friday, March 30th, so it is fairly gobsmacking that its appearance amounted to exactly sixty seconds of screen time! Typically, a scene of that length would require about a half a day of filming. And while the set dressing was extensive . . .

. . . I just can’t imagine that it necessitated three and a half days of prep and strike time.

So where did all that extra time go? My guess is that several additional segments were shot at the pizza parlor, but that they, like so much of Season 2, wound up on the cutting room floor. Who knows for certain, but man, what I wouldn’t give to see director Andrea Arnold’s original cut!

The Big Little Lies shoot required Bean Town and the Starbucks down the block (the only two coffee shops in the area!) to be closed simultaneously (the horror!), so, in an amazing gesture, the former set up an outdoor kiosk and offered free java so the community would not be without! The café, which was originally established in the ‘80s, actually has a long history of goodwill. When a horrible wind storm hit the San Gabriel Valley in December 2011, owner Matt Krantz powered the eatery with three generators so that locals could still get their fix. As he explained to the Patch, “We lost some signage, we lost a light and the awning tore up a bit but other than that, we’re here. Bumps and bruises. I could sit at home and not do anything, but I’d rather be here trying to keep everybody together and keep the sense of community that Sierra Madre is basically founded on.” He also delivered coffee and baked goods to the city crews working to get the town back up and running. And, in 2013, when a beloved barista unexpectedly passed away, Krantz not only shuttered the place for two full days to give friends and family a place to gather and mourn, but he also held a fundraiser on the premises to help with funeral costs. Bean Town is a café with heart! Oh, and their coffee is darn good, to boot!

As I mentioned in my 2009 post, Bean Town also appeared numerous times throughout the 2005 comedy Kicking and Screaming . . .

. . . most notably in the scene in which Phil Weston (Will Ferrell) has a minor breakdown over a too-long line. (I’ve been there, Phil! I’ve been there!) You can check out the hilarious segment here.

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

Until next time, Happy Stalking! Smile

Stalk It: Bean Town, aka the pizza restaurant from the “She Knows” episode of Big Little Lies, is located at 45 North Baldwin Avenue in Sierra Madre. You can visit the eatery’s official website here. Several other spots from Season 2 can be found on the same block. The Starbucks where Tori Bachman (Sarah Sokolovic) propositioned Ed Mackenzie (Adam Scott) in “The Bad Mother” and where Renata Klein (Laura Dern) lashed out at Mary Louise in “I Want to Know” is just down the road at 1 Kersting Court. Mother Moo Creamery, where Madeline Martha Mackenzie (Reese Witherspoon) threw an ice cream cone at Mary Louise in a scene that was ultimately cut, is a few doors away at 17 Kersting Court. Deasy Penner Podley, aka Madeline’s real estate office, is at 30 North Baldwin Avenue. And the fictional Seaside Coffee Shop seen on Reese’s Instagram was created in the storefront that now houses Capelli Court Salon at 26 North Baldwin Avenue.

June 28, 2019July 30, 2019

Café Descanso from “Big Little Lies”

My mom recently commented to me that the latest season of Big Little Lies is shot very tightly, which she finds surprising being that director Andrea Arnold sought to feature more of the great outdoors this time around. Even Blissful Drip Café, the prop coffee shop built specifically for the series on a bluff overlooking Monterey Bay, isn’t really shown. As my mom lamented, anytime the ladies dine there, all that can really be seen are the chairs. Odd considering the strikingly dramatic views that would be visible if the camera just panned back slightly. One spot we are getting more of a glimpse of (though not by much) is Café Descanso, a casual outdoor eatery located at Descanso Gardens in La Cañada Flintridge. Though I would have recognized the restaurant on sight having frequented the gardens many a time in the past, I was lucky enough to interview Big Little Lies’ insanely talented production designer John Paino a few months back (which I’m still pinching myself over!) as part of an article I wrote for the June issue of Los Angeles magazine and during our chat, he mentioned its Season 2 cameo. I didn’t realize just how much the place was going to be featured, though, and have been pleasantly surprised to see it pop up in every episode that has aired as of yet, sometimes more than once! So I just had to pop by for a quick stalk while driving through the area recently.

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I covered the history of Descanso Gardens way back when in a May 2009 post (I’m going to have to update that one soon!), so I’ll spare you a recap here. Suffice it to say the 160-acre site is a bucolic wonderland of lush landscapes which include a rosarium, an oak forest, koi ponds, and a Japanese tea garden. The venue charges a meager $9 admission fee, as opposed to The Huntington’s $25, so it does get pretty significantly crowded, something I bemoaned in my previous post. Regardless of the crowds, though, Descanso is beautiful.

The property boasts two onsite dining options – Maple, an upscale indoor eatery, and Café Descanso (pictured below), a walk-up window deli/bakery connected to a large outdoor patio. Both are operated by the Patina Restaurant Group.

The offerings at Café Descanso include pastries, coffees, salads, sandwiches, beer, wine and more.

I did not sample any of the fare while there, so I can’t say whether it is good or not, but the atmosphere sure is stellar!

Judging by the crowds, though (the line to the walk-up window never seemed to wane), I’d say the food must be pretty tasty.

Bonus – because the café is situated outside of Descanso’s entrance, admission is not required to dine there! (The same is true of Maple.)

Café Descanso is a truly idyllic little spot and, with its mature foliage, definitely has a Monterey feel, so it is not surprising that it came to be used on Big Little Lies.

In the series’ Season 2 opener, ”What Have They Done?”, Nathan Carlson (James Tupper) runs into Ed Mackenzie (Adam Scott) at the eatery and asks him to take his wife, Bonnie Carlson (Zoë Kravitz), out to lunch in the hopes of getting her to open up since “she’s gone missing in mental action.”

Unfortunately, I failed to bring screen captures with me on this particular stalk, so my photos above and below are from slightly different angles from which the scene was shot.

In the second episode of Season 2, titled “Tell-Tale Hearts,” Renata Klein (Laura Dern) tells Madeline Martha Mackenzie (Reese Witherspoon) about her husband’s financial misdeeds while at Café Descanso.

Again, my photos are slightly off angle-wise.

Later in that same episode, Ed and Nathan run into each other once again at the café and almost come to blows.

That particular scene was shot by the eatery’s walk-up window, which was changed a bit for the shoot. Not only was a menu board removed, but a sugar and creamer station were positioned at the forefront of the space, I believe, to make it appear to be more of a coffee shop than a restaurant.

In “The End of the World,” Madeline stumbles upon Ed and Bonnie having coffee together at Descanso Café.

Needless to say, she does not take the sighting well.

And in “She Knows,” Madeline and Renata run into Detective Adrienne Quinlan (Merrin Dungey) there.

I am fairly certain Café Descanso will be featured in additional Season 2 episodes and will update this post accordingly.

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

Until next time, Happy Stalking! Smile

Stalk It: Café Descanso, from the second season of Big Little Lies, can be found at Descanso Gardens which is located at 1418 Descanso Drive in La Cañada Flintridge. You can visit the garden’s official website here. The café, which is open daily from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., is situated past the venue’s ticketing area, but is outside of the actual entrance, so admission is not required to dine there.

June 26, 2019July 16, 2019

The Stage from “Big Little Lies’

So far I am unimpressed with the locations featured in Big Little Lies’ second season. During the HBO series’ first go-round, not only were the locales fantastic, but they were showcased to such an incredible extent that they pretty much overshadowed everything else – but in the best way possible! Despite the drama and tension constantly hovering around Madeline Martha Mackenzie (Reese Witherspoon) and the gang, the atmosphere completely drew me in. From the houses to the restaurants to the scenic overlooks, the ladies’ beautiful but haunting world was definitely a place I wanted more of. This season, not so much. In fact, in the three episodes that have aired so far, there hasn’t been a single location standout – in my eyes at least. Even the spots that are striking in real life aren’t being showcased well. Case in point – Burbank’s The Stage California Fusion Restaurant & Café, which masked as the supposed Monterey-area Neptune’s Bistro, where Jane Chapman (Shailene Woodley) went on a rather odd date with her co-worker, Corey Brockfield (Douglas Smith), in the latest episode titled “The End of the World.” I learned about the arcadian eatery thanks to a reader named Lew who posted a comment alerting me that the series was filming on the premises on my Round-Up of Big Little Lies Filming Locations post back in March 2018. I finally stalked the place this past May and can honestly say it is, hands down, one of the coolest, prettiest and most unique venues in L.A.! I anxiously awaited its BLL cameo and was disappointed – and rather surprised – when it finally popped up in very limited form this past Sunday. Hardly any of it could be seen! So I figured it was my duty to properly showcase it for my readers here.

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The Stage California Fusion Restaurant & Café opened its doors in June 2013 on the site of what was formerly a garden shop known as Lucky Plants. Considering the eatery’s pastoral quality, you might think much of the design and foliage are holdovers from the space’s time as a nursery, but as you can see in the August 2011 Street View image as compared to my photograph below, that is, oddly, not the case. Lucky Plants can hardly be described as bucolic. As commenter Vahan Bznuni said of the property’s redevelopment, “They turned an abandoned former nursery with no hint of green into a lush garden paradise.”

The difference is incredible!

Garden paradise it truly is!

The Stage is all bright bougainvillea vines, lush hedges, towering trees and hanging blossoms coupled with reclaimed wood, strung twinkle lights and colorful décor.

Each vista proves more stunning than the last and includes an expansive main courtyard;

a raised patio known as “The Veranda”;

an indoor dining room dubbed “The House” . . .

. . . complete with a stage . . .

canopied pathways;

and a covered patio.

Even the restaurant’s signage is whimsical!

And the parking lot picturesque!

The place is so gorgeous that I took over 110 photographs while there!

Literally everything at The Stage is picture-worthy.

The Grim Cheaper and I dined in a tucked-away little enclave, of which the restaurant has several. It was a bit chilly during our lunch, so our server offered us blankets to keep warm, which perfectly epitomized the place to me. The Stage is warm, cozy and inviting.

Oh, and the food’s not bad either!

We opted for the Shrimp Gruyere appetizer consisting of massive-size prawns wrapped in smoked bacon and covered in Gruyere cheese with a tarragon dipping sauce. And yes, it tasted just as good as it looked.

Big Little Lies’ “The End of the World” episode made use of The Stage’s courtyard area for Jane and Corey’s very brief date scene during which Corey obsessively touts his obscure knowledge of wild versus farmed seafood.

Though the space did appear beautiful onscreen . . .

. . . it was nothing compared to its actual beauty.

I mean!

I am hoping the eatery is featured again in some of Season 2’s upcoming episodes, otherwise what a waste of a location!

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

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

Until next time, Happy Stalking! Smile

Stalk It: The Stage California Fusion Restaurant & Café, aka Corey and Jane’s date spot from “The End of the World” episode of Big Little Lies, is located at 546 South San Fernando Boulevard in Burbank. You can visit the eatery’s official website here. The Stage is open Tuesday through Sunday from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.