Drago Ristorante from “Entourage”

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Last Monday afternoon, I found myself having to kill a few hours of time while my car was being repaired at a mechanic’s shop on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood, so I headed across the street to grab a latte and some lunch at a restaurant named Aroma Bakery & Café.  I had never before dined at Aroma, but thought the name sounded vaguely familiar and had a brief recollection that it had once been featured on the hit HBO television series Entourage.  Well, my memory is obviously not quite as good as I thought because as it turns out the restaurant was never actually featured on the show (it was Urth Café that I had been thinking of), but my mis-memory ended up to be very fortuitous.  While I was researching Aroma Bakery on my Blackberry, I came across a thread on the Chowhound website detailing numerous area restaurants which had been featured on Entourage and I almost fell off of my chair when I saw that one of the eateries mentioned was Drago Ristorante in Santa Monica, a place that I have actually dined at numerous times before, but had never realized was a filming location!  Then I almost fell off my chair once again when I received a call from the Grim Cheaper a few days later, informing me that his boss had just invited us to dinner at Drago Ristorante that Friday night!!!  Talk about synchronicity!  So, a few days later the GC and I headed out to the West Side for some dinner and some Entourage stalking.  Yay!

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Drago Ristorante was originally opened in 1991 by native Sicilian chef Celestino Drago, who had previously founded Celestino restaurant in Beverly Hills.  Drago became a virtual overnight success and now, almost two decades later, it is a veritable Santa Monica institution.  Celestino has also become something of a celebrity chef along the way and has since opened up several other eateries including Dolce Forno bakery in Culver City, Entoneca Drago and Il Pastaio, both in Beverly Hills, Drago Centro in Downtown Los Angeles, and Celestino in Pasadena.  And I have to say that Drago is EXCELLENT!  I opted for the Petto Di Pollo, Funghi  Trifolati entrée which featured king trumpet mushrooms that were quite possibly the largest mushrooms I have ever seen in my entire life!  They were A-MA-ZING and I would have honestly been happy eating a handful of them by themselves, but I , of course, also chose to gouge myself on the chicken which was doused in a light truffle sauce.  And, oh my lord, was it good!  I should forewarn my fellow stalkers that the restaurant is on the pricey side, so if you are looking for a reasonable night out, Drago would not be a good choice.  If you don’t mind dropping a couple pennies, though, it is ENTIRELY worth the expense.

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In the “Oh, Mandy” episode of Entourage, Vince Chase (aka Adrian Grenier) meets up with Mandy Moore, who played herself on the series, at Drago Ristorante in order to talk about the upcoming movie Aquaman, in which they are both set to star.  While the two are dining, Eric Murphy (aka Kevin Connolly), Johnny ‘Drama’ Chase (aka Kevin Dillon), and Turtle (aka Jerry Ferrara) wait for Vince in their car out in front of the restaurant.  Drago Ristorante also appeared in an early season episode of fave reality show The Bachelor, although I am not sure of exactly which episode or which season. The place is also something of a celebrity hot spot.  The GC’s boss saw Ed ‘Neill, Anne Bancroft, Mel Brooks, and Garry Marshall there all on one night a few years back!

Entourage Locations

On an Entourage side note – Thanks again to the Chowhound website, I recently discovered that HBO has a locations tab on the Entourage section of its website  which lists the main locales featured in each and every episode of the show.  HOW INCREDIBLY COOL IS THAT???  Why do ALL shows not do this????  Love it!  Love it!  Love it!

Until next time, Happy Stalking!  Smile

Stalk It: Drago Ristorante, from the “Oh, Mandy” episode of Entourage, is located at 2628 Wilshire Boulevard in Santa Monica.

The 101 Coffee Shop from “Swingers”

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One location that I have wanted to stalk ever since moving to Los Angeles over a decade ago, but didn’t because there were numerous erroneous reports floating around online which stated that the place had since closed down, was the 101 Coffee Shop which appeared in the 1996 movie Swingers.  It wasn’t until Mike, from MovieShotsLA, pointed out the restaurant to me while driving by it after we finished our tour of Paramount Studios back in September that I realized the location was, indeed, still open for business.  I added the cafe to the top of my “To Stalk” list that very day and when fellow stalkers Lavonna, Beth, Debbie, and Connie came out from Ohio for a Hollywood stalking trip a few weeks later, we all hit the place up for a quick bite to eat.

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Apparently, there is quite a bit of confusion surrounding this particular location, so I thought I’d put all the mystery to rest with today’s post.  The diner, which is located on the first floor of the Best Western Hollywood Hills Hotel, originally opened in the 1930’s and was named the “Hollywood Hills Coffee Shop”.  In 1994, the restaurant, which was faltering at the time, was taken over by a French chef named Susan Fine Moore and her husband, Michael, who revamped the property’s interior and updated its menu to include an array of standard comfort foods along with some Mexican dishes.  Of the new menu, which vacillated greatly from L.A.’s typical low-fat fare, Fine said, “We kind of pride ourselves on being an oasis from all that craziness.  There’s a new diet, a new fad every week, but actually people seem a little bit less obsessed than they used to be about diets.  Otherwise we wouldn’t be so busy.  Generation X is lovely – they’ll eat anything.  And the older generation is figuring, I suppose, who wants to live to 108 if you can’t put butter on your potato?”  Love it!  The Hollywood Hills Coffee Shop really started to take off under the helm of Susan and Michael and it was at that point that the place, thanks to its high-quality food and laid-back attitude, started attracting celebrities.  A few stars who were known to frequent the diner include Brad Pitt, my girl Jen Aniston, Sandra Bullock, Gwyneth Paltrow, Johnny Depp, Andy Garcia, Minnie Driver, Bruce Willis, Milla Jovovich, and Kevin Spacey.  After losing their lease in July of 2001, Susan and Michael moved their restaurant two miles east to a new location at 1745 North Vermont Avenue, but the place, sadly, closed down shortly thereafter.  In the meantime the former Hollywood Hills Coffee Shop space was leased to new owners – Warner Ebbink and Brandon Boudet of the Eat Heavy Restaurant Group – who opened a new eatery in its place.

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That new restaurant is named the 101 Coffee Shop and, let me tell you, it is a VERY cool place.  Ebbink, who has a passion for architecture as well as food, redesigned the property’s interior himself, modeling it after the old-time cafes of the ‘60s and ‘70s.  Boudet serves as the head chef and, under his tutelage, the eatery still serves up high-quality comfort food, including macaroni and cheese, meatloaf and gravy, and tuna melts.  For the foodies in your group, more highbrow offerings, like the Grilled Tandoori Salmon Sandwich, the Kale “Greek” Salad, and the Grilled Albacore Tuna Burger, are also on the menu.  And, despite the change in ownership, the restaurant is still a big time celebrity hotspot.  Fellow stalker Chas ran into both Nicolas Cage and Matt LeBlanc on two separate occasions while dining at the cafe.  So, while the Hollywood Hills Coffee Shop is no longer in operation, the 101 Coffee Shop is alive and well, and, despite the remodel, is still very recognizable from Swingers.

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Then out-of-work actors Vince Vaughn and Jon Favreau actually wrote the screenplay for Swingers over several meals at the Hollywood Hills Coffee Shop.  (The restaurant seems to be something of a lucky charm for writers as the pilot episode of the extremely successful CBS comedy series Everybody Loves Raymond was also penned in one of the cafe’s back rooms.)  According to a November 1998 New York Times article, Favreau and his good friend Vaughn used to frequent the diner regularly.  Of the restaurant, Favreau said, “It was like a family atmosphere.  We didn’t have a lot of money, and I lived in a tiny apartment up the block.  I loved the people who ran the place, who made you feel like a big shot, even if you weren’t.  Very good portions – you never left hungry.”  Once the screenplay was sold, Favreau decided to use the restaurant as a filming location for no less than three scenes in the movie!  The Hollywood Hills Coffee Shop first appears in the opening scene in which Mike (aka Favreau) talks to Rob (aka Sex and the City’s Ron Livingston) about how to get his girlfriend back.

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That scene was filmed in the second booth to the left of the restaurant’s main door, which, despite the remodel, still looks very much the same today as it did in the movie.

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The scene in which Trent (aka Vince Vaughn) tells Mike that he is “all growns up” was also filmed at the cafe.  The booth where that scene was filmed is, sadly, no longer there.  It looks as if the restaurant also had some sort of a grocery section at the time the movie was filmed, but it no longer does today.

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The movie’s ending scene, in which Trent thinks a fellow diner is making goo-goo eyes at him, also took place at the former Hollywood Hills Coffee Shop.

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In more recent years the coffee shop stood in for Winkie’s, the diner where Lorelai (aka Lauren Graham), Rory (aka Alexis Bledel), and Emily Gilmore (aka Kelly Bishop) stopped to grab a bite to eat while on their way to North Carolina to attend Mia’s wedding in the Season 7 episode of Gilmore Girls titled “Gilmore Girls Only”.

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Randomly enough, Gilmore Girls filmed in pretty much the exact same spot where Lavonna, Debbie, Connie, Beth, and I ate lunch!  🙂  So cool!

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In the Season 1 episode of Entourage titled “Date Night”, Vincent Chase (aka Adrian Grenier), Johnny ‘Drama’ Chase (aka Kevin Dillon), Eric Murphy (aka Kevin Connolly), and Turtle (aka Jerry Ferrara) grab some breakfast at the cafe on the morning of Vince’s big movie premiere.

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Some filming for that episode also took place outside of the coffee shop.

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The Entourage boys returned to the cafe to film the Season 7 episode of the show titled “Buzzed”, in which Turtle’s credit card is rejected after he tries to pick up the gang’s lunch tab.

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The coffee shop was also featured twice in the 2007 movie In the Land of Women. It was first seen in the opening scene in which Sofia Bunuel (aka Elena Anaya) breaks up with Carter Webb (aka Adam Brody).

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And it was used in the ending scene in which Carter meets Janey (aka fave actress Ginnifer Goodwin).

Big THANK YOU to Mike, from MovieShotsLA, for telling me about this location!  🙂

Until next time, Happy Stalking!  🙂

Stalk It: The 101 Coffee Shop, aka the former Hollywood Hills Coffee Shop from Swingers, is located at 6145 Franklin Avenue, on the first floor of the Best Western Hollywood Hills Hotel, in Hollywood.  You can visit the restaurant’s official website here.

Nate ‘n Al’s Delicatessen

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One location that I have been wanting to stalk for quite some time now is the historic Nate ‘n Al Delicatessen in Beverly Hills, but because I don’t get out to that area very often, the restaurant had remained an unchecked item on my extremely long “To-Stalk” list for over a year.  Until a couple of weeks ago, that is, when I finally dragged my fiancé to grab a bite to eat there after we had stalked Will Rogers Memorial Park from 90210, which is located nearby.  And I have to say that the place was definitely worth the wait!  Although rather pricey (despite what some online reviews might state), the landmark restaurant serves up some FABULOUS food.  And thanks to its huge deli counter, brown leather booths, and pastrami sandwiches stacked as high as the eye can see, eating there was like visiting a little slice of New York City right here in Southern California.

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Nate ‘n Al’s has been a veritable institution in Beverly Hills ever since it first opened way back on May 24, 1945.  The deli was founded by Al Mendelson and Nate Reimer, who originally met while working at Boesky’s Deli in Chicago.  The two entrepreneurs eventually decided to open their very own deli-style restaurant a few years later and figured LaLaLand was just the place to do so.  At the time of its founding, the restaurant was Beverly Hills’ sole delicatessen and could only accommodate a scant 30 patrons.  It became such an immediate success, though, that it was later expanded to its current, larger size which can hold up to 120 diners. Nate retired just a few years after the restaurant’s opening, but Al stayed on to helm the place and it is his ancestors who are still running it today.  And I am happy to report that the restaurant is still going strong.  According to this 2005 Daily News article, each year Nate ‘n Al’s serves up 130,000 matzo balls, 16,000 gallons of chicken noodle soup, and 80,000 pounds of corned beef!  As I stated above, the food is phenomenal, but it’s also fairly expensive, so be prepared.   

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Because of its fabulous food and laid-back attitude, Nate ‘n Al’s has long been a celebrity magnet.  You won’t find any autographed pictures decorating the establishment’s walls, though, because as founder Al Mendelson advised: “If you want them in the booths, keep them off the walls.”  😉  Just a few of the stars who have been spotted there over the years include Max Mutchnick (one of the co-creators of Will & Grace), Lew Wasserman, Suzanne Pleshette, Tom Poston, Robert Wagner, Neil Diamond, Jon Voight, Doris Day, Nicollette Sheridan, Jay Leno, Roseanne Bar, Adam Sandler, Dick Van Dyke, Jack Nicholson, Dustin Hoffman, Jodie Foster, Nancy Sinatra, Courteney Cox, Rodney Dangerfield, Kareem Abdul Jabar, Tony Curtis, Sharon Osbourne, and Arnold Schwarzenegger.  Television host Larry King loves the place so much that he not only dines there every single morning (not kidding!), but he also purchased his house in Beverly Hills for the sole reason that it was within walking distance of the deli!  Love it!

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And while we didn’t spot any celebs while dining there, fellow stalker Karen was lucky enough to be seated next to Jason Reitman on a recent visit to the deli.  Her daughter snapped the above photo of the Juno director on the down-low during their meal.  Love it!  Jason wasn’t the only celeb that Karen and her daughter spotted at Nate ‘n Al’s that day, though – Larry King and Clint Howard were also dining at the time.  Lucky girls!  As Karen said, talk about “hitting a trifecta”!  From what I’ve heard, the best time to spot celebs at Nate ‘n Al’s is in the morning, which means I’ve gotta go back there sometime soon to grab some breakfast!

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And the place is also a filming location!  In the Season 5 episode of Entourage titled “The All Out Fall Out”, Nate ‘n Al’s is the spot where Vinnie Chase (aka Adrian Grenier) finds out from his business manager that he may need to file for bankruptcy.  The 1957 flick Pal Joey, which starred Frank Sinatra and Rita Hayworth, was also filmed at the historic restaurant. 

Until next time, Happy Stalking!  🙂

Stalk It: Nate ‘n Al Delicatessen, from Entourage, is located at 414 North Beverly Boulevard in Beverly Hills.  You can visit the restaurant’s official website here.

The Standard Hotel Rooftop Bar in Downtown Los Angeles

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Another Fracture filming location that I recently stalked – without actually realizing it – was the Standard Hotel’s Rooftop Bar in Downtown L.A.  I say “without actually realizing it” because at the time I stalked the place I had no idea it was a filming location.   I ended up there while on the way to the Los Angeles airport where I was dropping off my good friends from Switzerland who were flying home after a two week visit.  I thought it would be nice to stop for a cocktail at an L.A. hot spot before their flight took off and so I got to Googling, whereupon I found a myriad of websites all touting the amazing views that could be found at the Standard’s rooftop watering hole.  So, we made a pit stop there before heading to LAX and, as fate would have it, the place turned out to be the PERFECT spot for my friends to bid their farewells to Los Angeles. 

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Downtown L.A.’s Standard Hotel opened up in May of 2002 and was the brainchild of famed hotelier Andre Balazs, the same man who gave us New York’s Mercer Hotel, the original Standard Hotel in West Hollywood, and the updated version of Hollywood’s legendary Chateau Marmont.  The twelve story building now known as the Standard was originally built in 1952 and housed the Southern California headquarters of Superior Oil.  The structure, which was designed by architect Claude Beelman, had stood vacant for over a decade when Balazs purchased it in 2000.  He left most of the original architectural details intact, including the two-story lobby area’s stainless steel time zone clock which displays the times of 15 different countries and stands at over ten feet tall, the oil mining frieze located above the entrance doors, a pair of escalators (left over from when Union Bank of California occupied the building), the black and white marble flooring, and the original S-shaped door handles.  To that he added shag carpeting, an absolutely enormous digital wall hanging, a sunken lounge area, an outdoor fire pit, a 125 foot long couch designed by Vladimir Kagan, and a foosball table station situated next to the valet desk.  It’s retro-modern decor at its finest!  The Standard’s piece de resistance, though, is its 1,220 square foot Rooftop Bar, which features astro-turf, a heated swimming pool, outdoor sofas, a dance floor, numerous topiaries, vibrating waterbeds, movies which are projected onto the walls of neighboring buildings, red plastic “pod” gazebos, Verner Panton-designed furniture, a fab menu and a full bar. 

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Oh, and did I mention the view?  Yes, the bar also features an absolutely breath-taking, awe-inspiring view of Downtown Los Angeles. 

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So breath-taking and awe-inspiring, in fact, that it’s almost impossible to do anything but stare out at the skyline while there.  The above photograph was taken of my friend Stephanie while at the bar and it perfectly encapsulates how one feels while visiting the place.  🙂   Of the hotel, Travel + Leisure Magazine said it is “Los Angeles like you have never seen it before.”  My sentiments exactly!

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The Standard Rooftop Bar is such a unique spot that it became an almost immediate celebrity magnet.  Stars such as Owen Wilson, Charlize Theron, Leonardo DiCaprio, Tobey Maguire, Mark Wahlberg, Lara Flynn Boyle, Moby, Nicolas Cage, and Sophia Coppola have all been spotted hanging out there.  And I honestly can’t recommend stalking the place enough!  Whether you’re a native Angelino or a first-time visitor to Southern California, I can’t think of a better place from which to enjoy the City of Angels.

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Due to its unique architecture and unparalleled views of the city, the Standard has become a frequent filming location.  In Fracture, the Standard’s Rooftop Bar is featured very briefly as the spot where Willy Beachum (aka Ryan Gosling) meets up with Nikki Gardner (aka Rosamund Pike) after losing his court case against Ted Crawford (aka Anthony Hopkins).

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The bar was also featured in the Season 3 episode of Entourage entitled “Strange Days” as the spot where Eric Murphy (aka Kevin Connolly) meets up with Sloane’s best friend Tori (aka Malin Akerman).

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In Collateral, Jamie Foxx “borrows” a stranger’s cell phone while out in front of the Standard’s main entrance.  And last, but not least, the hotel was also where Robert Downey Jr. stayed in the 2005 movie Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, which I unfortunately don’t own a copy of.

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Until next time, Happy Stalking!  🙂

Stalk It: The Standard Hotel is located at 550 South Flower Street in Downtown Los Angeles.  You can visit their website here.

The Fairmont Miramar Santa Monica

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I don’t know about you all, but for the past few Sunday nights I have been absolutely glued to my television set watching Season 2 of the Ryan Seacrest produced Denise Richards: It’s Complicated.   And while I admit that the girl is an absolute train wreck and that her laugh is like fingernails on a chalkboard, for some incredibly odd reason I just can’t stop watching!  LOL   So, since I was in the area recently, I just had to stalk the hotel Denise moved into at the beginning of this season. 

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Wanting a “fresh start” after the past “difficult year”, Denise decided to sell her Hidden Hills home and move closer to her daughters’ school and her “work” – whatever that means.  I didn’t realize Denise had a full time job.  LOL  Anyway, until her former home sells, the Richards Family, including Denise, her father Irv (no, that’s not a typo, that’s actually his name!), and daughters Lola and Sam, are calling the Fairmont Miramar Hotel & Bungalows in Santa Monica home.    The hotel shows up quite often on this season of Denise’s reality show, especially the bungalow area where her family lives . . .

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. . . and the hotel’s onsite fitness center, where she works out daily with her trainer/sometimes date Ray.

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The Fairmont Miramar Hotel & Bungalows was originally the private home of John P. Jones, a former Nevada senator and one of the founders of the City of Santa Monica.  John built a mansion on the site in 1889 and dubbed his property “Miramar” which means “view of the sea” in Spanish.  In 1912, the Jones Family sold their home to King C. Gillette, founder of the razor company of the same name and the King Gillette Ranch where TV’s The Biggest Loser  is filmed.  Nine years later, in 1921, Gillette sold the property to hotel entreprenuer Gilbert Stevenson, who turned it into an upscale seaside resort.  In 1924, to make room for more guests, Stevenson added a large brick building to the property and also, sadly, had the original Jones’ mansion torn down just a few years later.  In 1959,  the hotel added yet another tower.  Forty years later, the current owner, investment group Maritz, Wolffe & Co. purchased the hotel, started a $16 million renovation process, and brought in the Fairmont Hotels and Resorts company to manage the property.  All these years later it is still a truly beautiful place and I highly recommend stalking it!  🙂

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Denise Richards is not the first celeb to check into the Miramar.  Over the years numermous stars have stayed there, including Cary Grant, Greta Garbo (who lived at the hotel for close to three years), Doris Day, JFK and Jackie O., Eleanor Roosevelt, Charles Lindbergh, my girl Marilyn Monroe, Rosa Parks, Denzel Washington, Quincy Jones, Hugh Hefner, Anthony Hopkins, Arnold Schwarznegger, Steven Spielburg, Shaquille O’Neal, and Hilary Swank, just to name a few.

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The hotel has been featured in countless movie and television productions over the years.  In the Season 5 episode of Entourage  entitled “First Class Jerk”, the Miramar stood in for a Hawaiian resort where Vinnie and the boys hung out.

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The large Moreton Bay Fig Tree which stands at the entrance to the Miramar and quite closely resembles a banyan tree gives the hotel somewhat of a tropical feel, so it’s no surprise that Entourage  producers chose to film there instead of shooting on location in Hawaii.  The fig tree was planted way back in 1879 – yes, 1879 – by Senator Jones, the original owner of the propety.  It measures a whopping 80 feet high and 120 feet wide!

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The hotel also showed up as the location where Anthony Hopkins’ wife carried out her affair in 2007’s Fracture.  

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It was also the hotel where Helen Mirren and her friends stayed during their L.A. visit in the Disney movie Calendar Girls.  Please excuse the horrific YouTube screen captures pictured above!    LOL In the 1962 Cary Grant and Doris Day comedy That Touch of Mink, the Miramar was used as a West Indies resort.  The hotel has also been featured in  Along Came Polly and the television series Simon & Simon. 

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And last, but definitely not least, the night before her surprise wedding to KFed, Britney Spears threw herself a Bachelorette party in one of the Miramar’s bungalows.  KFed partied with his boys, aka “The Pimps” right across the street at Houston’s Restaurant (pictured above).  Both, I’m sure, were classy affairs!  😉  At the time, Kevin was living with Britney in her nearby oceanside pad in the 1221 Ocean Avenue condomium complex.

Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

Stalk It: The Fairmont Miramar Hotel & Bungalows is located at 101 Wilshire Boulevard in Santa Monica.  You can visit their website here.  Houston’s Restaurant, where KFed held his bachelor party, is located across the street at 202 Wilshire Boulevard.

Il Cielo

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Looking at wedding venues is so darn fun that, I swear, I think I would be happy just remaining engaged forever.  It could be my full time job.  What do you do?  Oh, I’m engaged – full time!  🙂  LOL  On Tuesday, my wedding venue expedition led my mom and me to a little restaurant in Beverly Hills named Il Cielo.    And I have to say that the place was downright amazing!!!  So much so that it’s at the very top of my very narrowed down list of possible locations.  Because I am such a picky eater, for years I’ve been steadfast about serving a buffet at my wedding, as opposed to a set menu.   Il Cielo doesn’t offer a buffet – they only do sit-down dinners – yet they are STILL at the top of my list!  Now, that’s saying a lot!  🙂

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Il Cielo, which means “the sky” in Italian, was opened up in 1986 inside of a tiny Beverly Hills bungalow by a man named Pasquale Vericella.  In the 70s, that bungalow was the home to another Italian restaurant named En Brochette.  A frequent visitor to En Brochette, Pasquale adored the intimate, homey feel of the restaurant and decided it was just the type of place he himself wanted to own someday.  He was so adamant about opening his restaurant in that exact spot, in fact, that for years he begged En Brochette’s owners to sell the restaurant and the bungalow to him.   They finally relented in 1986, and Pasquale opened up his own Tuscan-style restaurant, featuring his mother and grandmother’s traditional family recipes.  I had the pleasure of meeting Pasquale yesterday and of course asked him all sorts of questions about which celebrities had dined at Il Cielo.  He quickly brushed off my queries and said “When you get married here, the only celebrity we are concerned with is YOU!”  🙂  So cute!!!!

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Il Cielo has been voted “the most romantic restaurant in Los Angeles” numerous times by numerous publications.  It has also been named “one of the top five places to get married in the country” – yes, the COUNTRY – by The New York Times.  Those are some pretty amazing accolades!   The restaurant has hosted over 1,500 weddings in its 23 year history.  According to the restaurants’ events manager, Fabio, Il Cielo’s philosophy is service first, food second, and ambiance third.  And from what I witnessed yesterday, all three of those seem to be top notch, especially the service.  When I asked where the bar gets placed during a wedding reception, Fabio looked at me with confusion on his face.  Then, realization dawning, he explained, “Oh no, we do not do waiting in line here.  Our servers walk around taking drink orders, so that your guests never have to get out of their chair!”  OMG LOVE IT!  Even better than that, after the reception ends, guests are served lattes, cappuccinos, and biscotti out on the sidewalk while waiting for the valet to retrieve their cars.  SO LOVE THAT!  I mean, this place is downright A-MA-ZING.

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And, of course, there’s also the celeb factor!  Google the words “Il Cielo” and “celebrities” and a list of a hundred well-known names will pop up, including Christian Bale, Nancy Reagan, my girl Jennifer Aniston, Ellen DeGeneres, Portia De Rossi, Robert Redford, Rod Stewart, Colin Farrell, Claudia Shiffer, Ali Larter, Brandon Routh, Michael Douglas, Catherine Zeta-Jones, and Nikki and Cathy Hilton.  Lesley Ann Warren was married at Il Cielo and (that little homewrecker) Brad Pitt took Gwyneth Paltrow there on their first date.

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And, of course, Il Cielo is also a filming location.   At the beginning of Legally Blonde, it’s the restaurant where Elle Woods’ boyfriend, Warner, does not propose.  When Warner first announces he is taking Elle to Il Cielo, she says “Oooh, I love that restaurant.  I heard Madonna went into labor there.”  LOL LOL LOL

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Il Cielo’s patio area stood in for the patio of Adam Sandler’s restaurant in the 2004 movie Spanglish. The exterior of Adam’s restaurant (pictured above) is actually the exterior of the Hal Valentine Hair Salon, which is located directly next door to Il Cielo.

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On the Season Three episode of Entourage entitled “Strange Days”, Ari Gold re-proposes to his wife after 15 years of marriage with a ginormous diamond ring on Il Cielo’s back patio.  The restaurant has actually popped up in Entourage no less than three times!

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In the Season 3 episode of The Hills entitled “A Date With The Past”, former flame Ste-phen Colletti takes Lauren Conrad out for a “strictly platonic” dinner at Il Cielo.  Smart move, Ste-phen, bringing a girl you just want to be friends with to the most romantic restaurant in all of L.A.!   LOL   Il Cielo was also featured in the Season Five opener of The Simple Life entitled “Welcome to Camp Shawnee” as the location where Paris Hilton and Nicole Ritchie finally bury the hatchet and become friends again over an Italian lunch.

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I honestly can’t recommend stalking Il Cielo enough – either as a wedding venue or for a romantic dinner!!!!  This place is truly one of a kind!

Until next time, Happy Stalking!  🙂

Stalk It: Il Cielo is located at 9018 Burton Way in Beverly Hills.  You can visit their website here.  Il Cielo is closed on Sundays.

Greystone Mansion

Greystone Mansion I While most mansions in Beverly Hills are well hidden from prying eyes thanks to tall gates and large trees, there is one that is open to the public on a regular basis and it’s called Greystone Mansion. The 46,000 square foot mansion was commissioned in 1928 by millionaire Edward L. Doheny as a gift to his son Edward “Ned” Doheny, Jr. Ned only lived in the home for four short months before he was found dead in his bedroom, along with his secretary Hugh Plunket, on February 16th, 1929.

There has been much speculation surrounding the deaths of Ned and Hugh – some believe it was a bizarre murder-suicide due to a lovers’ quarrel between the two, others believe Hugh asked Ned for a raise and became enraged when he was denied and subsequently shot Ned and then himself, and still others believe Hugh suffered from a psychological disorder and shot Edward during a mental breakdown. Whatever the case may be, after his death Edward’s widow continued to live in the mansion with their five children for the next 26 years until she sold it to a man named Henry Crown. Henry wanted to tear down the mansion, but the city of Beverly Hills stepped in and purchased Greystone from him in 1965, turning it into a public park several years later.

Greystone sits on over 16 acres and is an amazing piece of property. I highly recommend stalking it. Everyday from 10am to 5pm the public is given free reign to walk around the beautiful grounds and get an up close and personal view of the exterior of the mansion. On occasion, there are times when one can tour the inside of the mansion as well. Greystone has also been the filming location of hundreds upon hundreds of movie, TV, print, and commercial productions. Just to name a few – it was featured in Entourage as the location of Anna Faris’ photo shoot, it played Nicolas Cage’s home in National Treasure: Book of Secrets, it was the British Embassy and ball location in Jumpin’ Jack Flash with Whoopi Goldberg, it played a restaurant in The Holiday, and it was featured each week as Rory Gilmore’s school in Gilmore Girls. It also figures prominently in one of my favorite books The Prada Paradox by Julie Kenner.

While I was at Greystone this past weekend, a production crew was setting up for a film shoot (they wouldn’t say which film) and unfortunately much of the mansion was blocked off. But a very nice security guard happened to let me in to walk around and my boyfriend snapped a pic as I stalked behind the film crew’s signs. 🙂

Until next time, Happy Stalking!

Stalk It: Greystone Mansion is located at 905 Loma Vista Drive in Beverly Hills. It is open everyday from 10am to 5pm. You can visit Greystone’s official website here.

Hanging out at Vincent Chase’s!

Entourage House This weekend, while doing some cyber-stalking, I found the address of Vincent Chase’s house from the HBO show Entourage, which is quickly turning into me and my boyfriend’s new fave show. So, on Saturday, I dragged my boyfriend to Beverly Hills to stalk the house that was used in the first two seasons of the show. I didn’t think we would be able to see much of the house from the street, so I was completely floored to discover that the front of the home is almost completely visible from the front gate.

You will immediately recognize the large driveway, the fountain and the front door of the house from the many different scenes filmed there of the Entourage gang’s comings and goings. The house is absolutely huge – much bigger than it appeared on screen. According to Zillow it is over 10,000 square feet! The home is located at the very end of a street way up in the Hills of Beverly and it’s not too hard to see why filmmakers chose to use this house as it would be easy to block off the street for filming without disturbing any of the neighbors or having to close down public roads.

Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

Stalk It: Vincent’s house is located at 1200 La Collina Drive in Beverly Hills. After stalking Vincent Chase, you can head on down to Rodeo Drive for some A-List shopping and dining.