Taylor Armstrong filming locations

A couple of years ago, the Grim Cheaper and my cable service stopped providing Bravo TV (and E!) as a part of their basic subscription, which absolutely crushed me being that I was no longer able to watch The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, one of my very favorite shows. (Don’t even get me started on not being able to watch The Soup regularly!) So when we moved to the desert and realized that our new cable company offered Bravo (and E!), we immediately went on TRHOBH overload and watched almost all of Season 2 and 3 in one evening. Let me tell you, I was in reality TV heaven! Especially when, while checking out Season 2’s “The Lost Footage” special, I was introduced to Espresso Profeta, the most adorable little coffee shop that I had ever laid eyes on, in the scene in which Taylor Armstrong asked Adrienne Maloof to be her daughter’s godmother. I quickly Googled the name and discovered that the quaint little café was located on Glendon Avenue in Westwood. Being that I am a coffee connoisseur AND a stalker, I have no idea how in the heck I had never heard of the place before! So I immediately added the site to my To-Stalk list and when the GC and I were out in Los Angeles this past weekend, it was our very first stalking stop.

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Espresso Profeta, which translates to “The Prophet of Coffee”, was first founded on September 8th, 2008 by Samantha Langford and Mitch Hale. Prior to that date, the space that now houses the café (a brick-walled structure that, I believe, is named either the El Encanto Building or The Harrison Patio Building and dates back to 1924, 1927, or 1929, depending on which website one happens to be reading) was occupied by a different espresso bar, West Burton Coffee & Tea, that was owned solely by Langford. At the time, Hale, who was one of the very first baristas to be employed by the world famous Espresso Vivace in Seattle, was managing Caffe Luxxe in Santa Monica, but had decided it was time to open up his own place. While doing research on founding his shop, he learned that West Burton Coffee & Tea was one of the only sites in Los Angeles to serve Vivace beans. He contacted Langford and the two decided to partner up. In just three days time, the duo closed West Burton, remodeled the space and re-opened it as Espresso Profeta. It has been going strong ever since. And it is not very hard to see why – once I stepped through the front doors, I never wanted to leave!

In real life, Espresso Profeta is every bit as charming as it was made to appear on The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.

Especially the front courtyard area.

And their coffee is to die for! Espresso Profeta takes their java very seriously. While there, I ordered an iced latte and asked the barista to hold back one of the espresso shots as I prefer my lattes more creamy than strong. He explained that it would not be nearly as good sans that second shot, but I convinced him to make it my way, anyway. And he was right. While good, when I returned to Espresso Profeta the following day (did you not see that coming? Winking smile ), I let the barista make my latte his way and it was sheer perfection!

On The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills Season 2 “The Lost Footage” special, both the exterior . . .

. . . and the interior of Espresso Profeta were shown.

In the rather awkward scene that took place there, Adrienne turned down Taylor’s request to be her daughter’s godmother. And while I never thought I’d refer to Adrienne Maloof as wise or sage, she was exactly that in her handling of the situation, telling Taylor that being a godmother is “an extremely important position to be in,” and that she should “really put thought into” whom she chooses as her child’s godparent and that she has “to take it seriously.” Um, ya think?

And while I assumed that the beautifully-crafted libations shown in the episode were most likely fabricated for the filming, I was pleasantly surprised to discover that all of Profeta’s espresso drinks, which are pulled using a Syneso machine, really do come out looking like works of art. It was mesmerizing to watch the baristas perform their special brand of frothy magic.

Thanks to the book Location Filming in Los Angeles, I learned that the building that now houses Espresso Profeta masqueraded as the art gallery owned by Carolyn Ellenson Grant (Marie Windsor) in the 1955 film No Man’s Woman.

You can find me on Facebook here and on Twitter at @IAMNOTASTALKER. And be sure to check out my other blog, The Well-Heeled Diabetic.

Until next time, Happy Stalking! Smile

Stalk It: Espresso Profeta, from The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills Season 2 “The Lost Footage” special, is located at 1129 Glendon Avenue in Westwood.

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!!

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.)

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

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”.

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!)

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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!

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!

Tag: Taylor Armstrong filming locations

Espresso Profeta from “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills”

The Painted Nail from “Nail Files”