Burbank Town Center Mall from the Season 3 Finale of “The Mentalist”

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While watching the two-part Season 3 finale of fave show The Mentalist titled “Strawberries and Cream” a few weeks back, I just about died when I realized that the Burbank Town Center had stood in for the supposed Sacramento-area “Pinewood Shopping Mall” in the episode’s climatic final scene.  While Burbank Town Center is not actually my local mall, I immediately recognized the place as the Grim Cheaper had taken me there on our very first date, just a little over a decade ago.  We had first gone to see the movie Cast Away at a nearby theatre and then headed on over to the mall so that the GC could show me an antique carousel that used to be located there.  Prior to our date, I had no idea of the carousel’s existence and thought it was so incredibly cool that the GC knew little tidbits about LA like that.  I am pretty sure I fell in love with him right then!  Smile And while the carousel was sold a few years back (I hear it is now located in the San Diego area), because we had spent at least a half an hour looking down upon it from the Center’s second floor, when that area of the mall popped up on The Mentalist I recognized it immediately.  So yesterday, after getting my hair cut in Burbank, I decided to cruise on over there to snap a few pics of the place.

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In the “Strawberries and Cream” episode of The Mentalist (and a BIG warning here that there are major spoilers ahead, so if you have yet to watch the Season 3 finale and plan on doing so, you should STOP reading this post now), Patrick Jane (aka Simon Baker) sets up a sting operation in the middle of the mall in order to both prove that DLE Director Gale Bertram (aka Michael Gaston) is the CBI’s mole and to also hopefully discover the true identity of Red John, the serial killer who murdered his wife and daughter.

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While there he ends up finally meeting and then killing Red John, who was played with perfection by The West Wing’s Bradley Whitford.

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In what turned out to be my very favorite part of the episode, after shooting Red John and causing mass pandemonium in the mall, Patrick sits down calmly, finishes drinking his tea, and then calls out to the waitress, “Check please!” before surrendering himself to the authorities.  LOL  As you can see in the above screen captures, the central area of the mall, where the antique carousel used to be located, was decorated to look like a café for the filming.

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Oh, how I wish they did actually serve espresso in that area of the mall!  In reality, though, after the carousel was removed, a small – and not-very-aesthetically-pleasing –  children’s train ride was placed there.  Note to Starbucks – the Burbank Town Center is in desperate need of a cute café, pronto!  Winking smile Photographs of the area which appeared on The Mentalist, taken from the mall’s second level, are pictured above.

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And a view of that area from the mall’s bottom floor is pictured above.

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The entrance to one of the Burbank Town Center’s garage areas was also used in the episode, but I completely forgot about that yesterday while I was stalking the place and failed to snap any pictures of it.

Until next time, Happy Stalking!  Smile

Stalk It: Burbank Town Center, from the “Strawberries and Cream” episode of The Mentalist, is located at 201 East Magnolia Boulevard in Burbank.  You can visit the mall’s official website here.  The area where Patrick Jane shot Red John is located in the very center of the mall, on the bottom level, in front of Old Navy and Shiekh Shoes.  The parking garage entrance which appeared in the episode is located at 501 North Third Street.

My Coffee With Andre – Agassi, That Is!

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A few years back, an email entitled “You Know You’re From Los Angeles When . . . “ which was comprised of a list of “Only in L.A.” scenarios circled the World Wide Web.   My personal favorite item on the list was number 28 which stated, “The guy at 8:30 in the morning at Starbucks wearing the baseball cap and sunglasses who looks like George Clooney actually IS George Clooney”.  LOVE IT!  Well, Thursday morning, I had my very own “Only in L.A.” moment at a local Starbucks, when I realized that the guy in front of me in line who looked like tennis superstar Andre Agassi actually WAS tennis superstar Andre Agassi.   As it turns out, Andre was in town for a book signing at my fave bookstore, Vroman’s, and was grabbing a quick coffee beforehand.  So, of course, for my blog’s sake, I just had to ask him to take a picture with me.  I was a little nervous about doing so, though, as just a few weeks prior some friends and I happened to run into Bruce Willis while dining at the Jerry’s Deli on Beverly Boulevard.  We had the good fortune of  finishing our meal at pretty much the exact same time as Bruce and when we found ourselves in the valet line next to him while waiting for our cars, I asked him if he wouldn’t mind posing for a photograph with us, to which he replied “Doubtful.”    Being that my question pretty much warranted either a yes or a no answer, I’m not even really sure what he meant by that, but needless to say I did not get my photo.  🙁  He did shake our hands, though, so I guess that’s something.  So, when Andre Agassi said that he’d be happy to pose for a picture with me, I was absolutely elated!   A man who I am guessing was his publicist took the above photograph of us – which is arguably the worst photo I’ve ever taken in my life LOL – and afterwards said “I think you’re going to like this one!”  I laughed and replied, “Well, being that I’m not wearing any make-up right now, I’m not so sure”, to which Andre said, “Well, I’m not wearing make-up either, so we’re even!”  LOL LOL LOL  Three other women were in Starbucks at the time that all of this took place and, let me tell you, Andre’s presence caused us all to act like a bunch of giddy little school girls.   I’m pretty sure the noise level inside Starbucks increased more than one decibel while the four of us fawned over him.  My three new friends also asked for their pictures to be taken with Andre and he happily obliged.  In fact, he was so incredibly friendly and gracious I almost couldn’t believe it.  He even waited patiently while I tried to figure out how to use the camera on one of the girl’s iPhones.   And, to top it all off, when I was on the way out the door a few minutes later, Andre looked up from his espresso and called out “Bye!”  Sigh!  What a nice guy!  I am so going to have to check out his new book now!

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Seeing Andre on Thursday got me thinking.  Everyday I receive emails from readers seeking advice on how and where to spot celebrities in L.A.  And, while I did write a post about celebrity hot spots earlier this year, I realized that the best advice I can give on seeing a famous person in Los Angeles is to just simply KEEP YOUR EYES OPEN AT ALL TIMES.  The truth is you just never know when or where you might spot a celeb.  I’ve seen stars in such mundane spots as the grocery store, Target, Rite Aid, the mall, Joann’s Fabrics, and Michael’s Craft Store.  And, of course, at Starbucks.  Other celebs I’ve spotted at various Starbucks in the L.A. area include Sophia Loren, Bradley Whitford (on three different occasions!), Jane Kaczmarek, Britney Spears, Peter MacNicol, Maxine Bahns (from The Brothers McMullen), David Strathairn, Danielle Panabaker, Mark D. Espinoza (who played Andrea’s husband Jesse on the original 90210), Kevin Dunn, Jamie Lynn Spears, who was with her mother Lynn Spears, and Reese Witherspoon.  Although to be fair, Reese wasn’t actually at a Starbucks when I spotted her.  I saw her walking out of a yoga studio located directly next door to the Starbucks I happened to be walking into.  But that still counts, don’t you think?  🙂  Being that I visit a Starbucks on average of three times a day, though, I guess my record of seeing celebs there isn’t actually all that good.  LOL  But my point is that when you’re in L.A. you just have to keep your eyes peeled at all times!  And always, always have your camera with you!  🙂

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As if to further drive this point home, while doing some shopping at Larchmont Village with my fiancé on Saturday afternoon, I happened to spot both Anthony John Denison, who plays Lieutenant Flynn on TNT’s The Closer,  and Owain Yeoman, who plays Detective Wayne Rigsby on The Mentalist (pictured above), dining at restaurants across the street from each other.  I, of course, noticed both actors immediately, but my fiancé walked RIGHT BY them completely oblivious.  Honestly, I think they both could have come up and bitten him on the nose and he still wouldn’t have realized who they were!  As I mentioned above, you just gotta keep your eyes open!

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And let me just say here that I was completely struck by how much better looking Owain Yeoman is in person than he comes across onscreen, as was the case back in August when I saw him during a filming of The Mentalist.  I mean, even my fiancé had to admit that the guy looked quite a bit different in person.  🙂 And even though Owain is one of my new celebrity crushes, because he was eating lunch when we spotted him, I didn’t want to bother him for a photograph.  But, as luck would have it, when driving away from Larchmont Village, my fiancé happened to get stuck at a stop sign RIGHT IN FRONT of Owain’s table, so, I just had to snap a quick pic.  🙂 Owain definitely noticed me taking his photo and didn’t seem too happy about the situation, but being that he is oh so dreamy, I just couldn’t help myself.  🙂  Sigh!

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Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

Stalk It: The Starbucks where I ran into Andre Agassi is located at 408 East Colorado Blvd., in the Paseo Colorado Shopping Center, in Pasadena.  Larchmont Village, where I spotted Owain Yeoman and Anthony John Denison, is a quaint little shopping district located on North Larchmont Blvd. in between Beverly Boulevard and West 1st Street.  Anthony John Denison was eating at Louise’s Tratroria, which is located at 232 N. Larchmont Blvd.  Owain was eating at Le Petite Greek, which is located at 127 N. Larchmont.