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! 
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.