Eric Stonestreet – IAMNOTASTALKER

May 24, 2011May 23, 2011

Pappa Don’s Delicatessen from “Modern Family”

I must apologize in advance for the length of today’s post. I spent most of my day yesterday at the Walk of Fame star ceremony for American Idol creator Simon Fuller – an event which I will be writing about later this week – and therefore did not have time to write a very lengthy blog post for today, so I am sorry. Anyway, a couple of weeks ago a fellow stalker named Cait wrote a comment on my blog post about Carmine’s II Restaurant from the “Boy’s Night” episode of Modern Family alerting me to the fact that the series had filmed its Season 1 episode titled “Fifteen Percent” at Pappa Don’s Delicatessen in South Pasadena. In her comment, Cait said she “you probably already know this (you know everything!) . . .”, but I have to admit that not only did I NOT know that information, until reading Cait’s comment I had never even heard of Pappa Don’s! So I immediately added the restaurant to my lengthy “To Stalk” list and finally made it out there to stalk the place this past Thursday afternoon. Yay!

Pappa Don’s Delicatessen was originally founded by the eponymous “Pappa Don” in the early 1960s. Sometime during the 80s Pappa sold the restaurant to a chef named Harry – a man whom many diners came to refer to as the “Soup Nazi” due to his reportedly gruff exterior. Harry apparently had no tolerance whatsoever for patrons who added what he felt were inappropriate additions to his sandwich creations. LOL Sadly, Harry passed away unexpectedly in August of 2007 at the tender age of 58 and Pappa’s was forced to shutter its doors for a time. On February 28th, 2008, the deli re-opened, this time under new owners who thankfully made very few changes to the restaurant or its menu. Pappa Don’s Delicatessen is a VERY cool little spot that serves up some fabulous sandwiches at EXTREMELY low prices. Because I am diabetic and usually try to avoid carbs altogether, I was unfortunately not able to sample any of the deli’s grub, but I purchased one of their “Anchor” sandwiches – which consisted of tuna salad on sourdough with Swiss cheese, tomatoes, cucumber, alfalfa sprouts, and mayo, all for only $4.95 – to take home to the Grim Cheaper and he absolutely devoured the thing. Said it was one of the best tuna salad sandwiches he had ever eaten.

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In the “Fifteen Percent” episode of Modern Family, Cameron Tucker (aka Eric Stonestreet) runs into his father-in-law, Jay Pritchett (aka Ed O’Neill), who is hanging out with his group of friends in front of Pappa Don’s. While there Jay ends up introducing Cameron not as his son-in-law, but as “a friend of my son’s”.

When Cameron tells his husband Mitchell Pritchett (aka Jesse Tyler Ferguson) how he was introduced, Mitchell marches right on over to the deli to confront his father. While there, he ends up meeting Jay’s friend, Shorty (aka Chazz Palminteri), whom he is convinced is gay.

The deli showed up once again at the very end of the episode in the scene in which Shorty, who has spent most of the episode adamantly denying that he is gay, gifts Jay with two tickets to see “the great Michael Buble”, who “sings like an angel”. Ah, Shorty, I couldn’t agree with you more on that count! And he’s not bad to look at, either. Winking smile

Susanne, the SUPER-nice owner of Pappa Don’s, also informed me that the deli had been featured in the pilot episode of the new Fox television series Traffic Light, in the scene in which Mike (aka The Office’s David Denman), Adam (aka Nelson Franklin), and Ethan (aka Love Actually’s Kris Marshall) discuss the fact that Ethan can get away with saying anything, no matter how obnoxious, thanks to the fact that he has a British accent.

Big THANK YOU to fellow stalker Cait for telling me about this location! Smile

Until next time, Happy Stalking! Smile

Stalk It: Pappa Don’s Delicatessen, from the “Fifteen Percent” episode of Modern Family, is located at 303 Pasadena Avenue in South Pasadena. You can visit the restaurant’s official website here. Pappa Don’s is open Monday through Saturday, from 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., and the place only accepts cash, so make sure to visit an ATM before you stop by.

May 5, 2011May 4, 2011

Carmine’s II Restaurant from “Modern Family”

This past Saturday night, I dragged the Grim Cheaper out to stalk a historic restaurant named Carmine’s II, which was featured prominently in the recently-aired Season 2 episode of Modern Family titled “Boys’ Night”. Carmine’s has been a virtual West-L.A.-institution for almost four decades now, having originally been founded in 1972 by New York native Carmine Competelli, Sr. The eatery, which featured authentic Italian recipes from the “old country”, became an instant success and, thanks to its close proximity to both The Culver Studios and Sony Pictures Studios (formerly MGM), was extremely popular with the showbiz set. Just a few of the luminaries who dined there regularly during the heyday of Hollywood include Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., Peter Lawford, Linda Ronstadt, Robert DeNiro, Milton Berle, Judy Garland, Lauren Bacall, Ronald Reagan, and Governor Jerry Brown. Carmine became such close friends with members of the Rat Pack, in fact, that according to this article written by original Saturday Night Live cast member Laraine Newman, Dean Martin drove Carmine’s eldest son, Carmine Jr., to his senior prom! When Carmine Sr. passed away in 1982 at the tender age of 52, Carmine Jr., who was then only 19 years old, took over management of the restaurant. At some point shortly thereafter he shuttered the property and then re-opened it in 1995 under the new name Carmine’s II. And it is still going strong to this day.

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In the “Boys’ Night” episode of Modern Family, Mitchell Pritchett (aka Jesse Tyler Ferguson) and Cameron Tucker (aka Eric Stonestreet) go for a boys’ night out at Carmine’s II along with their friends Pepper (aka Nathan Lane), Longinus (aka Kevin Daniels), and Crispin (aka Craig Zimmerman). While there, they run into Mitchell’s dad, Jay (aka Ed O’Neill), and much to Mitchell’s dismay, his friends invite Jay to join them for a few drinks. A good time ends up being had by all, though, and Mitchell ends up seeing a whole new side of his father.

While watching the episode, I had noticed a neon sign in the window of the restaurant that read “Carmine’s”.

So, I wrongly assumed that filming had taken place at Carmine’s Restaurant and Bar in South Pasadena (pictured above), an eatery that I had driven by countless times over the years, but had never dined at. It was not until I walked through the establishment’s front doors that I realized how wrong that assumption was! Oh, how to put this nicely? The Carmine’s in South Pasadena is a complete and total dive! Now I am not the type of girl who necessarily dislikes dive restaurants. Quite the contrary, in fact. But this was more of a duck!-cause-a-bar-fight-is-about-to-break-out-type of place than the we-serve-chicken-strips-and-ranch-dressing-in-a-casual-setting kind of establishment that I so adore. Upon our arrival, the GC took one look at our surroundings and said, “We are SO out of here!” It was not until I got home and did some online research later that night that I discovered that there was another, completely unrelated restaurant named Carmine’s located in the West-L.A.-area. (And yes, I am such a huge dork that I actually posed for the above photograph before realizing I was in the wrong place! As Pinky Lovejoy, from the Thinking Pink blog, would say, “MAJOR FAIL!”)

I cannot tell you how ecstatic I am that I was eventually able to track the correct Carmine’s down, as it was honestly one on the BEST restaurants that I have ever had the pleasure of dining at. Both the GC and I loved, loved, loved it! The setting is intimate and cozy with a definite Rat-Pack-vibe, the staff is some of the friendliest I have ever encountered, and the food . . . oh, what do I even say about the food? It was magnificent! When our bartender found out that it was our very first visit to Carmine’s, he informed us that we were not allowed to leave without first sampling some of the restaurant’s famous deep-fried calamari and I can honestly say that it was, hands down, the BEST fried calamari that I have ever eaten in my entire life! OMG! I’m salivating right now just thinking about it! The Chicken Milanese entrée that the GC and I split was also nothing short of incredible. I honestly cannot say enough good things about this place! Carmine Sr. always prided himself on the fact that he made his diners feel “at home” and Carmine Jr. has definitely upheld that tradition. After just one meal there, I can honestly say that Carmine’s II is my new favorite restaurant.

Until next time, Happy Stalking! Smile

Stalk It: Carmine’s II restaurant, from the “Boys’ Night” episode of Modern Family, is located at 10463 Santa Monica Boulevard in West Los Angeles. You can visit the restaurant’s official website here.

March 18, 2011March 17, 2011

Alicia Silverstone’s “The Kind Diet” Book Signing

This past Wednesday night I dragged the Grim Cheaper out to my favorite local bookstore, Vroman’s (which coincidentally just appeared in the most recent episode of Modern Family, but more on that later), to attend the book signing and discussion for Alicia Silverstone’s new lifestyle tome The Kind Diet: A Simple Guide to Feeling Great, Losing Weight, and Saving the Planet. Even though I am not in any way, shape, or form a vegan, I was absolutely DYING to attend the book signing because, as I have mentioned a few times before on this blog, not only is Clueless one of my all-time favorite movies, but Alicia and I happened to grow up in the same hometown – San Mateo, California – so I have always had a very special place in my heart for the actress. Because I am a diabetic and on a very strict, virtually no-carbohydrate diet, though, and because most vegan diets that I have read about tend to favor carbs, I was not actually interested in purchasing a copy of Alicia’s book for myself. But my good friend Nat, who actually attended San Mateo High School – Alicia’s alma mater – is a vegan and she absolutely LOVES Alicia’s book – and her lifestyle blog, The Kind Life – so I decided I would purchase a copy for her as a little “just because” present. Which is how the GC and I found ourselves heading over to Vroman’s at about 5 p.m. this past Wednesday night. And, as always, before the event got started, I sent him outside to snap some photographs of Alicia when she arrived. Winking smile

The signing began right on time, at 7 p.m., but for some reason it was VERY strictly monitored. No photographs WHATSOEVER were allowed during the event – not when Alicia walked into the room, not during the discussion session, and not while standing in line waiting to have our books signed. We were told shortly before her arrival that each guest would be allowed one – and only one – posed photograph with Alicia (which I could NOT have been more excited about as most celebs will not actually pose for pictures during a signing), but otherwise photographs of any kind would not be allowed. To enforce this, two quite burly Pasadena policemen were on site and they threatened to remove anyone who was even spotted with a camera in their hands during the event! So I was extremely thankful that the GC had managed to snap some photographs of Alicia outside of the store.

Alicia, who is currently pregnant, was ABSOLUTELY adorable in person and much taller than I had expected her to be, although she was wearing some fairly tall heels. She walked directly to the podium upon arrival, introduced herself, and started speaking about why she decided to write The Kind Diet, which was an extremely surreal moment for me as it was like watching the Haitian immigrant debate scene from Clueless (pictured above) come alive before my very eyes. I kept having to pinch myself to make sure that it was all really happening and that I wasn’t actually at home sitting in front of my television set. I have to say that in person, Alicia reminded me A LOT of Cher, her Clueless alter-ego. In real life, Alicia has the same mannerisms, facial expressions, and vocal tendencies that I had grown so familiar with from watching the movie over and over again. And I can honestly say that I love Alicia even more now than I did before. The actress came off as extremely charming, warm, genuine, and sweet. She was also poised, well-read, and wildly knowledgeable about veganism, holistic medicine, and healthy nutrition. I was riveted listening to her and, while not a vegan, found myself agreeing whole-heartedly with the vast majority of what she had to say. She also handled herself incredibly well when one of the audience members asked her an asinine question about veganism and pregnancy, in which he tried to make Alicia look bad. (Honestly, if you don’t agree with her lifestyle and are not a fan of hers, then why come to the event????) Alicia responded to him, though, with honesty, wit, and a bit of snarkiness and ended up making him look like a complete and total moron. As we left the event, I found myself wondering how she managed to do that! I cannot tell you how much I would love to be able to tell a rude person off without breaking my cool and all the while seeming poised and charming. But I digress. I was most surprised to hear Alicia speak about diabetes and veganism. As it turns out, her diet does not favor carbohydrates at all and is actually very similar to the diet I am currently on, so it looks like I am now going to have to buy a copy of the book for myself!

After Alicia’s speech, which lasted about thirty minutes, we all lined up to meet the actress. Alicia really took her time with all of her fans and seemed to have an incredibly warm and open personality. And, as promised, every guest got to pose for a photograph with her, which I was absolutely floored about!

Nat’s signed book is pictured above.

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Alicia’s inscription reads, “Dear Natalie, Thank you for loving the book! <3, Alicia Silverstone”.

As I mentioned at the beginning of this post, fave show Modern Family recently did some filming on location at Vroman’s Bookstore. The final scene of the Season 2 episode titled “Two Monkeys and a Panda”, in which Mitchell Pritchett (aka Jesse Tyler Ferguson) and Cameron Tucker (aka Eric Stonestreet) peruse various books on parenting, took place near the store’s Current Event’s section.

Until next time, Happy Stalking! Smile

Stalk It: Vroman’s Bookstore is located at 695 East Colorado Boulevard in Pasadena. You can check out the store’s upcoming signings here. You can purchase Alicia Silverstone’s book The Kind Diet: A Simple Guide to Feeling Great, Losing Weight, and Saving the Planet here. You can visit Alicia’s lifestyle blog, The Kind Life, here. And you can check out future L.A.-area book signings and other celebrity events on my Upcoming Celebrity Events page here.