The Painted Nail from “Nail Files”

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Back in November, when my good friends, fellow stalkers Lavonna, Melissa, Beth, Kim, and Sandy, came out to Los Angeles from Ohio for a little stalking vacay, Lavonna booked them all a pampering session at The Painted Nail in Sherman Oaks – the salon that is featured regularly on the TV Guide Network’s reality series Nail Files.  And while Lavonna had invited me to join them for some medi/pedi action, because I knew that the Grim Cheaper would be having none of that, I, unfortunately, had to say no.  I did stop by the salon for a brief visit that evening, though, so that I could take some photographs of the place and hopefully blog about it.  Well, imagine my surprise when, a few days later, Lavonna, being the incredible sweetheart that she is, gave me a gift card for an Ice Cream Sundae pedicure, The Painted Nail’s specialty, so that I could experience the salon for myself.  How awesome is that!?!?  I finally used my gift card last Friday morning and I have to say that it was an incredible experience!  Thank you, Lavonna!!

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Before learning about The Painted Nail from Lavonna, I had actually never before heard of the place, or of Nail Files for that matter.  I have said it before and I will say it again – Lavonna is a FAR better stalker than I am.  She somehow manages to have her hand firmly on the celebrity pulse of Los Angeles, despite living thousands of miles away in Cincinnati.  (That’s Lavonna and the gang, in manicure and pedicure heaven, pictured above.)

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As you can see, The Painted Nail is an absolutely darling place.

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The salon was founded by Katie Cazorla, the self-proclaimed “Queen of Nails” (that is her pictured above with Lavonna and Company), who moved to Los Angeles from Elmira, New York in 2000 in order to pursue a career in acting.  One evening, after receiving an overpriced, shoddy manicure at one of Southern California’s run-of-the-mill, cookie-cutter salons, Katie went home and decided to take matters into her own hands by opening up her very own nail bar.  That dream was realized in March of 2009 when The Painted Nail first opened its doors.  The place was an immediate success, attracting celebrities and locals alike, and in 2010 Citysearch named The Painted Nail “the Best Mani/Pedi”.

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The Painted Nail was so successful, in fact, that it was not long before Katie decided to expand, building a private party room upstairs from the salon (pictured above) and The Hair and Make-Up Bar next door.   (Katie is currently engaged to music producer Walter Afanasieff, which explains the numerous multi-platinum records which decorate the party room’s walls.  I cannot tell you how incredibly cool it was to see those records in person!)

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During her November visit, Lavonna had gotten her nails done by manicurist Lisa Person and had insisted that I do the same on my visit.  And I am so glad that she did, because Lisa was nothing short of UH-MA-ZING!  Not only does the woman give an incredible massage, but she also has to be one of THE nicest people I have ever met in my life.  I had so much fun just hanging out with her and dishing about Tinseltown that the pedicure almost seemed to be beside the point.

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And she even painted these amazing little flowers on my toes, which I am in love with.  I do have to note, though, that when I walked in the door, the GC took one look at my feet and said, “Your toes look ridiculous!”  LOL LOL LOL  Ah, men!  Gotta love ‘em!

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The first episode of Nail Files premiered in June of last year and was an immediate hit, drawing in almost 1.6 million viewers.  And while a series about a nail salon does not sound like it would be very interesting, I watched an episode while doing research for this post and can honestly say that it was riveting!  And the fact that celebs regularly drop-in only adds to the allure.

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In the episode I watched, which was titled “Let’s Do The Oscars!”, Dean McDermott stopped by to pick up some gifts for his wife, Tori Spelling.

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The Painted Nail was also featured in the Season 1 episode of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills titled “Payback’s a Bitch . . . Just Ask Your Husband” in the scene in which Kim Richards and Taylor Armstrong try to mend their volatile friendship over Ice Cream Sundae manicures.  And the salon was also supposedly featured in an episode of Kimora: Life in the Fab Lane, but I was not able to figure out which one.

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Besides being a filming location, The Painted Nail is also a celebrity hot spot.  Just a few of the stars who have gotten their mani and pedi on there include Vanessa Hudgens, Ashley Tisdale, singer Tiffany, Sarah Chalke, Lisa Rinna, Debbie Gibson, Vanessa Williams, the Jersey Shore girls, Paula Abdul, Candace Cameron, Teri Hatcher, Haylie Duff, Hilary Duff, Melina Kanakaredes, Nicole Eggert, and Brooke Burke.

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On an AMAZING side-note – For Christmas, fellow stalker Lavonna gifted me with a pair of Tom Ford “Jennifer” sunglasses, the very same sunglasses that my girl Jen Aniston wears on an almost daily basis.   As you can imagine, I almost had a full-blown heart-attack upon opening the box!  I have been coveting those sunglasses for about three years now and the fact that I now have a pair . . . well, let’s just say that I am still pinching myself over it!  Best!  Present!  Ever!  Thank you, Lavonna!

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Now we’re twins! Winking smile (And yes, I do realize I am a total dork!)

Big THANK YOU to fellow stalker Lavonna for telling me about this location and for the fabulous gift card!  (And for the amazing sunglasses!)

Until next time, Happy Stalking!  Smile

Stalk It: The Painted Nail, from Nail Files, is located at 13327 Ventura Boulevard in Sherman Oaks.  You can visit the salon’s official website here.  I highly recommend requesting manicurist Lisa Person – she is incredible!

The El Torito Grill from “Crazy, Stupid, Love.”

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As I have mentioned numerous times before on this blog, this stalker has absolutely obsessed herself silly over the movie Crazy, Stupid, Love. So when I discovered, thanks to the flick’s exceedingly extensive production notes, that a couple of scenes had been filmed at the El Torito Grill in the Sherman Oaks Galleria, I immediately added the place to my “To-Stalk” list and dragged the Grim Cheaper right on out there to grab some lunch this past weekend.  And I could not have been more excited to do so because if there is one thing this stalker loves more than Crazy, Stupid, Love., it’s Mexican food!  And I would just like to mention here how much I appreciate the abundant efforts the author (or authors) of the CSL production notes put into writing them.  I am currently searching for the gorgeous bar that was featured in the opening scene of 2003’s Bad Santa and am having absolutely no luck whatsoever in finding it.  If only the filmmakers had followed Crazy, Stupid, Love.’s example and published some decent production notes, I would have been able to stalk the place in time for Christmas.  Hmph!  But I digress.

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Oddly enough, when the Grim Cheaper and I first ventured into the El Torito Grill, it did not look familiar to me at all.  In Crazy, Stupid, Love., the place appeared to be fairly small and intimate, but, as you can see above, in real life it is very large and consists of one huge open room with a smaller anteroom off to the side.  The restaurant was so unrecognizable, in fact, that I had to ask the bartender to pinpoint the exact area where filming took place so that I could take the proper photographs.  It was just slightly disheartening – I mean, am I losing my touch here?  Winking smile

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And while unrecognizable from Crazy, Stupid, Love., I am very happy to report that the El Torito Grill serves up some FABULOUS food!  I ordered the Tableside Grilled Fajitas Salad, which was mixed right in front me, and, ohmygod, was it delicious!  Honestly one of the best salads that I have ever had in my entire life!  Yum, yum, yum!  And contrary to what has been reported in numerous Yelp reviews, El Torito Grill does in fact serve chips and salsa, both of which are also fantastic!  Man, I am in love with this place!  And I am not the only one – such stars as Paula Abdul, Nicole Kidman, Keith Urban, and Miley Cyrus have all been spotted dining there at one time or another.

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The El Torito Grill in Sherman Oaks, which is made to seem as if it is located inside of the Westfield Century City Shopping Mall, shows up twice in Crazy, Stupid, Love. It first pops up in the scene in which Richard (aka Josh Groban) takes his girlfriend “Hannah Banana” (aka Emma Stone) and her friends and co-workers out for a pre-bar-exam dinner.  It is during this scene that one of my very favorite lines from the entire movie is uttered.  When Richard announces that he is also going to host Hannah’s post-bar-exam celebratory dinner at the El Torito Grill and that it is going to be a “special night”, Hannah turns to her best friend Liz (aka the hilarious Liza Lapira) to ask if she thinks Richard is planning on proposing to which Liz responds, “At the El Torito Grill?  God, I hope not!”  LOL LOL LOL  LOVE it!

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The El Torito Grill next appears in the scene featuring the aforementioned post-bar-exam celebratory dinner, during which Richard does not, in fact, propose, leaving Hannah in a hilarious state of shock.

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The exterior of the restaurant is also shown in that scene.

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Both of Hannah’s dinner scenes were shot in the very front of the El Torito Grill, just behind the main entrance, at a large table that is, for some odd reason, usually surrounded by a sheer circular curtain.  I would say that the curtain contains a VIP section of some sort, but because it is completely transparent and VIP sections are usually private, that would not make much sense.  Anyway, for the filming, which according to the Before the Trailer website took place on April 26th and 27th of 2010, producers removed the curtain and also attached some multi-color sombreros to the walls.

Until next time, Happy Stalking!  Smile

Stalk It: The El Torito Grill from Crazy, Stupid, Love. is located at 15301 Ventura Boulevard, inside of the Sherman Oaks Galleria, in Sherman Oaks.  You can visit the chain’s official website here.