Fat Sal’s Deli – Jerry Ferrara’s Restaurant

Fat Sal's Westwood (5 of 11)

I’m back, people!  To say that last week was a blast would be an understatement.  It was honestly one of the best weeks of my life and a really special birthday celebration.  There was never a dull moment and I am officially exhausted (and now have a cold), but it was well worth it!  A huge THANK YOU to the Grim Cheaper and my friends Lavonna, Kim, Katie and Kaylee for making it all happen.  One of our many adventures (and I will be blogging about all of them soon) included hitting up the premiere of How to Train Your Dragon 2 in Westwood.  We arrived on the scene bright and early only to learn that the premiere had been postponed from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.  Yeah, no thank you!  After quickly deciding to bail (and after randomly running into fellow stalker Anushika, from the Mike the Fanboy family – that’s her in the above picture), we did some shopping nearby (I got an adorable dress at Brandy Melville) and then I dragged the entire gang over to grab a bite to eat at Fat Sal’s Deli, a place I had wanted to stalk for ages due to the fact that it is owned by cutie Jerry Ferrara, aka Turtle from Entourage.

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Jerry founded Fat Sal’s in 2010, along with his childhood pals Josh Stone and Sal Capek.  Frustrated over their inability to find good East Coast-style sandwiches in Los Angeles, the three native New Yorkers decided to open up their own place.   Their first outpost was on Gayley Avenue in a walk-up space that formerly housed a sausage stand named Spoc’s.  Thanks to its fab food, late night hours (it does not close until 3 a.m. most days) and proximity to UCLA, Fat Sal’s became wildly successful and two sister restaurants were eventually opened – one in Hollywood and one in San Diego.  A fourth is set to launch later this year in Austin, Texas.

Fat Sal's Westwood (2 of 11)

Fat Sal's Westwood (8 of 11)

Fat Sal’s menu is unique to say the least, with such offerings as Pepperoni Pizza Fries (French fries covered in chopped pepperoni, mozzarella cheese and marinara sauce), the Fat Jerry (a hero sandwich comprised of chicken fingers, cheesesteak, fried mozzarella sticks, bacon, eggs, French fries, mayo, ketchup, salt and pepper) and Meat Luv’rz Pizza Rolls (spring rolls filled with pepperoni, ground beef, sweet Italian sausage, provolone, mozzarella and marinara sauce).  I played it safe and opted for Fat Sal’s Cheese Dog, which, as you can see below, I was pretty darn excited about.  And I am happy to report that the dog did not disappoint.  It was delish!

Fat Sal's Westwood (10 of 11)

The gang all loved their orders, as well.  (That’s our group pictured below.)  And while we tried to convince Lavonna to order the Big Fat Fatty, she was having none of it.  For those not in the know, the Big Fat Fatty is a 27-inch (!!) hero filled with five cheeseburgers, a pound of pastrami, cheesesteak, chicken fingers, bacon, mozzarella sticks, fried eggs, jalapeno poppers, French fries, onion rings, chili, marinara sauce and fat sauce.  The monster sandwich costs a whopping $49.95, but if a patron can eat the whole thing in forty minutes or less, it’s free!  If someone does manage to accomplish such a feat, he or she gets to design and name a sandwich that will then be added to Sal’s menu.

 

Fat Sal's Westwood (11 of 11)

In 2011, Fat Sal’s was featured in the pilot of Planet Green’s Suzilla: The Mouth that Roars.  In the episode, series star Suzanna French, aka “Suzilla,” who just so happens to be the fourth-ranked competitive eater in the world, attempted to eat a Big Fat Fatty.  Spoiler alert – she was not successful.

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You can watch the Suzilla: The Mouth that Roars episode by clicking below.

The eatery was also featured in the Season 19 episode of Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives titled “Righteous Bites,” which just aired a couple of weeks ago.  You can watch the episode on Amazon, iTunes or Xfinity here.

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I was super excited to see Guy Fieri’s autograph on the wall while we were there.

Fat Sal's Westwood (6 of 11)

Fat Sal's Westwood (7 of 11)

For more stalking fun, be sure to follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Los Angeles magazine online.  And you can check out my other blog, The Well-Heeled Diabetic, here.

Fat Sal's Westwood (4 of 11)

Until next time, Happy Stalking!  Smile

Stalk It: The original Fat Sal’s Deli is located at 972 Gayley Avenue in Westwood.  You can visit the restaurant’s official website here.

Mercedes’ Friend’s House from “License to Drive”

Mercedes' Friend's House License to Drive (6 of 12)

The third – and last – License to Drive locale that I stalked while visiting L.A. a couple of weeks ago was the Colonial-style residence where Les Anderson (Corey Haim) dropped off his dream girl, Mercedes Lane (Heather Graham), in the 1988 classic.  I found the abode thanks to Geoff, from 90210Locations, who, as I mentioned in last Thursday’s post about the License to Drive hospital, has an entire page dedicated to locales from the movie on his website.

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The residence was only used briefly in the flick, in the scene in which Les’ dad, Mr. Anderson (Richard Masur) – aka “Poppa” – picked Les up from school to take him for some driving practice.  While they are out and about, Les spots Mercedes and begs his dad to let him “go up to her, circle around, maybe at the least say hello to her, and come right back to you.”  After a bit of debate, Mr. Anderson agrees – despite the fact that Les does not, in fact, have a license – and gets out of the car, taking with him the three huge grocery bags full of Pampers diapers that he has just picked up from the store.  Things do not go according to plan, though (natch), and Les ends up driving Mercedes to a friend’s house in a different city . . .

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Mercedes' Friend's House License to Drive (3 of 12)

. . .leaving his father to walk home – carrying the three large bags of diapers.

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It is amazing to me that Mercedes’ friend’s house still looks EXACTLY the same today as it did when License to Drive was filmed 26 years ago.

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Mercedes' Friend's House License to Drive (2 of 12)

In real life, the stately home, which was originally built in 1941, boasts four bedrooms, five baths, 4,258 square feet of living space, and a 0.41-acre plot of land.  According to my buddy E.J., from The Movieland Directory website, at different points in time over the years the dwelling was lived in by screenwriter Norman Panama and actor Ben Gazzara and his wife, actress Janice Rule.  The property last sold in October 1993 for $1,045,000.

Mercedes' Friend's House License to Drive (12 of 12)

Mercedes' Friend's House License to Drive (10 of 12)

I am absolutely in love with the sideways-growing tree pictured in the images below.

Mercedes' Friend's House License to Drive (8 of 12)

Mercedes' Friend's House License to Drive (7 of 12)

On a License to Drive side-note – I would LOVE to track down the Shakey’s Pizza that was featured in the movie – so much so that I acquired a list of every Southern California Shakey’s still in business and viewed them all via Google Maps to compare them to screen captures from the flick.  Unfortunately, none matched up.  Does anyone happen to recognize the place?

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For more stalking fun, be sure to follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Los Angeles magazine online.  And you can check out my other blog, The Well-Heeled Diabetic, here.

Big THANK YOU to Geoff, from the 90210Locations website, for finding this location!  Smile

Mercedes' Friend's House License to Drive (11 of 12)

Until next time, Happy Stalking!  Smile

Stalk It: Mercedes’ friend’s house from License to Drive is located at 661 Woodruff Avenue in Westwood.

The “License to Drive” Hospital

License to Drive Hospital (5 of 12)

A couple of weeks ago, the Grim Cheaper and I headed to L.A. for a brief visit and just happened to book a hotel on the west side of town for our stay.  The location turned out to be quite fortuitous, too, as it allowed me to stalk a few nearby spots that had been on my To-Stalk list for ages – one of which was Sephardic Temple Tifereth Israel, the Westwood synagogue that masqueraded as the hospital where Mrs. Anderson (Carol Kane) gave birth in 1988’s License to Drive, one of my all-time favorite movies.

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The Sephardic Temple Tifereth Israel, which was modeled after the prayer houses in Old Spain, was dedicated on September 5th, 1981.  Sephardic Jews originally hailed from Spain (Sepharad means “Spain” in Hebrew), but were expelled from the country in 1492.  Many wound up in America, by way of Turkey, but kept their Spanish roots.  In 1987, Spain’s King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia attended services at the Sephardic Temple Tifereth Israel, or The Sephardic Temple as it is also known.  Of the event, Spain’s then consul general in Los Angeles Pedro Tamboury said, “As we are now approaching the 500th anniversary of the discovery of America, we are also going to commemorate this historic event because we want to make what we call the reencuentro with the Jews from Spain, who were expelled in 1492 but left behind a tremendous heritage of culture and traditions.”

License to Drive Hospital (2 of 12)

License to Drive Hospital (1 of 12)

Sephardic Temple Tifereth Israel only showed up once in License to Drive, towards the end of the movie, in the scene in which non-licensed driver Les Anderson (Corey Haim) drove (backwards, I might add) his pregnant mom, Mrs. Anderson – as well as his father, Mr. Anderson (Richard Masur), and brother, Rudy (Christopher Burton) – to Elmdale Memorial Hospital after she went into labor.  I found this locale thanks to Geoff, from the 90210Locations website, who has an entire page dedicated to License to Drive on his site.

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License to Drive Hospital (3 of 12)

While fake “Elmdale Memorial Hospital” signage was added for the shoot and the exterior hand railings have since been changed, the structure is still very recognizable from its onscreen appearance 26 years ago.  (How in the heck has it been 26 years since License to Drive premiered?!?!)

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License to Drive Hospital (8 of 12)

The area used for the scene was not actually the front of the synagogue, but its north side entrance on Warner Avenue.

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License to Drive Hospital (6 of 12)

According to License to Drive’s DVD commentary with director Greg Beeman and writer Neil Tolkin, the original ending of the movie was to have taken place at the hospital.   As it was originally shot, the final scene showed Grandpa Anderson’s (Parley Baer) beloved Cadillac being crushed by a large construction beam . . .

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. . . and then a freeze frame of Les and Mr. Anderson’s shocked faces.  Test audiences found it too much of a downer, though, so some additional footage was shot and tacked onto the original ending.

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And thank God it was, because the new ending – in which Mercedes Lane (Heather Graham) pulls up to Les’ house, causing him to utter his famous line, “I don’t need the BMW anymore – I already have a Mercedes.”  (Cue Billy Ocean’s hit song “Get Outta my Dreams, Get Into My Car.”) – was not only my favorite part of the entire movie, but it quite considerably affected my life.  I was only 11 years old at the time and a far cry from getting my driver’s license, but when I laid eyes on Mercedes white Volkswagen Cabriolet convertible, I was a goner.  I knew there was no other car I wanted when I turned 16.  And on my 16th birthday, my parents surprised me with one.  I’ve actually owned three over the years (two Cabriolets and one Cabrio) and if VW currently made them, I would probably still be driving one to this day.  Best. Car. Ever.

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For more stalking fun, be sure to follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Los Angeles magazine online.  And you can check out my other blog, The Well-Heeled Diabetic, here.

Big THANK YOU to Geoff, from the 90210Locations website, for finding this location!  Smile

License to Drive Hospital (7 of 12)

Until next time, Happy Stalking!  Smile

Stalk It: Sephardic Temple Tifereth Israel, aka Elmdale Memorial Hospital from License to Drive, is located at 10500 Wilshire Blvd in Westwood.  The northern side of the synagogue, on Warner Avenue, was the area that appeared in the movie.  You can visit the temple’s official website here.