Year: 2017

The Villa Del Sol from “Rosewood”

The Baader-Meinhof Phenomenon is a term used to describe the experience of coming across an obscure word, thing, or piece of information for the first time and then subsequently happening upon references to that same word, thing, or piece of information on a regular basis. I had never heard of it until fellow stalker/guest poster extraordinaire Michael (you can read the many articles he has written for IAMNOTASTALKER here) mentioned it to me while discussing Haskell’s Ice Cream Hut from The Brady Bunch, a locale he tracked down back in 2014 that he has since seen pop up in several other productions. We have encountered so many instances of Baader-Meinhof lately that Michael recently suggested we rename the phenomenon after the two of us in regard to filming locations. Case in point – while watching the Season 2 episode of Rosewood titled “Half-Life and Havana Nights” in early December, I became a bit fixated with the supposed “Cuba” courtyard where Dr. Beaumont Rosewood, Jr. (Morris Chestnut) and Detective Annalise Villa (Jaina Lee Ortiz) interrogated a suspect. After a bit of research, I discovered that the courtyard was part of a historic building known as The Villa Del Sol in Fullerton. I had never heard of the place, but quickly added it to my To-Stalk List. Well, not 48 hours later, I was poring over the December issue of Westways magazine and was shocked to see The Villa Del Sol featured in a Local Outings blurb. The article made me even more obsessed with seeing the site in person, so when I found out that my dad had a doctor’s appointment in Orange County last week, I informed the Grim Cheaper that we would be tagging along in order to do some Rosewood stalking.

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The Villa Del Sol was originally built as a luxury lodging known as the California Hotel. Construction on the three-story property took place from January 1922 to January 1923.

The Spanish Colonial-style hotel was designed by architects Frank Benchley and Morien Eugene Durfee.

At its inception, California Hotel consisted of ground-level shops, 22 suites, 55 single rooms, and a courtyard that opened to what was then Spadra Road (today it’s Harbor Boulevard). You can see some photographs of what the picturesque site looked like during its early days here and here.

In 1964, the hotel underwent a renovation, was expanded, transformed into a commercial building, and re-named The Villa Del Sol. During the remodel much of the structure’s Spanish Revival detailing was removed. The building’s courtyard was also closed off from the street, creating a peaceful little oasis shaded by tall palm trees.

In 1992, the property was remodeled once again after being purchased by Dunlap Real Estate Investments. The group revitalized the site, bringing back much of its original design.

Today, the marketplace houses restaurants, boutiques, and office space. One of the eateries, The Cellar, is not only reportedly haunted, but was designed by the same people who were responsible for The Pirates of the Caribbean ride at Disneyland! Sadly, it was closed when we were there, but it’s on my list for a re-stalk.

The Villa Del Sol is absolutely idyllic. It comes as no surprise that the quaint site is one of the O.C.’s most popular wedding venues. What is rather surprising is that, outside of Rosewood, I could find no other instance of filming on the premises.

In “Half-Life and Havana Nights,” Rosewood and Villa head to Cuba to get information from a fake I.D. maker named Lorenzo ‘Lo Down’ Veras (Roberto Sanchez).

They wind up encountering him in The Villa Del Sol’s courtyard, which masked as a busy Cuban marketplace.

In the scene, Lo Down was holding court in the southern section of the courtyard, near the entrance to Green Bliss cafe.

The Villa Del Sol’s second floor also appeared in the episode, portraying the Cuban apartment building where Michelle Kelly (Joy Brunson) lived.

For more stalking fun, follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Los Angeles magazine and Discover Los Angeles.

Until next time, Happy Stalking!

Stalk It: The Villa Del Sol, from the “Half-Life and Havana Nights” episode of Rosewood, is located at 305 North Harbor Boulevard in Fullerton.

March 24, 2017
The House from Michael Bublé’s “I Believe in You” Music Video

As my longtime readers know, this stalker loves herself some Michael Bublé. A lesser known fact, being that I don’t talk about it as much, is that I also love me some Derek Hough. So when I found out that the Dancing with the Stars pro was directing, choreographing, and starring in the cutie crooner’s “I Believe in You” music video, I could hardly contain my excitement! A collaboration by two of my favorite stars? Count me in! I anxiously poured through the many Snapchat videos Hough posted of the shoot, which took place in January, and instantly became obsessed with tracking down the house used in the production, because, well, duh!

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My initial thought upon seeing the Cape Cod-style residence in Derek’s snaps was that it was located in Malibu. Something about the size, landscaping and design of the pad just screamed “the ‘Bu” to me. So I spent a while poking around the beachside city, as well as searching location databases for Cape Cod dwellings in the area, but came up with diddly. On a whim, and because I do not like to leave any stone unturned, I next set my sights on the Pasadena Film Calendar, even though I was fairly certain the house wouldn’t be found there. Imagine my surprise when I saw “I Believe in You” noted in the listings! According to the calendar, the video was being shot somewhere on Marengo Avenue. From there, I searched along Marengo via aerial views and found the house rather quickly.

The 6-bedroom, 4-bath, 5,324-square-foot home, which per Zillow was built in 1894, is pretty darn spectacular.

Though situated facing away from the road and behind a huge wall of hedges . . .

. . . it turned out to be much more visible than I was led to believe from my Google Street View viewings.

You can check out some more close-up photos of the exterior of the residence, as well as some interior shots, here.

The “I Believe in You” video, which centers around the lifelong relationship between a couple, was shot in its entirety at the property. Derek used his grandparents, who were married for over 60 years and danced together every morning and every night, as his inspiration for the storyline and concept. He explained to People magazine, “When I heard the song, I just kept picturing my grandparents and this love that lasted for such a long time. I wanted to show a love story that stood the test of time.” You can watch the finished product by clicking below. Warning – have Kleenex handy!

“I Believe in You” made extensive use of both the exterior . . .

. . . and interior of the picturesque home.

A patch of sidewalk out in front of the house also appeared in a couple of scenes.

The area used can be found just south of the residence’s driveway.

The same property also portrayed the home of NSA Director Lieutenant-General Diane Peters (McNally Sagal) in the Season 5 episode of Scandal titled “It’s Hard Out Here for a General.”

On a Michael Bublé side-note – I don’t know how I missed his “Nobody But Me” video, which was released in October of last year, but it’s hilarious! You can watch it by clicking below.

For more stalking fun, follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Los Angeles magazine and Discover Los Angeles.

Until next time, Happy Stalking!

Stalk It: The house from Michael Bublé’s “I Believe in You” music video is located at 1504 South Marengo Avenue in Pasadena.

March 22, 2017
Palindrome Healing Center from “Flaked”

Some images just stay with you. When I came across these MLS photos of a Venice Beach home on Curbed Los Angeles back in 2008, I practically started drooling and the words “real estate porn” immediately came to mind. The pictures of the dramatically unique Moroccan-inspired dwelling, especially the ones of the meandering pool, seared themselves into my brain. So I was thrilled to spot the pad when scanning through episodes of Flaked early last year while writing this Los Angeles magazine post about the Netflix series’ locations. Though I added the abode to my To-Stalk List right then and there, it was not until just recently that I was finally able to get out to Venice to see it in person.

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The residence’s flat, boxy, concrete exterior belies nothing of its interior beauty. From the outside, the place almost looks like a warehouse.

But hidden behind the dwelling’s drab exterior walls is a magical Moorish- and Moroccan-style oasis, marked by lush greenery, rooms that traverse both indoor and outdoor space, a meandering pool that moves throughout the property, and sleek, sharp lines. (Pictured below are two of the MLS images from Curbed that so enthralled me. You can see some more fabulous photos of the home’s interior here and here.)

Thanks to Curbed commenter spinsLPs, I learned that the extraordinary residence belongs to Phillip Dixon. The prolific photographer purchased the site in 1978, when it consisted solely of a wooden cottage and a vacant former market that Phillip turned into his studio. He eventually tore down the house, leaving the studio intact, and, per spinsLPs, commissioned architect Brian Murphy of BAM Construction/Design, Inc. to build a modern residence in its in place. You can see what that structure looked like here. In 1993, the pad was re-designed once more, this time by Dixon himself, as well as (and this is once again per spinsLPs) architect Charles Ward. Of the design, Dixon said in a C Home article, “In architecture, everything designs itself based on what you want. You have to look at where the light comes from; you have to look where the wind comes from. And then you have to know how you want to live. And the way I wanted to live was with the pool and the garden and the house all incorporated into one.”

I’d say Dixon achieved his goal. The residence seamlessly meshes indoor and outdoor space to the point that, when looking at pictures, you almost don’t know which is which.

Philip also designed all of the home’s furniture and furnishings, which are built-in. Of the artful concept, Philip said, “For me, normal furniture and paintings and all of that stuff is just jewelry. When a place is done, you shouldn’t have to put anything in it or on the walls. It’s already decorated; it’s already furnished. And also, it flows. So you have the seats, the tables, everything works together. And you just put the cushion on it and it’s easy maintenance.” The result of his efforts is an aesthetic that is both minimalist and baroque at the same time. Or as a different Curbed commenter described it, “Tatooine chic.” (If you don’t get the reference, Google it. )

I mean, even the garage is spectacular!

The 4,380-square-foot, 3-bedroom, 3-bath property was put up for sale in January 2008 for a cool $13 million, but there were apparently no bites as the price was dropped to $10 million in May of that year and then slashed again to $8.295 million in July before being taken off the market altogether. The home has since been the site of numerous special events, as well as filmings.

In the Season 1 episode of Flaked titled “Palms,” the residence masked as Palindrome Healing Center, the Palm Springs-area holistic spa that Chip (Will Arnett), London (Ruth Kearney), Dennis (David Sullivan), and Jackie (Kirstie Alley) visited.

Several areas of the home were featured in the episode . . .

. . . but it is the pool that was showcased most beautifully. I mean, can you even imagine this being your actual residence?

The property also portrayed the Los Angeles home where Jackie Q (Rose Byrne) lived in the 2010 comedy Get Him to the Greek.

For more stalking fun, follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Los Angeles magazine and Discover Los Angeles.

Until next time, Happy Stalking!

Stalk It: The fictional Palindrome Healing Center from Flaked is actually a private home located at 418 Westminster Avenue in Venice.

March 20, 2017
The “Last Man Standing” House

The Grim Cheaper and I watch a lot of TV. Like a lot. So I am always surprised when I receive an email from a reader asking about a location from a show I am not familiar with. Such was the case in January, when fellow stalker Marjorie reached out to ask for my assistance in tracking down the house where the Baxter family lives on Last Man Standing. Though I had never seen even one episode of the CBS series, I am always up for a good hunt, so I asked Marjorie to send me some screen captures of the residence. When she did, I was shocked to see that it was a virtual carbon copy of a home that has been featured on The Goldbergs numerous times – one that I will be blogging about soon. I had tracked down that pad – it’s at 2822 Forrester Drive in Cheviot Hills – just a few weeks prior and, due to the similarities, figured the Last Man Standing dwelling had to be located nearby. So I began poking around the area. After a few hours of futile searching, I decided to set my sights on Hancock Park and its environs instead, and hit pay dirt rather quickly.

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Said to be located at 9504 Dublin Street in downtown Denver on the series, the Baxter family home can actually be found at 611 Lorraine Boulevard in Windsor Square.

In real life, the 1923 Tudor boasts 5 bedrooms, 4 baths, 4,680 square feet, a library, several fireplaces, a butler’s pantry, a formal dining room, a breakfast room, a detached garage, a covered patio, maid’s quarters, and a 0.33-acre lot.

Per real estate website Zillow, the two-story residence, which was designed by architect Preston Wright, last sold in October 2013 for $2.7 million.

As you can see, the property looks much the same in person as it does on Last Man Standing.

At some point, a flagpole with a brick base was added to the home’s front yard on the show.

The flagpole is not there in real life, though, and I am guessing it is not a set piece, but something that is superimposed digitally into each image of the house featured on the series.

The handsome brick pad appears regularly each week in establishing shots on Last Man Standing, though no actual filming takes place there.

The series is instead lensed on a set constructed on Stage 9 at CBS Studio Center in Studio City.

The set of the Baxter family’s home does not resemble the interior of the actual residence, which is much larger and much more grand. You can check out what the real inside of the property looks like here.

During my search for the Last Man Standing house, I came across a 2011 Inland Valley Daily Bulletin article that mentioned the series’ regular use of the Bass Pro Shops in Rancho Cucamonga. I was thrilled upon learning the news being that the massive sporting goods emporium is one of my dad’s favorite places in the entire world. I’m not kidding – when we lived in Pasadena and friends would visit from out of town, he would invariably drive them the 35 miles to Rancho Cucamonga to see Bass Pro. Not that I blame him. The 180,000-square-foot site, which boasts waterfalls, an 8,000-gallon fish tank, a shooting gallery, a 2-story lobby with a fireplace and a 60-foot clerestory, murals, museum-like dioramas, and a restaurant (yes, a restaurant!), is not your average sporting goods store. It’s pretty darn unique. You can check out some photos of it here. On Last Man Standing, Bass Pro, which is located at 7777 Victoria Gardens Lane, masks as Outdoor Man, where Baxter patriarch Mike (Tim Allen) works as a marketing director. Only the exterior of the shop is utilized on the series. The inside of Outdoor Man is a set that exists at CBS Studio Center and, unlike the Baxter house, it was closely modeled after Bass Pro’s real life interior. In an interesting twist, as the Daily Bulletin points out, a green truck is visible parked outside of the store in the establishing shots featured on the show. That truck is an actual décor fixture of Bass Pro. Producers must have liked the look of it because it somehow made its way on to Last Man Standing as Mike’s car. If you scroll up, you can see an identical green pick-up parked in the driveway in several establishing shots of the Baxter home.

For more stalking fun, follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Los Angeles magazine and Discover Los Angeles.

Big THANK YOU to fellow stalker Marjorie for asking me to find this location!

Until next time, Happy Stalking!

Stalk It: The Baxter residence from Last Man Standing is located at 611 Lorraine Boulevard in Windsor Square. Bass Pro Shops, aka Outdoor Man from the series, is located at 7777 Victoria Gardens Lane in Rancho Cucamonga.

March 17, 2017
The Tate Mansion from “Soap”

I have a pretty amazing memory, especially when it comes to things most people find useless, such as filming locations and movie quotes. I’m like a vault. Or an elephant. Once something enters my brain, it locks in and I don’t forget it. So I was shocked when I received an email a couple of weeks back from a fellow stalker named Andrew who wanted some assistance in tracking down the mansion belonging to the Tate family on Soap. My parents and I watched the 1977 ABC series religiously during my childhood years and The Major (Arthur Peterson) is still one of my favorite television characters of all time. I mean, a guy who regularly walks around with a stuffed dog that he thinks is still alive tends to stay with you. Somewhere along the way, though, I inexplicably forgot about the show and upon moving to L.A., never thought to look for any of its locations. So I was thrilled to receive Andrew’s email and immediately told him I was up to the task!

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At the time I began the hunt, I had no recollection whatsoever of what the Tate residence looked like, so I did a Google search for “the Soap mansion” and was led to this image of a Tudor-style dwelling that someone had snapped on the Dearly Departed tour. Now Dearly Departed is run by my friend Scott Michaels and while I could have easily emailed him for the address, I figured finding the pad on my own would be a snap due to the fact that, because of its stately appearance, I was 99.9% certain it was located in Hancock Park. After quite a bit of time poking around the area, though, I came up completely empty-handed and started to doubt my instincts. So I sent a message to Scott and he wrote back immediately with an answer. As it turns out, the Soap mansion is located in Hancock Park – at 511 South Muirfield Road to be exact. While I was glad to know my hunch was correct, I was at a loss as to how I missed the place during my searching. So thank you, Scott, for leading me to the right spot!

The Grim Cheaper and I headed over to stalk the manse while visiting L.A. two weeks ago and I could not have been more excited to see it in person.

I was floored to discover that very little of the 8-bedroom, 6-bath, 7,426-square-foot property, which sits on 0.41 acres, has been altered in the 36 years since Soap has been off the air. (Please pardon the low-res screen captures featured in this post. I purchased the series on DVD, but unfortunately the discs will not play on my computer. They will play on my regular DVD player, though, so I was forced to snap photographs of my television screen in lieu of making screen grabs. Guerilla blogging at its finest!)

As you can see, the 1929 estate, which was said to be located in Dunn’s River, Connecticut on the series, aka a “neighborhood known as ‘Rich’,” looks exactly the same today as it did onscreen when the show first premiered in 1977.

Soap is not the only production to have been lensed at the handsome brick property. The site portrayed the home of Olivia McKenna (Melissa Newman) in the 1982 horror film One Dark Night. (Huge thank you to Scott Michaels for providing the screen captures below.)

Ian Gallagher (Cameron Monaghan) and Mickey Milkovich (Noel Fisher) robbed the residence in the Season 3 episode of Shameless titled “The Sins of my Caretaker,” which aired in 2012. The Tate mansion was only used for exterior shots in the episode, though. A house around the corner at 434 South Rossmore was utilized for interiors. You can check out what the inside of the Tate dwelling actually looks like here.

The property masked as a church in the Season 1 episode of Grace and Frankie titled “The Funeral,” which aired in 2015.

The residence’s interior was also featured quite extensively in the episode.

The interior of the mansion appeared very briefly as the home of Rose Brady (Rosemarie DeWitt) in the pilot of the new Amazon series The Last Tycoon, which is the only episode of the show that has yet to air.

According to OnLocationVacations, The Last Tycoon has filmed at the residence several times over the past few months, so you can expect to see it pop up regularly as future episodes are released.

In the Season 2 episode of the Netflix series Love titled “Back in Town,” which aired in 2017, one of the mansion’s rooms masqueraded as a therapist’s office.

The estate portrayed Denny’s (Donal Logue) house in the Season 1 episode of The Unicorn titled “The Client,” which aired in 2020.

And it is currently being featured as the home of Elena Richardson (Reese Witherspoon) and her family on Little Fires Everywhere. Of choosing the property for the Hulu series, production designer Jessica Kender told Architectural Digest, “We saw this big beautiful Tudor-esque house built in the 1920s. It was in this little pocket on top of a hill with a fountain in the middle. Everything about it read very old money, it has this beautifully moneyed perfection type of vibe.” And don’t worry – the mansion wasn’t really burned down for the shoot. Instead, producers had the facade re-created inside of a soundstage for the fire scenes.

For more stalking fun, follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Los Angeles magazine and Discover Los Angeles.

Big THANK YOU to fellow stalker Andrew for asking me to track down this location and to Scott Michaels, of the Find a Death website and the Dearly Departed tour company, for finding it!

Until next time, Happy Stalking!

Stalk It: The Tate mansion from Soap is located at 511 South Muirfield Road in Hancock Park.

March 15, 2017
Pasadena’s “Big Bang Theory” Way Sign

God is in the details, as they say. And it truly is the details, aka the little things, that I miss about living in L.A. For example, while perusing Instagram recently, I came across an image posted by amylove33 of a street sign in Old Town Pasadena reading “Big Bang Theory Way.” I was, of course, intrigued. Not only am I a huge fan of the long-running CBS series, but I loved the fact that Crown City paid homage to it in such an unexpected and unique way. I couldn’t help thinking that the sign is something I likely would have come across – and most definitely noticed – during my daily walks if I still lived in the area. As I said, it’s the little things I miss the most. Even though I now reside in Palm Springs, there was no way I was not seeing that sign in person! I commented on amylove’s post, asking if she could detail its exact location, and she was kind enough to respond immediately. Thank you, amylove! So I added the site to my To-Stalk List and headed right on over there while visiting Los Angeles two weeks ago.

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As amylove33 explained, Big Bang Theory Way is not actually a street, but an alley situated just east of Crossroads Trading Co. on Colorado Boulevard.

The city installed the sign at some point in 2016 as a way of celebrating the Pasadena-set series, which centers around the lives and loves of four local scientists, Leonard Hofstadter (Johnny Galecki), Sheldon Cooper (Jim Parsons), Howard Wolowitz (Simon Helberg) and Raj Koothrappali (Kunal Nayyar). As Councilmember Andy Wilson stated, “The City of Pasadena is proud of its comedic and scientific association with The Big Bang Theory. Pasadena was already known throughout the world for having the foremost astronomers, chemists and scientific thinkers who do very serious work here, but thanks to The Big Bang Theory, being smart in Pasadena is now fun too.” The city also decreed February 25th, 2016, the date of the airing of the series’ 200th episode, as “Big Bang Theory Day.”

There is a bit of confusion regarding the sign that I have not, as of yet, been able to iron out. The announcement of the street name commemoration took place on Conan on February 24th, 2016. During the episode, in which the entire TBBT cast guested, host Conan O’Brien surprised the group by revealing the street designation tribute and presented them with a sign sent over by the city. As you can see below, that sign read “Big Bang Theory Alley.”

During the segment, which you can watch here, quite a bit of fun was made over the fact that the series was being rewarded with the renaming of a mere alley and not an actual street.

Somewhere along the way, though, things got changed up and a sign reading “Big Bang Theory Way” was installed instead. I am unsure if the alteration had something to do with Conan’s teasing or if it came about due to other factors.

Regardless of the reasoning behind the change, I cannot think of a cooler way for a show to be honored.

Not to mention, the sign makes for great picture-taking opportunities. Kudos, Pasadena! Job well done!

For more stalking fun, follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Los Angeles magazine and Discover Los Angeles.

Big THANK YOU to amylove33 for telling me about this location!

Until next time, Happy Stalking!

Stalk It: The Big Bang Theory Way sign is located on the 100 block of East Colorado Boulevard, at the entrance to the alley just east of Crossroads Trading Co., in Pasadena.

March 13, 2017
Màs Malo from “Scandal”

Los Angeles is often ridiculed for having no history – or no appreciation of its history. Demolition of the Ambassador Hotel aside, I don’t find that to be true. There is history – well-preserved history – around pretty much ever corner. You just have to know where to look. Case in point – Màs Malo, a downtown L.A. Cal-Mex eatery that is situated inside of a gorgeous former 1920s jewelry emporium. The site first hit my radar while I was researching DTLA watering holes for my Double Shot: Two Downtown Bar Crawls article for the June 2016 issue of Los Angeles magazine. As I mentioned in the piece, Màs Malo’s second-floor lounge was featured in a Season 5 episode of Parks and Recreation. I became completely enamored of the gorgeous space after perusing photos of it online and added it to my To-Stalk List, but somehow never made it out there. Then when I spotted the restaurant pop up on a recent episode of Scandal, I decided I had to head over there stat and finally did, Grim Cheaper in tow, two weeks ago.

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The 1922 building that Màs Malo calls home was initially constructed as the headquarters and flagship store of Brock & Company Jewelers, one of the city’s most prominent jewelry shops at the time. Originally founded in the 1880s by George A. Brock, Brock & Co. was often referred to as the “Tiffany of the West.”

The Spanish Colonial Revival-style property, which boasts Churrigueresque elements, was designed by William James Dodd and William Richards of the Dodd & Richards architecture firm.

The structure’s highly ornate exterior was assembled out of terra cotta.

Though the building’s façade is undeniably beautiful and definitely picture-worthy, it is the interior that had me so intrigued.

The ground floor of the property, which served as the watch and jewelry showroom during Brock & Co.’s tenure, boasts a stunningly intricate and sweeping vaulted ceiling.

The ornamental carvings are nothing short of breathtaking. In fact, pictures don’t do them justice – they are even more spectacular in person.

Brock & Co. was eventually taken over by George’s son, George C. Brock, who had no children. With no one to leave the company to upon retiring in 1964, he sold it to real estate developer Ben Weingart, who continued to operate the site as a jewelry store for a few years before eventually shuttering it. In 1975, the grand space was leased to the Clinton family, owners of the popular Clifton’s Cafeteria chain.

The Clintons modified the former jewelry store in order to transform it into another Clifton’s outpost, this one named Clifton’s Silver Spoon Cafeteria, which operated from 1975 to 1997. Thankfully, the modifications were minor and the building’s baroque ceiling was left intact, as were the handmade Mahogany display cases that lined the interior. You can see some images of the building during the Clifton Silver Spoon days here, here, and here.

After Clifton’s was shuttered, the Brock & Co. building, which is a Los Angeles Cultural-Historic Monument, remained vacant for close to a decade. In 2007, 213 Nightlife Group founder Cedd Moses set his sights on the property’s second floor, which the jewelry company had utilized as a silver, china and crystal department. He revamped the space into Seven Grand, a dimly-lit, wood-paneled whiskey bar festooned with mounted buck heads. Moses even made use of Brock & Co.’s original display cases to store the watering hole’s extensive liquor collection. Seven Grand became an immediate hit and though the bar is also a popular filming location (it has popped up on The Office, Lie to Me, Body of Proof, and Modern Family, just to name a few), I have yet to stalk it. But don’t worry, it’s on my list.

In 2010, Brock & Co.’s lower level was leased by Mitchell Frank and Jeff Ellermeyer. Along with interior designer Tracy Beckmann and restoration expert Amy Higgins, the two renovated and reimagined the former jewelry showroom, transforming it into Màs Malo, a sister restaurant to their Silver Lake eatery, Malo. The site opened to the public in January 2011. You can check out some fabulous photographs of Amy’s restoration work on the ceiling here.

Màs Malo is hands down one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever visited. Even if the food was bad, I’d recommend the place for the ambiance alone. Thankfully, that’s not the case, though.

As the GC and I came to find out, the fare at Màs Malo is out of this world! I opted for the Ground Beef & Pickle Tacos, which were recommended by the bartender. Pickles on a taco? I was skeptical, too. The entrée was actually created by chef Robert Luna’s mother. As he explained to The Huffington Post, “I was twelve years old and my mom was prepping for hamburgers when she realized she had no bread. She took a tortilla and turned it into a hard taco with the beef and the pickles. Since then I haven’t wanted hamburgers any other way.” Countless Angelinos agree. The dish quickly became a signature item. While the pickles add a unique and altogether pleasant touch, for me, the taco’s real pièce de résistance is the tortilla shell, which is the perfect blend of crispy and chewy.

Considering its gorgeous aesthetic, it is no surprise that the Brock & Co. space has been featured in several productions.

In the Season 6 episode of Scandal titled “Hardball,” Màs Malo masked as the supposed Washington, D.C. bar where Olivia Pope (Kerry Washington) took FBI Director Angela Webster (Saycon Sengbloh) for drinks to distract her so that Huck (Guillermo Diaz) could search her car. The scene was shot in the restaurant’s mezzanine area.

Shortly after Clifton’s Silver Spoon Cafeteria closed, the then vacant space appeared in the 1999 film Fight Club as the spot where The Narrator (Edward Norton) ate for free while warning Marla Singer (Helena Bonham Carter) that she needed to leave the city. As you can see, the site looked quite a bit different at the time due to a huge wooden partition that was set up around the ground floor.

In the Season 5 episode of Parks and Recreation titled “Animal Control,” which aired in 2013, Màs Malo’s mezzanine masked as the Pawnee Smokehouse, where Ben Wyatt (Adam Scott) gave a Sweetums charity pitch to perfume mogul Dennis Feinstein (Jason Mantzoukas).

For more stalking fun, follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Los Angeles magazine and Discover Los Angeles.

Until next time, Happy Stalking!

Stalk It: Màs Malo, from the “Hardball” episode of Scandal, is located at 515 West 7th Street in downtown Los Angeles. You can visit the eatery’s official website here.

March 10, 2017
Strand Book Store from “Sex and the City”

I have made no secret of my love for bookstores on this blog, especially in recent weeks (as evidenced here and here). I literally cannot get enough of them! So when I spotted a book boutique pop up in the Season 2 episode of Sex and the City titled “The Freak Show,” which I was re-watching shortly before my trip to New York last April, I knew I had to track it down and stalk it. Come to find out, the place is one of NYC’s most famous and historic book sellers!

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Thankfully, the locale was not very hard to identify. While scrutinizing “The Freak Show,” I spotted a red oval-shaped logo situated next to Carrie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker) with the word “Strand” centered in it and recognition immediately clicked. I had come across mentions of Strand Book Store, or “the Strand” as it is more commonly known, countless times over the years while researching interesting spots to check out in the Big Apple. Touted as one of NYC’s oldest and largest book shops, the place intrigued me and its name stayed lodged in my brain, but somehow I never made it a point to see it in person during any of my trips back east. So I decided to remedy that and put the site at the very top of April’s New York To-Stalk List.

Originally established in 1927, Strand Book Store was the brainchild of 25-year-old bibliophile Benjamin Brass. The shop was initially located on Fourth Avenue’s Book Row, a six-block area in Greenwich Village comprised of no less than 48 book sellers. Brass dubbed his emporium, which back then sold only used tomes, in honor of the famed Strand street in London where countless notable writers, including Charles Dickens, Ralph Waldo Emerson and Virginia Woolf, have lived over the years.

In 1956, Benjamin’s son, Fred, took over management of the Strand and moved it to its current home on the corner of Broadway and East 12th Street the following year. Though Book Row and the 47 other boutiques once located there are no longer in existence, the Strand managed to not only survive throughout the years, but thrive.

Fred eventually purchased the building housing the store and expanded his retail space. Today, the Strand encompasses three and a half levels comprised of more than 2.5 million new and used titles – or as the Strand’s tag line states, “18 miles of books.” The boutique, which is now co-run by Fred and his daughter Nancy and tended to by 240 employees, also stocks gifts, cards, and various other sundries.

Unfortunately, the employee that I spoke with told me no photos were allowed inside the store, so I was only able to snap pics of the exterior.

In “The Freak Show” episode of Sex and the City, which aired in 1999, Carrie dates a succession of men who all turn out to have freakish habits. The segment shot at the Strand involved a broker named Max (Thomas Pescod) who, as Carrie learns, has a penchant for pilfering books. The brief scene took place outside of the store among the bargain dollar carts stationed on Broadway.

Sex and the City is hardly the only production that has been lensed at the Strand. In the 1993 drama Six Degrees of Separation, Ouisa (Stockard Channing) visits the bookstore with some friends to look for a copy of Sidney Poitier’s biography in order to see if her houseguest, Paul (Will Smith), is lying about being his son.

It is at the Strand that Julie Powell (Amy Adams) laments the unfavorable New York magazine article written about her to her friend Sarah (Mary Lynn Rajskub) in the 2010 biopic Julie & Julia.

Tyler Hawkins (Robert Pattinson) works at Strand Book Store in the 2010 drama Remember Me.

While the exterior of the Strand was featured briefly in the 2014 comedy They Came Together . . .

. . . interior filming took place at Community Bookstore, located at 143 Seventh Avenue in Brooklyn.

In the Season 1 episode of Master of None titled “Finale,” which aired in 2015, Dev (Aziz Ansari) contemplates his life choices while reading The Bell Jar at the Strand.

That same year, Bryan Robbins (Josh Helman) popped into Strand Book Store while looking for his sister, Claire (Sarah Hay), in the Season 1 episode of Flesh and Bone titled “Reconnaissance.”

For more stalking fun, follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Los Angeles magazine and Discover Los Angeles.

Until next time, Happy Stalking!

Stalk It: Strand Book Store, from “The Freak Show” episode of Sex and the City, is located at 828 Broadway in New York’s Greenwich Village. You can visit the shop’s official website here.

March 8, 2017
Joseph’s Café – Where Britney Spears Met Kevin Federline

Circa 2000, I thought Britney Spears was everything! Obviously, I don’t anymore (a person can only go into a gas station restroom barefoot so many times before I start to think they’re someone I shouldn’t be emulating), but ever since watching the Lifetime biopic Britney Ever After two weeks ago, I’ve had the pop star on my brain. I blogged about an infamous location from her past on Friday –no, not one of the aforementioned gas station bathrooms, but former West Hollywood nightclub The Lounge, where she and ex-boyfriend Justin Timberlake had their notorious dance-off in 2002. Today, I thought I’d post about another infamous site from her past that I first stalked back in October 2012 via the Dearly Departed Tour, which I embarked upon with my friends Kim and Lavonna. The tour was fabulous. Not only is it one of the few in Hollywood that is actually accurate with its locales, but it even introduced me to a couple of places I hadn’t been aware of, including Joseph’s Café, the spot where Miss Spears met second husband Kevin Federline in 2004.

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Joseph’s Café was originally established by Leo Abrahamian and his wife, Ovsanna, on the corner of Ivar Avenue and Yucca Street in Hollywood in 1977. While the Greek eatery has since been expanded and remodeled, it is, amazingly, still standing in the same exact spot today.

In 2000, Leo and Ovsanna’s sons, Joseph and Robert, decided to give the restaurant a massive overhaul. Along with a much needed facelift, the two also added nightly music, turning the place into a club during after-dinner hours. Joseph’s became a draw for Tinseltown’s elite almost immediately and such notables as Janet Jackson, Cameron Diaz, Ben Affleck, Mark Wahlberg, Nick Lachey, Vanessa Minnillo, Wilmer Valderama, Adam Brody, Kim Kardashian, Lance Bass, Cris Judd, Drew Lachey, and Vince Vaughn were all spotted hanging out there. The site was such a hotspot, in fact, that Citysearch deemed it the Number One Celebrity Club in Los Angeles in 2005.

Spears partied there so frequently that in a 2003 write-up on popular Hollywood clubs, Variety magazine reported that on Monday nights, Joseph’s was “the most likely place to spot Britney and pals pop-locking on the dance floor.” Justin Timberlake was a fan, too. In fact, the two had a reconciliation of sorts there after the American Music Awards in January 2003. The meet-up, which included kissing and hand-holding, sparked rumors that the couple might be rekindling their flame, though it doesn’t sound as if it was truly all that romantic being that Britney reportedly threw up in the middle of it.

Thankfully, no throwing up took place on the fateful night in April 2004 that Britney met Kevin. While sitting in her favorite booth at Joseph’s, she spied then backup dancer Federline and was immediately smitten. I’ll let Spears tell the touching tale in her own words via a People magazine interview from later that year – “I always sit at the same table. On the far right. In the corner. Where I can see everything. And I saw him. He was just standing there. I was like, ‘Hi, just come with me.’” Though Kevin was engaged at the time to actress Shar Jackson, who was six months pregnant with their second child, it did not stop him from pursuing a relationship with Spears and the two were engaged less than three months later.

I would be remiss if I did not point out that, as KFed clarified in People, Britney and Kevin actually first met in 2000 during Spears’ (You Drive Me) Crazy Tour. Britney was headlining and Kevin was backup dancing for her opening act, LFO. There was no love connection at the time, though. I’ll let the two break it down for you. Britney: “We saw each other in passing but never really talked. He thought I was cute.” Kevin: “Yeah, I did think you were cute. But it just wasn’t the right time. I think everything happens at the right time. That’s why we met at Joseph’s.” You can check out the couple’s entire interview here. Be forewarned – it’s cringe-worthy. While reading it, Principal’s (James Downey) memorable speech from Billy Madison came to mind. For those who have not seen the 1995 comedy, after Billy (Adam Sandler) compares the Industrial Revolution to the children’s book The Puppy Who Lost His Way during an oral exam, Principal says, “Mr. Madison, what you just said is one of the most insanely idiotic things I have ever heard. At no point in your rambling, incoherent response were you even close to anything that could be considered a rational thought. Everyone in this room is now dumber for having listened to it.” Yep, pretty much sums up Spears and Federline’s ramblings on their relationship.

Though there are reports circulating online that Joseph’s is currently closed, when I re-stalked the place last week, it appeared to be hopping.

I was thrilled to discover while researching this post that Joseph’s is also a filming location. It was featured briefly in the 1997 movie Flipping as the spot where Tommy ‘Fat Man’ Barnett (Nick Dimitri) was killed. The club looked quite a bit different at the time, though.

For more stalking fun, follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Los Angeles magazine and Discover Los Angeles.

Until next time, Happy Stalking!

Stalk It: Joseph’s Café, where Britney Spears met Kevin Federline, is located at 1775 Ivar Avenue in Hollywood. You can visit the restaurant’s official website here.

March 6, 2017
The Lounge – The Site of Britney and Justin’s Dance-Off

If you are anything at all like me, you eagerly tuned in to watch Lifetime’s Britney Spears biopic Britney Ever After the evening of February 18th. If not, you seriously missed out. It was amazing – in the way that only bad Lifetime movies can be amazing. The two-hour made-for-television flick chronicled a decade of the pop star’s life in the spotlight, from her rise to fame with the release of 1998’s . . . Baby One More Time, through her many turbulent years, ending with her 2008 comeback. The moment I was most excited to see re-created was the infamous dance-off that took place between Britney and ex-boyfriend Justin Timberlake in 2002. The scene did not disappoint – and got me interested in tracking down the spot where the real life event occurred. Due to the highly transitional nature of the nightclub business, though, it required quite a bit of legwork to do so.

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Thanks to the place’s non-distinctive moniker, a Google search for “The Lounge” and “Los Angeles” did not provide much information. Adding “Britney Spears” into the search mix didn’t help. But when I swapped out her name for Justin’s, I started to make headway. Kicked back was a link to this 2003 MTV.com article which mentioned that the former *NSYNC-er was partnering with The Lounge owners Art and Allan Davis to open dim sum restaurant Chi. From there, I began searching for “The Lounge,” “Los Angeles,” and “Art and Allan Davis” and was finally yielded this 2002 image of actor Lukas Haas standing outside of the club. Though The Lounge was not visible in the photo, another restaurant was. While looking at the picture, I spotted the instantly identifiable yellow-paneling and green awning of Dan Tana’s in the background. The West Hollywood eatery has been a landmark since it was originally established in 1964 and the Grim Cheaper and I have dined there on several occasions, so I recognized it immediately. From there, it was not hard to discern that The Lounge was formerly located just west of Dan Tana’s at 9077 North Santa Monica Boulevard.

The Lounge saw its beginnings in January 1999 when the Davis brothers purchased La Masia, a decades-old Spanish restaurant/nightclub. The duo eventually revamped the site, re-opening it as the Latin Lounge in 2001.

The place was an instant hit with the Hollywood set, attracting such stars as Sarah Jessica Parker, Benicio Del Toro, Dennis Quaid, and Ricky Martin in its first months of operation.

The two-level supper club, which eventually dropped the “Latin” from its name, featured a small dance floor, live music, furry sconces (yes, you read that right – the light fixtures were apparently covered in fur), a leopard print bar, a chandelier that scaled two stories, colorful murals, and a mirrored mezzanine.

It was not long before The Lounge was the place to see and be seen with the likes of Matthew Perry, Hank Azaria, Hilary Swank, Melissa Joan Hart, Nicole Richie, Gisele Bündchen, Demi Moore, Brittany Murphy, Dean Cain, Ashton Kutcher, Paris Hilton, Ethan Embry, and Tiffany Amber Thiessen all popping in regularly. Oh yes, and Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake.

As reported at the time by Us Weekly, on August 1st, 2002, nearly 5 months after their split, Britney and Justin ran into each other at The Lounge. Britney reportedly got upset with Justin for dancing with his new flame, Jenna Dewan – yes, the Jenna Dewan that went on to marry Channing Tatum – and it resulted in a 90-minute dance-off between the former couple and their respective entourages. Britney later denied the report, but by then it had already become the stuff of pop culture legend. Britney Ever After’s depiction of the moment (pictured below) was absolutely delicious and completely ridiculous at the same time. Though I believe it was a fairly realistic re-creation of what actually happened that night. I mean, I can’t imagine a dance-off scenario that isn’t completely ridiculous. While researching this post, I came across two images (you can see them here and here) that show Britney leaving The Lounge I believe on the night in question. Though dated August 2nd, 2002, the day following the alleged dance-off, I am guessing by the time she left the club, it was after midnight the next morning.

Though The Lounge had a pretty good run, as is typical of most nightclubs, it did not last. By 2005, the site had become Lobby. When Lobby closed, the space was transformed into Foxtail, which was owned in part by Brett Ratner, and then later Mi-6. All three clubs were insanely popular with celebrities during their brief tenures.

The exterior of the property changed considerably during those ensuing years. At the time that The Lounge was in existence, the exterior was Spanish in style, as you can see here, here, and here. By 2008, the style had shifted to Art Deco and the building was covered with a screened façade.

In 2011, the space underwent an even more drastic remodel. As you can see in the Google Street View images below from April and July of that year, the property was taken down to the studs and completely rebuilt before re-opening as Italian eatery Mercato di Vetro. So, sadly, the building no longer looks anything like it did the night of Britney and Justin’s dance-off.

Today, the site houses a restaurant/club named Doheny Room.

Much like its predecessors, Doheny Room is a major celebrity hot spot, attracting the likes of David Spade, Chris Brown, Vanessa Hudgens, Keanu Reeves, Winona Ryder, and The Game on any given night.

For more stalking fun, follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Los Angeles magazine and Discover Los Angeles.

Until next time, Happy Stalking!

Stalk It: The Lounge, aka the site of Britney and Justin’s infamous 2002 dance-off, was formerly located at 9077 North Santa Monica Boulevard in West Hollywood. The locale is now the site of Doheny Room.

March 3, 2017