Figaro Bistrot from “Made of Honor”

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As I mentioned in my post about Le Petit Bistro back in early August, one location that I have been longing to stalk for quite some time now is Figaro Bistrot, an adorable little French cafe that has appeared in numerous productions over the years, most notably the Louis Vuitton Spring/Summer 2009 advertising campaign which featured pop star Madonna.  For whatever reason, though, the Grim Cheaper and I had just never made it out there.  Until this past Saturday evening, that is, when we found ourselves in Los Feliz and I suggested stopping by for a cocktail.  The sandwich board sign out in front of the restaurant proclaimed that Figaro offered “the very best Happy Hour in Los Feliz” and, let me tell you, it was not an exaggeration!  Not only did the GC and I absolutely stuff ourselves silly, but we managed to get out of there for under $45!

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As you can see in the photographs above, Figaro Bistrot is an absolutely ADORABLE little spot.  Decorated with authentic French antiques, flower-shaped chandeliers, tiny sidewalk bistros, gilded mirrors, and a zinc-plated bar, the setting could not be more magical.  Walking through the front doors, one is immediately transported to Paris.  Not real life Paris, but a fantasy Paris – the Paris of the movies, the Paris that Bogey and Bergman so fondly reminisced about in Casablanca.  And the food!  Oh my god, the food!  It was quite simply out of this world!  The GC and I both ordered two items off of the happy hour menu, each of which were priced at around $5.  The GC opted for the Beef Carpaccio and Moules Gratinees aux Fromage (mussels gratin with parsley butter sauce), while I ordered the Mini Burger, which was quite simply the best burger I have ever had in my life, and the Croquettes de Crabe (crab cakes), which were also divine.  The GC was so insanely happy over the large portions, inexpensive prices, and fabulous fare that I can pretty much guarantee this is one spot we will be stalking again and again.

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The Spring/Summer 2009 ad campaign for Louis Vuitton, which was directed by fashion icon Marc Jacobs and shot by legendary fashion photographer Stephen Meisel, featured the café quite prominently, most notably the bar area and the red leather banquettes located in the rear of Figaro’s southern-most dining room.  And even though I am not a fan of Madonna – like at all – I have to admit that Meisel’s pictures of her are absolutely stunning.  (The photographs above do not belong to me, but are the sole property of photographer Stephen Meisel and Louis Vuitton.)

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As I mentioned in my post about Le Petit Bistro in August, the exterior of Figaro was featured in a brief establishing shot in the Season 3 episode of 90210 titled “How Much is that Liam in the Window”.  It was used as the exterior of the French restaurant where Charlie Selby (aka Evan Ross) took Annie Wilson (aka Shenae Grimes) on a date.  For some reason, though, the interior scenes were shot about six miles away at Le Petit Bistro in West Hollywood.

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Our super-nice bartender informed us that Figaro had also made an appearance in the 2008 flick Made of Honor and I just about died of excitement.  You see, I have always had a very special place in my heart for that movie because when I first asked my non-celebrity-obsessed best friend, Robin, who is male and lives in Switzerland, to stand up for me at my wedding, he sent me an email which stated, “I would do absolutely everything to be at your wedding.  I just don’t know what the best man has to do.  I’m not so familiar with the American rules of marriage.  I went to watch a really bad movie last Spring with Steffi [his girlfriend].  I, of course, don’t know the name of the movie or of the actor in it, but it was with the guy who plays the doctor in Grace [his spelling, not mine – love it] Anatomy.  Anyway, he had to organize the bachelor party for women and stuff like that.  So you will have to give me a summary of the duties of the bride’s best man.”  So incredibly cute!  I immediately printed out that email and have carried it around in my wallet ever since.  Smile The “really bad” movie he was speaking about was, of course, Made of Honor, which I had actually never before seen.  So after our dinner at Figaro, the GC and I headed right on over to Blockbuster to rent it.  And I have to say that it was not half bad.  It is not great, mind you, but it is a cute, little lightweight romantic comedy.  Anyway, Figaro Bistrot was featured a few times in the flick.  The exterior first pops up as the supposed Manhattan bakery where Hannah (aka Michelle Monaghan) tries to guess what dessert her best friend Tom (aka Patrick Dempsey – the guy who plays the doctor in Grace Anatomy Winking smile) is going to order.

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It later pops up in the scene in which Tom, who has since realized that he is in love with Hannah, takes a random date out for dessert and tries to get her to play the guessing game, which she fails miserably at.  While there, she also complains about the long line, to which Tom says, “This is the best bakery in the world!  That’s why it’s worth waiting in line.”

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And, finally, the interior pops up in the scene in which Tom, while eating two pieces of cake, thinks about Hannah, who is on a business trip in Scotland for six weeks.

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Figaro Bistrot is also something of a celebrity hot spot.  Just a few of the stars who have been spotted there include Katherine Heigl, Josh Kelley, Isabel Lucas, Lindsay Price, Jessalyn Gilsig, and Keifer Sutherland.  The GC and I also once spotted Archie Panjabi dining at one of the restaurant’s sidewalk tables while we were walking by after grabbing a bite to eat at nearby Fred 62.

Until next time, Happy Stalking!  Smile

Stalk It: Figaro Bistrot, from Made of Honor, is located at 1802 North Vermont Avenue in Los Feliz.  You can visit the restaurant’s official website here.  Figaro offers Happy Hour from 5 to 7 p.m. daily, including Saturdays and Sundays!

72 North – The Real Life Emerald City Bar from “Grey’s Anatomy”

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While Mike, from MovieShotsLA, and I were watching True Blood being filmed in Pasadena last Wednesday night, we got to talking with the owner of The Old Towne Pub about all of the filming that has taken place in the area over the years.  The owner was extremely knowledgeable and clued us in to a lot of locations that neither of us had previously known about, the most exciting of which for me was the downstairs bar of the former McMurphy’s Restaurant & Tavern, now 72 North, which is used as the supposed Seattle-area Emerald City Bar where all of the Seattle Grace interns hang out each week on the hit television series Grey’s Anatomy.  I was EXTREMELY interested in stalking McMurphy’s upon finding out that after filming the Season 2 episode of the series titled “Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head” on location there, producers had an exact replica of the place rebuilt at ABC Prospect Studios, where Grey’s Anatomy is lensed, that they then used for filming each and every week, which I thought was just about the coolest thing ever!  Even though I have never watched Grey’s Anatomy, finding that out was like discovering that Central Perk from Friends was modeled after a real life coffee shop that one could actually visit!  So incredibly cool!  Sadly, McMurphy’s Restaurant and Tavern closed its doors a few years ago and the new owners completely gutted and remodeled the place, renamed it Dullahans, and it subsequently closed down yet again just a short while later.  It was then sold once again to new owners and renamed 72 North.  Miraculously though, through all of the changes of ownership and the extensive remodel, the downstairs bar area was left untouched and still looks pretty much exactly the same today as it did when Grey’s Anatomy first filmed there back in 2005.  YAY!  So, this past Friday night I dragged the Grim Cheaper right on out to stalk the place.

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Ever since Emerald City Bar, or Joe’s Bar as it is also sometimes referred to on Grey’s Anatomy, appeared in the “Raindrops Keep Falling on my Head” episode, it has been featured almost weekly on the series as the regular hangout of Meredith Grey (aka Ellen Pompeo), Christina Yang (aka Sandra Oh), Derek Shepherd (aka Patrick Dempsey), and the rest of the Seattle Grace gang.  The above screen captures were taken from the “Raindrops” episode, during which filming took place at the actual downstairs bar area of McMurphy’s Restaurant & Tavern.

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The above screen captures were taken from later episodes of the series, during which filming took place at the studio-built replica of the bar.

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The downstairs bar area at 72 North is currently only used for special events and private parties, but one of the super-friendly bartenders offered to open it up for me so that I could snap a few pictures of the place.  And even though Bartender Joe’s Seattle-inspired decorations were of course no longer in place, the bar is still very recognizable from the series.  So incredibly cool! 

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Unfortunately, I did not get a great picture of the bar’s front doors while I was stalking the place, but you can kind of see them in the above photograph.

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72 North’s downstairs room can actually be reached via an exterior staircase much like it was portrayed on Grey’s Anatomy.

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72 North has a kind of sports/dive bar-type atmosphere, but, let me tell you, the food they serve there is nothing short of FABULOUS!  This is not your ordinary bar food in any way, shape, or form!  The chicken was cooked to absolute perfection and, as I have mentioned numerous times before, I am extremely picky about my chicken.  The GC and I ordered up a vegetable plate while we were there  and not only was it amazing, but it was also absolutely HUGE!  It was literally the size of a platter one would serve at a party!  And the cost of that vegetable dish?  Because it was happy hour, the tray was only $3!  I am not kidding!  Our entire meal came to $27 and we each had a cocktail!  Needless to say, the GC was absolutely THRILLED upon receiving the check and told me that we could go back to stalk the place anytime I wanted.  Winking smile

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Until next time, Happy Stalking!  Smile

Stalk It: 72 North, aka the real life Emerald City Bar or Joe’s Bar from Grey’s Anatomy, is located at 72 North Fair Oaks Avenue in Old Town Pasadena.  The downstairs bar is the area that is shown on the series.  You can visit the restaurant’s official website here.

Little Dom’s Restaurant from “90210”

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This past Saturday night, I dragged the Grim Cheaper out to Los Feliz to stalk Little Dom’s – an Italian eatery owned by Warner Ebbink and Brandon Boudet of the Eat Heavy Restaurant Group, the very same team that was responsible for founding the 101 Coffee Shop that I blogged about yesterday.  The GC and I had actually breakfasted at the Los Feliz-area establishment once before a couple of years ago, but at the time I had no idea the place was a filming location or a celebrity hotspot, so I, unfortunately, did not take any photographs while there.  Well, imagine my surprise when just a few months later the restaurant was featured in a Season 2 episode of fave show 90210.  I recognized the place immediately, and, let me tell you, just about fell out of my chair.  And then this past September, I just about had a heart attack when the eatery appeared on 90210 yet again.  And then, last week, when I came across these November 4th paparazzi photos of the cast of Glee – including Lea Michele, Dianna Agron, Cory Monteith, Amber Riley, Harry Shum Jr., Kevin McHale,  Jenna Ushkowitz, Naya Rivera, and Chord Overstreet – dining at the restaurant, I just about died and immediately informed the GC that Little Dom’s was where the two of us would be spending our upcoming Saturday night.  

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Little Dom’s first opened in January of 2008 on the corner of Hillhurst Avenue and Avocado Street in the heart of Downtown Los Feliz in the space that previously housed the French bistro La Belle Epoque.   Warner Ebbink, who so ingeniously designed the 101 Coffee Shop interior, completely gutted the former Epoque property and created the Manhattan-esque decor of his new Italian eatery from scratch.  The interior designer/restaurateur searched far and wide, and I mean that literally, for the items that now make up his eclectic establishment.  He purchased and then transported the wooden bar, which dates back to the 1930’s, from a former saloon in Eaton, Pennsylvania; he found the authentic leaded-glass windows, which now make up some of the restaurant’s interior walls, at an about-to-be-demolished building in New York City, and the picture of Yosemite National Park which hangs above the bar area was requisitioned from none other than Warner Brothers Studios.  As the Eater website so aptly stated in their January 2008 review of the restaurant, “Warner Ebbink is an ace at making an entirely new space feel like it’s been there forever.”  I couldn’t agree more!  Sitting at the antique bar and looking around at the dimly-lit, tin-ceilinged space, I found it very hard to believe that the place had not been around during the heyday of Hollywood catering to members of the Rat Pack. 

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Besides the spectacular ambiance, Little Dom’s also serves up some fabulous food!  I absolutely gorged myself on the Brussels Sprouts with Shaved Parmesan side dish and the Truffled Chicken Salad with Arugula Sandwich entrée – both of which were divine!  And I just about died from excitement when I saw that they featured my very favorite dessert, Affogato – vanilla gelato with a shot of espresso (pictured above) – on the menu!  I never actually knew that my favorite dessert had a name, nor had I ever actually seen it featured on a restaurant menu before, but I have been ordering a scoop of vanilla ice cream with a shot of espresso on the side as dessert for just about as long as I can remember.  So, the fact that Little Dom’s had it named on their menu was simply amazing to me!  The restaurant also breaks down their wine list into three sections – ”Tried and True”, “Your New Best Friend”, and “Go Out on a Limb” – which I thought was just about the cutest thing ever.  The eatery’s prices were also extremely, extremely reasonable, which, needless to say, the Grim Cheaper was thrilled about.  We both absolutely LOVED the place and cannot wait to go back there for another stalking/culinary adventure.

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It should come as no surprise that, in the three short years that it has been in operation, Little Dom’s has become a big time celebrity hot spot.  Just a few of the stars who have been spotted there recently include Drew Barrymore, Jason Segel, Katherine Heigl, Josh Kelly, Rachel Bilson, Joe Jonas, Pixie Lott, Conan O’Brien, Ryan Reynolds, Megan Fox, Kate Walsh, Zachary Quinto, Michelle Williams, Spike Jonze, Vince Vaughn, Gisele Bundchen, Ron Livingston and, as I mentioned above, most of the cast of Glee.  And while the GC and I, unfortunately, did not spot anyone famous on this most recent trip to the restaurant, we did see actor Michael Cera, who played Paulie Bleeker in the 2007 movie Juno, during our first visit there.

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And the place is also a filming location!  Little Dom’s appeared in the Season 2 episode of 90210 titled “Women’s Intuition”, in the scene in which Debbie Wilson (aka Lori Loughlin) confronts Sasha (aka Mekia Cox) about what she suspects is her fake pregnancy.  That scene was filmed in the booth located closest to the restaurant’s front door.

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Little Dom’s was also used in the Season 3 episode of 90210 titled “2021 Vision”, in the scene in which Mr. Cannon (aka Hal Ozsan) “accidentally” bumps into Erin Silver (aka Jessica Stroup).

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In the scene, Silver sat in the booth located third in from the restaurant’s front door.  That particular booth was, sadly, occupied while I was stalking the place, so I had to settle for taking a photograph in the one directly next to it.

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Silver’s Vespa was parked just outside of the restaurant, on Avocado Street, in the scene.  And I just have to say here that I am absolutely hooked on 90210 this year.  The series started getting pretty good last season, but I think it is just now finally beginning to hit its stride and I absolutely love it, love it, love it.  Especially the brewing romance between Liam Court (aka my latest celebrity crush Matt Lanter) and Annie Wilson (aka Shenae Grimes).  Those two are SO darn cute together!!!

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Little Dom’s also appeared in the 2010 movie The Kids Are All Right, in the scene in which Nic (aka Annette Bening) and Jules (aka Julianne Moore) discuss the fact that their children’s biological father Paul (aka Mark Ruffalo) is now a part of their lives. 

Until next time, Happy Stalking!  Smile

Stalk It: Little Dom’s restaurant from 90210 is located at 2128 Hillhurst Avenue in Los Feliz.  You can visit the restaurant’s official website here.

The “Grey’s Anatomy” House

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Another location that my good friend and fellow stalker Kerry took me to stalk while I was visiting the Pacific Northwest earlier this year was the Seattle-area home owned by Meredith Grey (aka Ellen Pompeo) on the long-running television series Grey’s Anatomy.  I’ve only actually ever seen one episode of the show – the Season 2 episode titled “Enough is Enough” in which my friend Lukas Behnken was a guest star – but since we were in the area and since Kerry knew the address, I figured I might as well stalk the place.  I have heard such amazing things about the series over the years, though, that I really do think I need to start tuning in.  Especially since the main house used in the series is such a cool one!  I was actually quite shocked to discover that the Grey’s residence was located in Seattle, as the show is taped for the most part right here in Los Angeles – at both Prospect Studios in Los Feliz and the Veterans Administration Sepulveda Ambulatory Care Center in North Hills.  But apparently, the cast and crew make a few treks each year up to the Seattle-area to shoot some exterior and establishing shots, including all of the shots of Meredith’s home.

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On the show, the house originally belonged to Meredith’s mother and while she announced in the pilot episode that she was planning on selling it, she later decides to keep it and live in it with her fellow Seattle Grace Hospital interns Izzie Stevens (aka Katherine Heigl) and George O’Malley (aka T.R. Knight).  The home has been featured regularly in all six seasons of the series.

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The address of the home on the series is said to be 613 Harper Lane, but in reality it is located in the Queen Anne Hill neighborhood of Seattle on Comstock Street.  The home, which was originally built in 1905 and according to fave website Zillow is currently worth about $1.2 million, boasts 4 bedrooms, 2.5 bathrooms, and 2,740 square feet of living space.

On a side note – I apologize for the short blog posts I’ve been publishing as of late.  My parent’s recent, and what has been on-going, move – which has taken place over the past four weekends and has involved packing up a 2,000 square foot residence, staging that residence for sale, moving my parents temporarily into their friends’ currently vacant home, putting 1/3 of their possessions into a storage facility, and the other 2/3’s into two portable POD moving containers – has really taken it out of me.  And it’s definitely been a group effort, too.  Mike, from MovieShotsLA, even pitched in to help us out!  Not many people I know would be willing to help their friends move, let alone their friend’s parents, but that’s just the kind of guy Mike is – and it is why he is one of my very best friends!  Anyway, escrow on my parent’s former house closes TODAY (halleluiah!), so the move is finally over – for the time being at least – and I can now get back to my normal life, normal routine, and normal blogging.  After a nice hot bubble bath and nice, tall glass of champagne, that is!  Thanks for bearing with me over the past few weeks, my fellow stalkers!

Big THANK YOU to fellow stalker Kerry for taking me to this location!  🙂

Until next time, Happy Stalking!  🙂

Stalk It: The Grey’s Anatomy house is located at 303 Comstock Street in Seattle, Washington.

Cup ‘N Cakes Cafe from “Modern Family”

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A few weeks back, a fellow stalker who identified himself as “Stepick” left a comment on my Step by Step house post informing me that a coffee shop in nearby South Pasadena had been featured in the recent episode of fave show Modern Family entitled “Moon Landing”.  Unfortunately though, Stepick did not specify exactly which South Pasadena coffee house it was.  So, I decided to do a little bit of digging to see if I could figure it out.  I came up empty-handed at first, until this past weekend when a blog named “Greetings from LA” published a post about Modern Family filming locations along with a link to this article about the coffee shop that had been used on the show.  Thank you, Greetings from L.A.!  In real life, that coffee shop is named Kaldi Coffee & Tea and, amazingly enough, I had never before heard of the place.  So, I, of course, had to run right out and stalk it, not just because I love Modern Family, but because, as those of you who read my site regularly know, I absolutely love coffee.  Like LOVE IT, LOVE IT, LOVE IT.  Oh, what I won’t do for a good cup o’ joe.  But I digress.

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Kaldi Coffee & Tea, which has been in operation for over 15 years, is an incredibly charming little coffee house located inside of an old bank building.  With its brick walls, mismatched chairs, large couch, and chalk board menu, the place evokes memories of the Central Perk set from Friends.  So, needless to say, I loved it!  And, amazingly enough, when I walked through the front doors I immediately recognized the shop from another production besides Modern Family!  But more on that later.  Despite what some internet reviews have stated, I am very happy to report that Kaldi’s serves up some FABULOUS coffee.  I also indulged in a little veggie sandwich while there and I am happy to report that it, too, was fabulous!  The staff at Kaldi’s was EXTREMELY nice and not only answered all of my silly questions about the filming of Modern Family, but also let me take all the photographs I wanted.  Yay!  I loved the place so much, in fact, that I am fairly certain I am going to be a frequent stalker there.  😉

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The Kaldi’s scene from Modern Family starts out across the street from the cafe, on the sidewalk in front of the South Pasadena Public Library (a location which stood in for Haddonfield High School in Rob Zombie’s 2007 Halloween remake).  In the scene, Gloria (aka Sophia Vergara) takes her son Manny (aka Rico Rodriguez) and her step-son/ lawyer Mitchell (aka Jesse Tyler Ferguson) to the site of her recent car accident so that she can explain what happened.  After showing them where the accident took place, she heads over to Kaldi’s, which was called Cup ‘N Cakes Cafe in the episode, to grab some cupcakes, while Mitchell and Manny wait behind at the accident site to take pictures.  It is there that Manny tells Mitchell that his mother was actually at fault in the wreck.  When Mitchell asks why Manny didn’t tell his mom that, Manny explains “She can’t take criticism about her driving.  Once an old lady yelled at her at a crosswalk.  She honked so long, the horn ran out!”  LOL LOL LOL

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Only a small portion of Kaldi’s exterior is shown in the scene . . .  

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. . . but the interior is featured quite extensively while the threesome is eating their cupcakes. 

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And it is outside of Kaldi’s that Gloria gets into her second car accident of the week, crashing into the side of the cafe and knocking down Cup ‘N Cakes’ large pink cupcake sign, which was, of course, just a prop that was brought in for the filming.  The restaurant where Claire (aka Julie Bowen) met Valerie (aka Minnie Driver) for lunch in that same episode is located less than a block away from Kaldi’s.  It is named Bistro de la Gare, but I have yet to stalk the place.  Don’t worry, though, as it’s definitely on my list!    

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Kaldi’s also appeared in a brief scene in fave movie The Ugly Truth, in which Abby Richter (aka Katherine Heigl) and her best friend Joy (aka Bree Turner) fawn all over her new boyfriend Colin (aka Eric Winter).  Oddly enough, I had actually been searching for The Ugly Truth coffee shop for MONTHS, but couldn’t seem to locate it anywhere!  So, when I walked into Kaldi’s yesterday afternoon, I just about fell over as I immediately recognized it as the place I had long been searching for.  Funny how stuff like that happens.  😉

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The Ugly Truth also made use of the same stretch of sidewalk that appeared in Modern Family for the scene in which Mike Chadway (aka Gerard Butler) convinces Abby to purchase some hair extensions.  That sidewalk is located directly across the street from Kaldi’s.

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Kaldi’s was also featured in two scenes in the 2008 movie Role Models as Beth (aka Elizabeth Banks) and Danny’s (aka Paul Rudd’s) local coffee shop.  One of the scenes features a very funny rant by Paul Rudd over the fact that the term “venti” does not actually mean large in Italian.

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Producers completely remodeled Kaldi’s for the filming of Role Models, though, making it appear very Coffee-Bean-ish, so it almost unrecognizable from that flick.  Kaldi’s was also featured in the 2007 Anthony Hopkins’ movie Slipstream  and it will be appearing in an upcoming episode of the new television series Parenthood.

Until next time, Happy Stalking!  🙂

Stalk It: Kaldi Coffee & Tea, aka Cup ‘N Cakes Cafe from Modern Family, is located at 1019 El Centro Street, at the southwest corner of El Centro Street and Diamond Avenue, in South Pasadena.  Bistro de la Gare, the restaurant where Minnie Driver and Julie Bowen ate on Modern Family, is located less than a block away at 921 Meridian Avenue.

Katherine Heigl’s Apartment Building from “The Ugly Truth”

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A few months back I received an email from a woman named Marilyn (love it!) who wanted to know if I could track down the apartment building where Katherine Heigl lived in the 2009 romantic comedy The Ugly Truth.  But because I am not a big Katherine Heigl fan – I just think the girl has entirely too much to say about . . . well, everything – I had yet to see the movie and didn’t really plan on doing so.  So, I enlisted the help of fellow stalker Owen in tracking this location down and, even though he had yet to see the movie either, he found the place in record time!  Thank you, Owen!  🙂  But then a funny thing happened.  Once Owen gave me the address and I started looking at aerial views of the building via Google maps, I became more and more intrigued by it until I finally broke down and rented The Ugly Truth.  And you know what? I absolutely LOVED it!  In fact, I watched it twice!!  🙂  The Ugly Truth is cute and funny and both Katherine Heigl and Gerard Butler are fabulous in it!  Although, truth be told, I’m not sure if I liked the flick because it was actually a good movie or because my expectations were so incredibly low that I couldn’t help but be pleasantly surprised while watching.  Either way, I truly enjoyed The Ugly Truth and my opinion of its leading lady couldn’t help but be improved after watching it.  🙂  So, once I had seen the movie, I, of course, just had to drag my fiancé out to stalk the building where Katherine Heigl’s character lived.

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In The Ugly Truth, Katherine Heigl’s character “Abby” supposedly lives in the Sacramento area.  But in real life, her Mediterranean-style complex, which is named “El Mirador”, is located a good 380 miles south of the state capital in the Los Feliz section of Los Angeles.  El Mirador, which is not to be confused with the famous El Mirador apartment building in West Hollywood, was built in 1936 and consists of several privately owned townhomes.  The complex is truly charming in person and I absolutely fell in love with the place.  Although I must say I am rather surprised that it was chosen to masquerade as a Sacramento area residence in The Ugly Truth, as, to me, the place just screams Southern California.  The Ugly Truth complex is actually very reminiscent of both Le Borghese Apartments from the movie Mulholland Drive and the El Cabrillo Apartments from ‘Til There Was You and the television series Chuck.  In fact, El Mirador is such a typical L.A. area courtyard building that I can’t imagine it existing anywhere else.  But, then again, being that I haven’t spent all that much time in Sacramento, maybe there are similar style buildings located there, as well. 

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Sadly, not much of El Mirador can be seen from the street thanks to a large grove of trees planted along the perimeter of the property.  But thankfully there is a little window in the complex’s front gate, through which I was able to take the pictures you see in the this post.  🙂

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After I sent Marilyn the address of The Ugly Truth building, she sent me back the images pictured above from a Craig’s List posting she had stumbled upon advertising the rental of one of the El Mirador Townhomes.  As you can see in the photos, while the interior of Katherine’s apartment in the flick was actually just a set built on a studio soundstage, it was, in fact, modeled after the real life interiors of the El Mirador.  🙂  So darn cool! 

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Big THANK YOU to Owen for finding this location and to Marilyn for sending me the Craig’s List images!  🙂

Until next time, Happy Stalking!  🙂

Stalk It: Katherine Heigl’s apartment building from The Ugly Truth is located at 1930 Rodney Drive in the Los Feliz section of Los Angeles.

The Central Park Boathouse Cafe

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One of the locations that I was most excited about stalking while in New York last month was a little restaurant named the Central Park Boathouse Cafe, also known as the Loeb Boathouse.  And although I’ve stalked this location once before – and even blogged about it – because the restaurant is not open for business during the winter months when we usually visit New York, I’d never been able to actually eat there.  Until my most recent trip to the Big Apple, that is.  This year, because my parents had only ever seen Manhattan during the cold winter months, we decided to change things up a bit and schedule our annual NYC vacation in early October.  And I couldn’t have been more excited, as that meant that I’d FINALLY be able to grab a bite to eat at the famous Boathouse Cafe!  🙂

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The first Central Park Boathouse was originally built in 1873 by park designer Calvert Vaux and cost $2,360 to construct.  Vaux’s design consisted of a two-story Gothic inspired structure with open terraces lining the second level.    For over eighty years, the Boathouse provided park-dwellers with a place to dock and store their vessels, grab a bite to eat, or just simply people-watch.  But, in the 1950s it became clear that the eighty year old structure was in desperate need of a renovation.  Thanks to a $305,000 donation from American Metal Company founder Carl M. Loeb and a $100,000 supplement from the Parks foundation, the original Boathouse was torn down and a new building was assembled in its place.  The new structure, which was dubbed the Loeb Boathouse and was constructed in the neo-classical style by designer Stuart Constable, opened in March of 1954 and remains standing to this day.  Although a bit more upscale than its predecessor, the Loeb Boathouse still provides visitors with a place to grab a bite to eat or an evening cocktail, rent a rowboat, or just simply take in the beautiful park scenery. 

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Because the Loeb Boathouse is so incredibly picturesque, it has, of course, been featured countless times over the years in various movie and television productions.  With its lakeside setting, frequent rowboat passersby, and view of of the park and Manhattan skyscrapers in the distance, it’s really no wonder why producers have returned to film there time and time again. 

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Just inside the Boathouse’s main entrance is a large display of photographs from the many filmings that have taken place there over the years.  So love it!

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And, let me tell you, I just about died when I noticed an old picture of my girl Marilyn Monroe on the wall!  As it turns out, though, according to the hostess that I talked to, the picture was not actually from a movie that was filmed on the premises, but was a candid that was taken while Marilyn rowed a boat one evening on the nearby Central Park Lake.  You can just make out the outline of the Boathouse above her left shoulder in the photograph.  So cute! 

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Ostensibly missing from the Boathouse’s picture wall, though, was a photograph of fave show Sex and the City, which filmed a VERY memorable scene from the Season 3 episode entitled “Cock A Doodle Do” at the restaurant.  When I asked the hostess about it she said, “Sex and the City was filmed here?  Really?”  LOL LOL LOL  In the episode, Carrie reluctantly agrees to a lunch date with Mr. Big at the waterside cafe, but, as often happens with those two characters, trouble, of course, ensues.  Just before Carries enters the restaurant, she stops outside to make a quick call to Miranda on a nearby payphone.  During the course of their conversation, Miranda makes Carrie promise that no matter what happens during the lunch she will NOT let Big kiss her.  (On a side note – I tried to stalk Carrie’s payphone, but, unfortunately, it was nowhere to be found, which leads me to believe that it was either a prop that was brought in solely for the filming or it was a real payphone that was removed sometime after the filming took place.   Such a bummer!) 

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Carrie then proceeds to enter the restaurant and spots Big waiting for her in the Bar & Grill area, which is pretty much the exact spot where my family and I sat while dining there.  🙂

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Upon Carrie’s arrival, Big immediately goes to kiss her and, in backing away to avoid him, Carrie winds up falling into the water, pulling Big down with her.  The two immediately collapse into fits of laughter until Carrie realizes that her Christian Dior purse has gone missing, at which point Big screams out “I’ll get it!” and then proceeds to heroically dive under the water to save the purse . . .  

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. . . with the whole rest of the restaurant looking on.   LOL LOL LOL  So love that episode! 🙂 

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So, of course, when I first visited the Cafe back in 2005, I just had to take a picture reenacting that scene.  Too bad I couldn’t also reenact Carrie’s Richard Tyler dress from that scene, too!  LOL  🙂  

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  The Boathouse is also the spot where Sally lunched with her friends, one of whom was Carrie Fisher, at the beginning of the 1989 romantic comedy When Harry Met Sally.  

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In the more recent 27 Dresses, the Boathouse figures prominently as the place where Katherine Heigl’s character’s parents were married and where she also intends to someday hold her own wedding.  As fate would have it, though, her younger sister gets engaged first and books the restaurant for her wedding instead.  Towards the end of the movie, a scene takes place at the Boathouse in which Katherine attends a food tasting for the upcoming nuptials with her secret crush, who also just so happens to be her sister’s fiancé, Edward Burns.

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The Boathouse also appeared in the 2005 movie Little Manhattan and in an episode of the Showtime series Nurse Jackie.  The upcoming Drew Barrymore/Justin Long movie entitled Going the Distance also apparently did some recent filming at the Boathouse and a fake Boathouse set was even built in Brooklyn’s Prospect Park this past summer for the Tina Fey/Steve Carell comedy Date Night.

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Besides being a filming location, the boathouse has also long been a favorite dining spot for celebrities.  In recent years, stars like Lindsay Lohan, Becky Newton, Orlando Bloom, and Victoria’s Secret model Miranda Kerr have all been spotted eating at the Cafe.  The Boathouse has also played host to numerous celebrity events, including the premiere after-parties for the movies Pride and Prejudice, Mamma Mia, and My Sister’s Keeper

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And while the Boathouse was at the very top of my list of locales to stalk during this year’s trip, as fate would have it, we actually got “stuck” there after being caught in a brief rainstorm while walking through Central Park.  Because the Cafe was the nearest shelter we came to and because it was on my stalking list, we decided to kill two birds with one stone and ducked inside.  🙂  Thankfully the rainstorm didn’t last more than a few minutes and once it was over we immediately grabbed seats on the patio in the Boathouse’s Bar & Grill area (pictured above) and ordered up a few cocktails.  And, I have to say, the place was A-MA-ZING!  It is worth a visit just for the setting alone!  I honestly can’t recommend stalking the Boathouse Cafe enough!  It has to be one of my favorite places in all of New York.  It is the absolute PERFECT place to spend a sunny – or even a not so sunny, as was the case for me – Manhattan afternoon. 

Until next time, Happy Stalking!  🙂

Stalk It: The Central Park Boathouse Cafe is located at East 72nd Street and Park Drive North in Central Park.  The restaurant is seasonal and is only open from April through November.  You can visit their website here.