Life in Pieces – IAMNOTASTALKER

April 17, 2020April 18, 2020

Fair Oaks Burger from “Little Fires Everywhere”

I have never been a burger girl (I know, I know), but I’ve long been familiar with Altadena staple Fair Oaks Burger. The veteran eatery sits at the northern end of Fair Oaks Avenue and, though I never popped in for a bite, I passed by it countless times throughout the 15+ years I lived in the area. So I was thrilled when a reader informed me the place would be making an appearance in the new Hulu series Little Fires Everywhere and promptly ran out to stalk it while in L.A. in January prior to my dad’s surgery. I have been anxiously awaiting its appearance ever since and was happy to finally see it pop up in last week’s episode titled “Picture Perfect.” Though its cameo was brief, I figured the locale was still worthy of a post.

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While it seems like Fair Oaks Burger has been around forever, from what I’ve been able to gather, the restaurant was actually founded in 1984.

The burger stand was the brainchild of the Lee family. Though it always operated under the Fair Oaks Burger name, the Lees leased the restaurant out to a different party in 1998 before ultimately returning to take over the reins again in 2008.

Today, the eatery is run by Jung Ja Lee and her daughter, Christy.

As the name suggests, Fair Oaks Burger serves up standard American fare like hamburgers and onion rings, but there are also a plethora of Mexican and Chinese offerings on the diverse menu.

Unfortunately, the restaurant was closed when I showed up to stalk it, so not only was I unable to sample any of the dishes (which I’ve heard are stellar!) . . .

. . . but I was only able to take interior photos through the front windows.

It is in the drive-thru of Fair Oaks Burger that Lexie Richardson (Jade Pettyjohn) and Brian Harlins (Stevonte Hart) get into a heated discussion concerning race in the “Picture Perfect” episode of Little Fires Everywhere. The burger stand looks much the same in person as it did onscreen, minus the snowy detritus, of course.

Though I learned about the restaurant’s appearance on the show long before it started airing, it wouldn’t have been hard to ID the place had I not. As you can see below, the name “Fair Oaks Burger” was visible on the uniform of the cashier in the scene.

Fair Oaks Burger actually has a slew of appearances on its resume! The restaurant poses as Haddonfield Char-Broiled Burger, where Dr. Samuel Loomis (Malcolm McDowell) first meets with Sheriff Lee Brackett (Brad Dourif), in the 2007 Halloween remake.

It pops up as Big Joey’s, where John (James Brolin) and Joan (Dianne Wiest) painstakingly attempt to grab a milkshake, in the Season 1 episode of Life in Pieces titled “Burn Vasectomy Milkshake Pong,” which aired in 2015.

Javon Beard (Sam Adegoke) also takes his girlfriend for a date at the restaurant, which masks as a fried chicken joint, in 2017’s Michael Jackson: Searching for Neverland. Only the interior of the space was utilized, though.

The establishing shot shown is of Southwest Diner at 761 Nevada Highway in Boulder City, Nevada, which I learned from fellow stalker Walter.

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

Until next time, Happy Stalking! Smile

Stalk It: Fair Oaks Burger, from the “Picture Perfect” episode of Little Fires Everywhere, is located at 2560 North Fair Oaks Avenue in Altadena. You can visit the eatery’s official website here.

June 6, 2018June 6, 2018

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Image result for rolling stone may 2008

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Until next time, Happy Stalking! Smile

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

September 27, 2016February 17, 2017

Houses from “Life in Pieces”

Today’s post is once again brought to you by my friend, fellow stalker Michael (you can read his other fabulous guest columns here, here, here and here). As was the case yesterday, this article is, surprisingly, not about a The Brady Bunch location. Take it away, Michael!

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Each fall I’m always excited as the newest television season starts to air, but I’m often dissuaded from watching the networks’ latest offerings because it seems as soon as I get into a new show, it’s canceled. However, last year I thought I’d give CBS’s new sitcom, Life in Pieces, a shot. I’m a long-time Dianne Wiest fan, and I thought the concept of the show sounded interesting. Every episode of the 30-minute program consists of four individual stories—each separated by a commercial break. Fittingly, episodes are named with four words—one to describe each story.

Not uncommon for pilots, the first episode of Life in Pieces used a different residence to represent Joan (Dianne Wiest) and John’s (James Brolin) house (the Wilson home from 90210, as Lindsay pointed out to me), while the second episode provides us with the main residences used for the rest of the season.

Joan and John live in a large white traditional-style home, along with their son Matt (Thomas Sadoski) who has moved into the garage. Joan and John’s daughter Heather (Betsy Brandt), son-in-law Tim (Dan Bakkedahl), and grandchildren Tyler (Niall Cunningham), Samantha (Holly J. Barrett) and Sophia (Giselle Eisenberg) move into a Cape Cod just down the street in the second episode (“Interruptus Date Breast Movin’”). And Joan and John’s youngest son Greg (Colin Hanks) lives with his wife Jen (Zoe Lister-Jones) and their daughter in a mid-century modern home.

When I couldn’t find any mention of the show’s filming locations online I started looking into them myself. Thankfully the producers and owners of the homes didn’t try to disguise the locations, leaving the house numbers affixed and painted curb addresses unobscured.

Then it was just a matter of finding the right neighborhoods. I had an inkling that the two traditional-style homes might be located in Cheviot Hills. I’d spent some time in the area last year looking at filming locations from The Goldbergs and Modern Family, and it was easy to picture the residences from Life in Pieces in that neighborhood. Using the addresses that I could glean from the show, I started checking like-numbered blocks until I hit pay dirt.

Like the show would have you believe, Joan and John’s house is located just a couple homes away from Heather and Tim’s. When in Los Angeles last month, I headed right out to Cheviot Hills to have a look.

Since I’m used to tracking down locations that were filmed 30-40 years ago, it’s always a delight and a little jarring to find a contemporary location and have it look exactly the same as it does on television.

Even the neighbors’ homes along Patricia Avenue can be seen in many episodes.

Having found two of the homes for the price of one, I just needed to track down Greg and Jen’s mid-century modern. Since that style would be out of place in Cheviot Hills, I started looking into other neighborhoods. After investigating a few suspected possibilities with no luck, I tuned into the then-latest episode (“Tattoo Valentine Guitar Pregnant”) and the dialog referred to Greg and Jen’s Mar Vista home. Since it’s not unusual for the fictional location of a television show to not mesh with the actual location used for filming, I didn’t get my hopes up, but still figured it was worth checking out.

And once again the show itself helped me zero-in on the proper location. Greg and Jen’s house is indeed located in Mar Vista, a neighborhood on the Westside of Los Angeles, nestled between Venice, Santa Monica, and Culver City.

The house used on Life in Pieces isn’t the only mid-century modern home in the area. In fact it’s one of 52 residences built on the Mar Vista tract on Meier and Moore Streets, originally marketed as “Modernique Homes” and designed by architect Gregory Ain, a student of renown California Modern architect Richard Neutra. Thankfully these homes are now part of a Los Angeles Historical Preservation Overlay Zone which limits alternations to architecturally important structures.

Until recently, I’d never visited Mar Vista, but in addition to checking out the Life in Pieces house, I’d certainly recommend a stroll around the block to check out the unique architecture. [Editor’s Note – the fabulous mid-century modern home where Roy Waller (Nicolas Cage) lived in Matchstick Men is located on the same block!)

Editor’s Note – A big THANK YOU to Michael once again for yet another fabulous post! I have yet to watch Life in Pieces, but I think it’s time I start. And I need to get myself out to Mar Vista pronto to peruse the Modernique Homes – they sound right up my alley!

Stalk Them: Joan and John’s house (and Matt’s garage) from Life in Pieces is located at 3321 Patricia Avenue in Cheviot Hills. Heather and Tim’s house is located at 3308 Patricia Avenue in Cheviot Hills. Jen and Greg’s house can be found at 3531 Meier Street in Mar Vista. (Editor’s Note – Roy’s house from Matchstick Men is located just down the block at 3508 Meier Street.)