Michael Steger – IAMNOTASTALKER

June 20, 2011June 20, 2011

The Manhattan Beach Marriott Hotel from “90210”

Another location that the Grim Cheaper and I stopped by a couple of weeks ago while doing some stalking in the South Bay was the Manhattan Beach Marriott, which stood in for the supposed-Beverly-Hills-area hotel where the West Beverly High Senior Prom was held in the Season 3 episode of fave show 90210 titled “The Prom Before the Storm”. I found this location thanks to fellow stalker Geoff, from the 90210Locations website, who was kind enough to put together an entire 90210-themed South Bay stalking list for me as soon as he found out that I was heading down that way. Sadly, due to some major traffic that the GC and I encountered on our way down there (darn you, 405!), we were not able to spend as much time in the area as I had hoped and only managed to hit up a couple of locations, one of which was the prom hotel. Ironically enough, not only had the GC and I actually stayed at the Manhattan Beach Marriott a few years back, but thanks to its appearance in an early episode of The O.C., I had even blogged about it. So the fact that I did not recognize it when it appeared in “The Prom Before the Storm” episode is highly embarrassing! I mean, what kind of a stalker am I??? Winking smile

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Only the exterior of the Manhattan Beach Marriott Hotel was featured in the episode, in the scene in which Liam Court (aka cutie Matt Lanter – sigh!), Annie Wilson (aka Shenae Grimes), Naomi Clark (aka AnnaLynne McCord) and the rest of the West Beverly High gang arrive at their Senior Prom. As you can see in the screen capture located on the bottom right above, producers put up curtains to block the interior of the hotel in the scene as it did not match up with the interior set that they had created at Manhattan Beach Studios where the series is lensed.

That set, which was centered around Silver’s (aka Jessica Stroup’s) half-baked Cirque du Soleil prom theme, is pictured above.

I am very happy to report that the hotel looks exactly the same in person as it did in the episode. Ironically enough, the Manhattan Beach Marriott is eerily similar in appearance to the Universal Sheraton, where Brenda Walsh (aka Shannen Doherty), Dylan McKay (aka Luke Perry), Donna Martin (aka Tori Spelling) and the rest of the original West Bev gang attended the spring dance in the Season 1 episode of Beverly Hills, 90210 aptly titled “Spring Dance”.

The exterior staircase located just east of the hotel’s front entrance also made an appearance in the episode as the spot where Ivy Sullivan (aka Gillian Zinser) caught her then-boyfriend, now-husband Raj Kher (aka Manish Dayal) drinking.

As I mentioned above, the Manhattan Beach Marriott Hotel was also featured in the Season 1 episode of The O.C. titled “The Debut”. In the episode, the interior of the hotel masqueraded as the interior of Newport Beach’s Pelican Hill Country Club where the dance rehearsals for Marissa Cooper (aka Mischa Barton) and Summer Roberts’s (aka Rachel Bilson’s) Debutante Ball were held.

Both the hotel’s Grand Lobby, which as you can see above has changed its color scheme drastically since the episode was filmed;

and the Manhattan Ballroom, which was unfortunately closed when we showed up to stalk the place but which you can see photographs of here, were featured in the episode.

Big THANK YOU to fellow stalker Geoff, from the 90210Locations website, for finding this location!

Until next time, Happy Stalking! Smile

Stalk It: The Manhattan Beach Marriott Hotel, from “The Prom Before the Storm” episode of 90210, is located at 1400 Parkview Avenue in Manhattan Beach. The hotel’s main entrance and the exterior stairwell, which is denoted with a pink arrow in the above aerial view and is located just east of the main entrance, appeared in the episode. In “The Debut” episode of The O.C., the hotel’s front lobby and Manhattan Ballroom were featured. You can visit the Manhattan Beach Marriott’s official website here.

June 10, 2011June 14, 2011

The Figueroa Hotel from “90210”

A couple of years ago, while perusing through an issue of AAA’s Westways Magazine, I spotted an article about Southern California’s nicest most reasonably –priced hotels and, because I was dating the Grim Cheaper at the time, I figured I’d best read through it. Of the ten properties featured in the column, the Moroccan-themed Figueroa Hotel in Downtown Los Angeles immediately caught my eye and I dragged the GC right on over there to grab a cocktail just a few nights later. The two of us pretty much fell in love with the place’s unique architecture and exotic décor on sight and have returned there a couple of times over the years to grab a drink or just hang out. So imagine my surprise when the Fig, as it is commonly referred to, popped up on fave show 90210 as the Cabo San Lucas resort where Liam Court (aka cutie Matt Lanter – sigh!), Annie Wilson (aka Shenae Grimes), and the rest of the West Beverly gang spent their Spring Break in the recently-aired Season 3 episode titled “The Enchanted Donkey”. Because I had not taken many pictures of the hotel during our past visits, I immediately added the place to my Re-Stalk list and dragged the GC right on back over there this past weekend.

The Figueroa Hotel, which was designed by Stanton, Reed, & Hibbard at a cost of $1.25 million, was originally built in 1925 by the YWCA as a hotel/residence for businesswomen and their families. Shortly following the Great Depression, the 12-story, 409-room structure was turned into a public hotel and it later served a brief stint as housing for troops during World War II. The property fell into disrepair in the years following, until the late 1990s when it was purchased by Uno Thimansson, who immediately set about renovating the place, giving it a Moroccan theme. And, let me tell you, he did an incredible job. Walking through the hotel’s front doors, one is quickly transported from the busy streets of Downtown L.A. into a Casablanca-esque oasis. Every time I am there, I half expect to see Sam tickling the ivories while Bogie puffs away on a cigarette somewhere nearby. True to Westways Magazine’s word, despite the hotel’s fabulous ambiance and location directly across the street from Staples Center and L.A. Live, it still boasts extremely reasonable room rates. And while the reviews on Trip Advisor and Yelp are quite mixed, in this stalker’s never-to-be-humble opinion, the Figueroa looks like an extremely cool place to vacation. Not to mention that the poolside bar is something of a celebrity hotspot, with everyone from Keanu Reeves to members of Depeche Mode dropping by for a cocktail throughout the years.

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The Figueroa Hotel was used quite extensively in “The Enchanted Donkey” episode of 90210 in which it masqueraded as the “Hotel Burro Encantado” (aka the Enchanted Donkey Resort) in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. Areas of the hotel which appeared in the episode include the main entrance;

the poolside bar, where Teddy Montgomery (aka Trevor Donovan) met up for drinks with former schoolmate Tripp Wallison (aka Alan Ritchson);

and the pool area . . .

. . . behind which producers had an image of the Cabo San Lucas skyline superimposed. In reality, the Figueroa Hotel pool boasts views of several massive Downtown L.A. skyscrapers. I was literally cracking up taking the above photograph while envisioning the way the pool appeared on 90210. Winking smile

And while I had assumed that one of the hotel’s real life hallways had been used in the episode, the GC and I ventured upstairs to take a look at one and, as you can see above, it does not at all match up to what appeared onscreen. It seems that producers built a fake hallway set for the filming.

I had also assumed that some of the Figueroa’s actual rooms had been used in the episode, as well, but as you can see on the hotel’s website, that does not seem to be the case.

The super-nice front desk clerk also informed us that the Figueroa’s lobby restaurant, the Fig Street Café, stood in for a supposed Cuba-area eatery in the Season 7 episode of fave show CSI: Miami titled “The Deluca Motel”.

The hotel was also featured in the Season 4 episode of Chuck titled “Church Versus the Seduction Impossible” as the Marrakesh, Morocco-area hotel where Chuck Bartowski (aka Zachary Levi), Colonel John Casey (aka Adam Baldwin), and Sarah Walker (aka Yvonne Strahovski) were sent to rescue Roan Montgomery (aka John Larroquette).

In the Season 2 episode of Make It or Break It titled “Worlds Apart”, the Fig stood in for the Rio de Janeiro-area hotel where Kaylie Cruz (aka Josie Loren) and the rest of her teammates stayed during the World Gymnastics Championships.

In the Season 2 episode of NCIS: Los Angeles titled “Harm’s Way”, the Figueroa stood in for the Blue Oasis Hotel in Sana’a, Yemen, where Sam Hanna (aka LL Cool J) and G. Callen (aka Chris O’Donnell) stayed while trying to capture the leader of a terrorist group.

One of the hotel’s real life rooms – one that the GC, randomly enough, just so happened to snap a photograph of – also appeared in the episode.

I find it highly ironic that NCIS: Los Angeles filmed at the Figueroa as I have always thought that the hotel’s lobby bears a striking resemblance to the NCIS headquarters on the series.

Some filming of the yet-to-be-released James Cameron flick Battleship, which stars Liam Neeson, Alexander Skarsgard, and Brooklyn Decker, also took place at the Figueroa Hotel this past February.

And on a Matt Lanter side-note – a couple of weeks ago the cutie actor tweeted that he was going to be featured on the cover of the June 2011 issue of Metro Magazine. Well, I took one look at that tweet and ran right over to Vroman’s Bookstore to purchase a copy. Sadly though, Allen, the man who runs the Vroman’s newsstand (and yes, I know his name because I shop there FAR too often) told me that not only did the store not carry Metro Magazine, but it was apparently not even available from their distributors. So I marched on home and started searching for the publication online, but came up completely empty-handed. I could not find it anywhere and I am a pretty good Googler! Over the past few weeks I have also visited several newsstands and bookstores in search of the mag, but no one, it seemed, had ever even heard of it. Flash forward to last night when the GC came home from work with the above pictured laminated photograph in his hands. My birthday is today and he has been gifting me with little presents every night this week. Last night’s present, as it so happens, was a copy of Matt Lanter’s issue of Metro Magazine. As it turns out, Metro is published in the Philippines and not only was the GC able to figure that out, but he somehow managed to track down a man in the Philippines via eBay whom he had go purchase a copy for him! It is currently being shipped to me and I absolutely cannot wait to get my hands on it! When the man heard why the GC had gone to such trouble to purchase the magazine, he said that he had inspired him to be a better husband. How cute is that???? Best.present.ever! Thank you, GC!

Until next time, Happy Stalking! Smile

Stalk It: The Figueroa Hotel, from “The Enchanted Donkey” episode of 90210, is located at 939 South Figueroa Street in Downtown Los Angeles. You can visit the Figueroa’s official website here.

May 27, 2011May 26, 2011

Tapas & Vino from “90210”

Another location that I dragged the Grim Cheaper out to stalk this past weekend while in the Redondo Beach area was Tapas & Vino restaurant which appeared in the Season 3 episode of fave show 90210 titled “Best Lei’d Plans”. I found this location, as always, thanks to fellow stalker Geoff, from the 90210Locations website, and because Matt Lanter, the love of my life, had appeared in the scene that had been filmed there, I was absolutely dying to stalk the place! So after hitting up the Yellow Vase Café, which I blogged about yesterday, for lunch, the GC and I headed just a few doors north to snap a few quick pics of the Spanish-fusion restaurant.

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In the “Best Lei’d Plans” episode of 90210, newly-famous pop star Adrianna Tate-Duncan (aka Jessica Lowndes) takes her publicist, Renee (aka Elaine Hendrix), hair-stylist, Ilon (aka Jeffery Self), and make-up artist, Ginny (aka Cassandra Church), as well as her (as she calls them) “normal, non-famous friends” Navid Shirazi (aka Michael Steger), Annie Wilson (aka Shenae Grimes), Silver (aka Jessica Stroup), Teddy Montgomery (aka Trevor Donnovan), Dixon Wilson (aka Tristan Wilds), Naomi Clark (aka AnnaLynne McCord), and Liam Court (aka cutie Matt Lanter – sigh!) out for a celebratory lunch at Tapas & Vino.

While the gang is dining, a few paparazzi show up and start snapping photos of Adrianna. And while she feigns annoyance and calls the paps “vultures”, as we later come to find out, it was actually the wannabe starlet herself who tipped the photogs off in the hopes that it would generate publicity for her new singing career. Oh, Adrianna! Such a drama queen!

While watching the episode, Geoff had noticed a sign reading “Curl Up & Dye” located across the street from the restaurant and he immediately got to work using Google to search for a salon by that name in the L.A. area. And sure enough, he found it – almost directly across the street from the Yellow Vase Café.

Unfortunately we did not have time to grab a bite to eat, or even a cocktail, at Tapas & Vino while we were in the Redondo area. The restaurant looks like a VERY cool place, though, and the GC promised to take me back there for a meal in the near future. Even though we weren’t actually dining there, Tapas & Vino’s SUPER-nice owner came out to chat with us and spent quite a bit of time answering all of my silly little questions about the filming. She said that both the cast and the crew of 90210 were EXTREMELY nice and that the filming was absolutely hassle-free and went off without a hitch. She also informed me that all of the cast members went outside after the shoot wrapped to snap pictures with the fans who were in attendance. Sigh! If only I had been there!!!!! Not everyone, it seems, was pleased with the shoot, though. You can read a rather negative article about the inconveniences the filming, which took place on October 20th, 2010, caused on the Redondo Beach Patch website here. Apparently Redondo residents were beyond irritated that 90210 was filming in their town. Really? REALLY? I would be so incredibly floored if the cast and crew of 90210 came to Pasadena to film. They could shut down the street in front of my apartment building for an entire week and you wouldn’t hear one complaint from this stalker! Sheesh! What the heck is wrong with people? Honestly! Winking smile

As you can see in the above photographs, all of the restaurant’s real life furnishings were moved out for the filming and new tables and chairs were brought in, which I thought was absolutely bizarre. So in real life the restaurant looks quite a bit different than it did onscreen. It is definitely a cool place, though, and I cannot wait to go back there to eat!

On a stalking side-note – yesterday I attended a Read-In event to promote literacy at the school where my mom works. Each guest of the event was assigned to an individual classroom where we were supposed to both talk about out careers and read a passage from our favorite book. A few days before the event, each class decorated their particular room’s door in honor of their reader and my decorated door, as well as the two students who were in charge of designing it, are pictured above. I thought the door was absolutely ADORABLE and had to share it with my fellow stalkers.

Not only did the students post a photograph of me and Matt Lanter on the door, but they also created a fake pink computer out of construction paper, complete with a keyboard that popped out. So incredibly cute! Smile

Big THANK YOU to Geoff, from the 90210Locations website, for finding this location! Smile

Until next time, Happy Stalking! Smile

Stalk It: Tapas & Vino, from the “Best Lei’d Plans” episode of 90210, is located at 1729 South Catalina Avenue in Redondo Beach. You can visit the restaurant’s official website here. The Yellow Vase Café, from the “What’s Past is Prologue” and “Another Another Chance” episodes of 90210, is located just a few doors south of Tapas & Vino at 1805 South Catalina Avenue in Redondo Beach. You can visit the official Yellow Vase Café website here. Salon Riviera, from the “To the Future!” episode of 90210, is located nest door to the Yellow Vase Café at 1807 South Catalina Avenue in Redondo Beach.

May 26, 2011May 25, 2011

The Yellow Vase Café from “90210”

One location that I have been on the lookout for for over a year now is the yellow-hued coffee shop where Navid Shirazi (aka Michael Steger) ran into ex-girlfriend Adrianna Tate-Duncan (aka Jessica Lowndes) in the Season 2 episode of fave show 90210 titled “Another Another Chance”. I spent far more hours searching for this location than I really care to admit, but, for whatever reason, just could not seem to find it. Then last month, while scanning through the Season 2 episode of the series titled “What’s Past is Prologue” in order to make screen captures for the post I wrote about Crumbs Bakery, I spotted that very same coffee shop pop up in a scene featuring Miss Rumor Willis. Since Rumor has always been something of a paparazzi magnet, I figured that I might be able to find some images of her from the filming online and from there might be able to figure out the name and location of the ever-elusive bakery. And, sure enough, after just a few short minutes of searching I came across this article on the Pacific Coast News Online website which stated that the scene had been filmed at the Yellow Vase Café in Redondo Beach!!! Eureka! As fellow stalker Geoff, from the 90210Locations website, said after I told him that I had finally tracked down the cafe, “It’s nice to know the paparazzi are good for something!” Winking smile And even though I was absolutely DYING to stalk the place (like that very minute), the Grim Cheaper and I were not able to make it down to the South Bay until this past Saturday afternoon. I do have to say, though, that the restaurant was DEFINITELY worth the wait. In fact, it is one of the coolest coffee shops that I have ever been to in my entire life!

As you can see in the above photographs, the Yellow Vase Café, which is actually a bakery/full-service florist/coffee shop, is an adorably charming little restaurant that serves up some FABULOUS food. I opted to lunch on the Greek salad which was simply AMAZING, while the GC ordered up some homemade French Onion Soup which he absolutely devoured. I, of course, also had to sample a Yellow Vase latte while there and am very happy to report that it, too, was fabulous. The café’s bakery case was filled to the brim with colorful, freshly-baked sweets, which I so wanted to sample, but, being diabetic, couldn’t. They sure looked incredible, though. Sigh! Needless to say, I absolutely fell in love with the restaurant and its soft yellow-colored ambiance and so did the GC. Neither of us wanted to leave when we were finished with our meals. Ah well, I guess that just means we will have to go back there for a re-stalk in the very near future. Smile

In the “What’s Past is Prologue” episode of 90210, Silver (aka Jessica Stroup) sends her friend Gia Mannetti (aka Rumor Willis) to a “coffee shop on Robertson” to spy on her boyfriend Teddy Montgomery (aka Trevor Donovan) whom she suspects is cheating on her. As it turns out, he’s not, but the two break up anyway.

In the “Another Another Chance” episode, which aired three weeks after “What’s Past is Prologue”, the coffee shop was featured once again as the spot where Navid runs into Adrianna and he commends her for handling her recent break-up in such a “non-dramatic” way.

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Geoff, from the 90210Locations website, also clued me into the fact that Riviera Salon, which is located right next door to the Yellow Vase Café, was the spot where Silver and Adrianna got their nails done in the recently aired Season 3 finale of the series which was titled “To the Future!”

In the episode, the girls are shown walking out the doors of the salon and heading north on Catalina Avenue before stopping in front of the Yellow Vase Café to discuss Silver’s recent break up with Navid.

For some very odd reason, producers decided to swap the last two digits of the salon’s address number for the filming. As you can see in the above screen capture and photograph, in real life the salon’s address number is “1807”, while on the show it was switched to “1870”. I can see changing an address number on a private residence during filming, but on a public place? That just makes no sense to me! Ah, Hollywood!

Until next time, Happy Stalking! Smile

Stalk It: The Yellow Vase Café, from the “What’s Past is Prologue” and “Another Another Chance” episodes of 90210, is located at 1805 South Catalina Avenue in Redondo Beach. You can visit the restaurant’s official website here. Salon Riviera, from the “To the Future!” episode of 90210, is located nest door to the Yellow Vase Café at 1807 South Catalina Avenue in Redondo Beach.

March 30, 2011March 29, 2011

The Hyatt Huntington Beach from “90210”

One location that I have been absolutely DYING to stalk for over a year and a half now is the Hyatt Huntington Beach Hotel, the spot which stands in for the Beverly Hills Beach Club, the regular hangout of Liam Court (aka cutie Matt Lanter – sigh!), Annie Wilson (aka Shenae Grimes), Naomi Clark (aka AnnaLynne McCord) and the rest of the West Bev gang, each week on fave show 90210. So when the Grim Cheaper and I were discussing where to spend his upcoming birthday weekend a couple of weeks back, I casually mentioned the Hyatt as a possible destination and, amazingly enough, despite the hotel’s hefty nightly room cost, he readily agreed! Yay! So the two of us, along with my parents, headed down there bright and early this past Saturday morning. And, let me tell you, I could NOT have been more excited! I was literally bouncing out of my seat the entire drive from Pasadena down to the South Bay.

Thankfully the hotel did not disappoint! The Hyatt Huntington Beach is absolutely HUGE – I honestly don’t think I have ever in my life seen a hotel even remotely that big! – and features a retail plaza complete with a grocery store and coffee bar, spa grottos with 3 tucked away spa pools, 6 different on-site restaurants, a water playground for kids, over 100,000 square feet of meeting and event space;

517 guest rooms (ours is pictured above);

a large lagoon-style swimming pool;

lush grounds with meandering koi ponds;

several sparkling fountains;

and a 20,000 square foot spa.

For all of its grandiosity, though, there were a lot of small touches, as well, that gave the hotel an intimate feel; my personal favorite being the mini-outdoor living room that was tucked away in an alcove near our room.

And on Sunday morning when it rained, the hotel put out umbrellas for guests to use. Love it!

The area of the hotel that I was most excited about seeing was the front entrance, which is used in establishing shots of the Beach Club each week.

Pictured above is what the entry-way columns look like when not sporting the “Beverly Hills Beach Club” signs that are shown on the series.

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Besides appearing weekly in establishing shots, filming has also taken place on location at the hotel on two different occasions. The Hyatt was first used in the Season 2 episode of 90210 titled “New Beginnings”. In that episode, filming took place at the front entrance of the hotel;

in the main fountain area;

and by the pool.

And in the Season 3 episode titled ”Mother Dearest” filming took place once again at the hotel’s front entrance;

by the pool;

outside of the spa;

in one of the exterior courtyards;

on the bridge that connects the hotel to the beach;

and in the beach parking lot located directly across the street from the hotel.

None of the interior filming of the Beverly Hills Beach Club takes place at the hotel, though. Sadly, the interior of the Club is just a set that exists only on a soundstage at Manhattan Beach Studios where the series is lensed.

But I was very excited to see some similarities between the interior of the Hyatt hotel and the Beach Club set. As you can see in the above screen captures and photographs, the Hyatt has a set of three surfboards hanging on the wall behind the concierge desk, much like is the case with the check-in desk at the Beach Club! I cannot tell you how excited I was to spot those surfboards!

There is also an outdoor fire pit located in the patio area of Mankota’s Grill, the hotel’s poolside restaurant, that looks very similar to the Beach Club’s outdoor fire pit.

A SUPER nice concierge that we spoke with while checking out also let us know that in the Season 3 episode of Chuck titled “Chuck Versus the Beard” the Hyatt stood in for the Malibu Vista Hotel where Devon Woodcomb (aka Ryan McPartlin) and Ellie Bartowski (aka Sarah Lancaster) vacationed . . .

. . . and where Sarah Walker (aka Yvonne Strahovski) and Daniel Shaw (aka Brandon Roth) were sent to track down a spy.

The Hyatt Huntington Beach also stood in for the Turks & Caicos hotel where married CIA agents Steven and Samantha Bloom (aka Boris Kodjoe and Gugu Mbatha-Raw respectively) conducted a sting operation in the Season 1 episode of Undercovers titled “Instructions”.

According to a column on the Surf City News website, a large green screen was set up at the north end of the pool during the filming of Undercovers so that it could be made to look as if the hotel was located on the beach. In reality, the Hyatt is located across the street from the beach.

The hotel’s Red Chair Lounge also stood in for a Caracas bar in the “Instructions” episode.

And one of its exterior hallways and courtyards were also used.

The Hyatt was also featured in an Orbitz commercial in which the Orbitz hovercraft is shown landing in a hotel pool.

Orbitz Commercial filmed at the Hyatt Huntington Hotel

You can watch that commercial by clicking above.

The concierge also told us that the Hyatt was featured in the Season 3 episode of My Fair Wedding titled “Monopoly Bride” in which wedding planner David Tutera coordinates a Monopoly-themed wedding for a board-game obsessed bride and groom. And she informed us that a production with Hills star Audrina Patridge was filmed by the hotel’s pool, but she was not sure exactly what production it was. And finally she told us that the hotel will be featured as a venue in an upcoming episode of Tori & Dean: sTORIbook Weddings, which is set to premiere on the Oxygen Channel on April 6th.

Until next time, Happy Stalking! Smile

Stalk It: The Hyatt Huntington Beach, aka the Beverly Hills Beach Club from 90210, is located at 21500 Pacific Coast Highway in Huntington Beach. You can visit the hotel’s official website here.

February 1, 2011February 1, 2011

Susina Bakery & Cafe from “90210”

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.