celebrity restaurants – Page 5

June 3, 2009June 3, 2009

Watermark On Main

This past weekend, while in Ventura, my parents, my fiance, and I ate dinner at a newly opened restaurant named Watermark On Main. And, even though my eyes are ALWAYS peeled, I wasn’t exactly expecting to see a celeb during our meal. But, sure enough, we did! As it turns out, Watermark is something of a celeb hot spot. 🙂 So, I just had to blog about it.

Watermark On Main, which just recently opened last August, is located inside of the Theodore Groene/Brahn Jewelry Store Building, which is a City of Ventura Cultural Landmark. The Spanish Revival style building was originally built in 1928 and was designed by architects Frederick M. Ashley and John C. Austin, who also designed L.A.’s Griffith Park Observatory. The structure, which was marked by tiled curtained walls, hand-painted murals, and ornately decorated ceilings, was built to house the Ventura Guarantee Building and Loan Company, who had a large safe installed on the premises. In 1938, the building was sold to Theodore Groene, who subsequently covered up and painted over much of the structure’s ornate decoration and detail. The building had several different occupants following that sale, including the Brahn Jewelry Company, until March 16, 2004 when it was purchased by the Hartley Family. From March of 2004 to August of 2008, the Hartleys began the huge task of renovating the historic building. What they uncovered was a structure that can best be described as a work of art!

Working with artist Michael Kelly, the Hartleys painstakingly brought their historic building back to life. And it truly is remarkable to see! A few of the restaurant’s unique details include travertine floors, an onyx gold wraparound bar, ceiling murals, which were originally hand-painted by artist Norman Kennedy in 1928 (pictured above);

handpainted plaster ceilings;

and African mahogany woodwork throughout.

The Hartleys also added a third floor to the building, which required a 61,000 pound steel support structure to be built on top of the existing roof. The third floor now houses the restaurant’s rooftop lounge, named W2O.

I honestly can’t recommend stalking Watermark On Main enough!! The restaurant is beautiful, the service was superb, and the food! Oh, the food! It was simply A-MA-ZING. It was so good, in fact, that I scarfed down about three pounds of appetizers, bread, and salad making it virtually impossible for me to eat any of the actual meal that I ordered! I’m not kidding – I think I ate two bites of it! LOL Oh, well, that’s what to-go boxes are for. 🙂

And, oh, yes, the celebs! : ) The night we were there, actor/singer Kris Kristofferson was hosting a benefit concert for farm workers at the Majestic Ventura Theatre (pictured above), which just so happens to be located directly across the street from Watermark On Main. The concert pre-party was being held at Watermark’s lounge, W2O. And while I didn’t expect to see any celebs, before we knew it several familiar faces walked by. Unfortunately, though, I couldn’t place exactly who they were and my fiance, who is usually great at remembering names, wasn’t paying any attention whatsoever. UGH – I think I need to give the ring back. 🙂 LOL The one face he did recognize, though, was that of Stephen Root, aka the Stapler Man from fave movie Office Space. Love it! 🙂 Other celebs who have dined at Watermark include Kevin Costner (who held the premiere of his movie Swing Vote at the Majestic Ventura Theatre), Leann Rimes, Kenny Loggins, and singer Michael McDonald. Mark Hartley, the owner of Watermark, is also a big time country music manager who represents such stars as Brad Paisley, Leann Rimes, Colbie Caillat, and Vince Gill. Apparently, his famous clients stop into Watermark on a regular basis. Love it!

Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

Stalk It: Watermark On Main is located at 598 East Main Street in Ventura. You can visit their website here. Reservations are recommended. You can make reservations here or by calling (805)643-6800. Watermark also has a dress code – no shorts or flip flops are allowed and, for men, collared shirts are preferred.

April 14, 2009April 13, 2009

Taverna Tony

This past Saturday afternoon my boyfriend and I met up with my former boss and his wife for some coffee at the Malibu Country Mart – where we sat next to Brian Grazer in the playground area for a good 45 minutes. But that’s a whole other story. 🙂 After hanging out at the Mart for a bit, we decided to grab a bite to eat and I could not have been more floored when my boss’ wife suggested the famous Greek restaurant and celebrity hotspot Taverna Tony. Tony’s is a veritable celeb mecca in Malibu and pretty much anyone who’s anyone has dined there. I’ve been absolutely dying to stalk the place for years, but somehow just never got around to it. Until this past Saturday night! 🙂

Google the terms “Taverna Tony” and “celebrities” and a whole smorgasbord of famous names will appear, including Pamela Anderson, Courteney Cox, Kate Moss, Charlize Theron, Stuart Townsend, Britney Spears, Gwen Stefani, Brooke Burke, David Charvet, Paris Hilton, Benji Madden, Salma Hayek, Shannen Doherty, Al Pacino and my girl Jen Aniston (who is of Greek descent) – all of whom have dined at the Malibu restaurant. Unbelievably, we did not spot any celebs on Saturday night, but to be honest, for once, I wasn’t paying very close attention. I was too busy gabbing. LOL But I get the feeling that seeing a celeb at Tony’s is pretty much a sure thing, so you can bet I’m going to return in the near future. 🙂

Before dining at Tony’s on Saturday night, I had never sampled Greek food, so I had no idea what to expect. Well, let me tell you, it was FABULOUS! I have to say that Tony’s serves up some of the BEST food I’ve ever eaten in my life. The servings are absolutely ENOURMOUS and the prices are extremely reasonable – especially considering it’s located in Malibu. Tony’s is the type of place where you can eat a healthy meal or completely throw your diet out the window. I opted for the latter. LOL If you’re game for doing the same, I must suggest the Flaming Saganaki Cheese appetizer! Second to fried calamari, it is probably the worst thing on earth you could possibly eat, but OH-MY-GOD! It is A-MA-ZING! I could have eaten an entire platter of just that! LOL

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I honestly cannot recommend stalking Taverna Tony enough! Even if you’re not into the whole celeb thing, I can pretty much guarantee you’ll love this place. 🙂

Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

Stalk It: Taverna Tony is located at 23410 Civic Center Way, in the Malibu Country Mart shopping center, in Malibu. The feature live music and belly dancing nightly. You can visit their website here.

February 20, 2009February 21, 2009

How To Spot a Movie Star!

Because so many of you have been asking lately, and in honor of the upcoming Oscar Weekend, I thought I’d do a post today on the best places to go in L.A. to see a star. But first let me start by saying that if your sole purpose in visiting L.A. is to see celebs – and let’s be honest, what other reason is there? 🙂 – the very best time of year to plan your trip is Oscar Weekend. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – Hollywood comes alive for the Oscars. I swear it’s like celebrities come out of the woodwork during that time of year and everyone who’s anyone is here. Last year this fellow stalker took my Oscar Weekend advice (you can read that advice – Part I and Part II – here) and saw 68 celebs – yes, she counted. 🙂 But if you can’t make it to L.A. this weekend – have no fear! I have advice for the other 51 weeks of the year, too! So where is the best place to go to see a movie star? The answer to that question is actually quite simple. It’s two words, really. Hotel bars! Or hotels in general for that matter – hotel lobbies, bars, restaurants – they’ll all do. A few years ago I realized that for whatever reason, almost every single time I visited a hotel restaurant or bar in the Hollywood/West Hollywood/Beverly Hills area I spotted someone famous. So now I’ve pretty much made a habit out of stalking hotel bars. And there are quite a few that stand out in my mind as celeb magnets.

So, without further ado, here is my list of must-stalk hotels (in no particular order, except for the last one):

1. Hollywood Renaissance Hotel – 1755 North Highland Boulevard in Hollywood. I’ve spotted Nikki Blonsky and Will Smith on different visits to this Hollywood hotel. The lobby was also featured in the movie Red Eye. The lobby bar is located just to the right of the main entrance.

2. The Mondrian Hotel – 8440 Sunset Boulevard in West Hollywood. This is one of my favorite hotels in all of Los Angeles. The staff is always warm and friendly and the views from the pool and the hotel’s Asia De Cuba restaurant are to die for! I’ve spotted both Victoria Beckam and Spike Lee at the Mondrian. Britney Spears had one of her meltdowns during her shaved head period at the Mondrian’s pool. Pictured above is me standing with all of the paparazzi waiting to see Victoria Beckham a few years ago. 🙂 I’m the one poking my head out behind the guy in the blue blazer.

3. The Regent Beverly Wilshire – 9500 Wilshire Boulevard in Beverly Hills. Besides being the hotel where Pretty Woman was filmed, the Regent Beverly Wilshire also hosts the Night Before the Night Before Party each year during Oscar weekend. I also spotted Jake Gyllenhaal in the hotel’s lobby one random Friday afternoon. And Spencer and Heidi are big fans of the restaurant Cut located inside the hotel.

4. Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel – 7000 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood. I’ve blogged about this hotel numerous times before as it is so steeped in Hollywood history. Almost every celebrity in history has been spotted at this hotel. Marilyn Monroe and Montgomery Clift used to live there and today celebs like Lauren Conrad and Nicole Richie hang out by the Tropicana Bar at the hotel’s pool. I even got to meet Kristin Cavallari once while hanging out at the Tropicana.

5. Sunset Tower Hotel – 8358 Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood. Another of my favorite L.A. hotels. Both the Tower Bar and the Terrace Room boast A-MA-ZING views and serve up some great cocktails and hors d’oeuvres. I met Kate Bosworth on one of my visits to the Terrace Room and both Jen Aniston and Kevin Spacey are regulars at the Tower Bar. I really can’t recommend this place enough!

6. Raffles L’Ermitage – 9291 Burton Way in Beverly Hills. This is the place where Brenda and Dylan shared their first kiss on the original 90210 series, so of course it holds a special place in my heart. 🙂 I’ve heard that seeing a celeb at the hotel’s Writer’s Bar (where scripts of legendary movies line the walls) is pretty much a sure thing. While I was stalking the hotel I spotted James Woods who supposedly lives there.

7. Beverly Hills Hotel – 9641 Sunset Boulevard in Beverly Hills. This hotel hosts the Night Before Party every year during Oscar Weekend. And I almost always spot a celeb at the hotel’s legendary Polo Lounge Restaurant. While there I’ve seen Paris Hilton (first picture of this post), Rob Reiner, Elle Macpherson, and Reese Witherspoon. It’s one of my favorite bars in all of L.A. It’s pricey, but so worth it!

8. Beverly Hilton Hotel – 9876 Wilshire Boulevard in Beverly Hills. This hotel plays hosts to OVER 200!!!!! celebrity events and awards show parties each year, including the annual Clive Davis Pre-Grammy Party. There is an event there pretty much every Saturday night and you can literally just park yourself in the lobby bar, order up a few champagnes, and enjoy your perfect view of celebrity arrivals through the front door.

9. Viceroy Santa Monica- 1819 Ocean Avenue in Santa Monica. Celebs LOVE this ultra-modern avant-garde hotel, especially Britney Spears and LLo who are regulars. Kate Beckinsale has also been spotted here.

10. Casa Del Mar -1910 Ocean Way in Santa Monica. Once while grabbing a drink at this seaside hotel, I spotted my girl Jen Aniston, Vince Vaughn, Joey Lauren Adams, and Jon Favreau who were all there doing publicity for The Break Up. Katie Holmes, Mandy Moore, Britney Spears and KFed have all stayed at the hotel at one time or another. Casa Del Mar is very historic and very upscale and it’s centralized lobby bar is situated in the perfect location for viewing the many celebs who enter the front door. Shutters Hotel located right next door to Casa Del Mar is also a notorius celeb hangout. The above pics were taken with my camera phone the day we saw Jen. The first pic is of me standing with the paps outside Casa Del Mar and the second is of Jen getting into her waiting car. You can’t really tell, but I am wearing my Team Aniston sweatshirt in the pics – when Jen saw it she pointed and said “Oh, thank you!” lol

11. Chateau Marmont – 8221 W. Sunset Boulevard in West Hollywood. A list of celebrity hotspots would not be complete without at least a mention of the famed Chateau Marmont. The problem is I hate this place! The staff is pretentious and snooty and if you aren’t a celeb, they pretty much treat you like dirt. Which I’m sure is one of the reasons stars like the place so much. LOL COUNTLESS celebs have visited this hotel including Britney Spears, Lindsay Lohan (who used to live there), Jennifer Aniston, Drew Barrymore, Ginnifer Goodwin, the late Heath Ledger and his wife Michelle Williams, etc., etc., etc. But if you happen to spot a celeb while visiting the Chateau DON’T EVEN THINK of going up to them or snapping their pic (no cameras of any kind are even allowed in the hotel! I’m not kidding). Which is, again, probably why celebs love the place so much – and why stalkers hate it. 🙂

It is at this point that I realize my list of hotels could go on and on. Why? Because looking back on my eight years of living in L.A. I can hardly think of a time I visited an upscale hotel and didn’t spot a celeb. You really can’t go wrong with any hotel you choose. What can I say – celebs love ’em. And why not? If I was rich and famous I’d be constantly staying in hotels, too. Who wouldn’t want daily turn down service and a nightly pillow mint? 🙂

Restaurants can also be good places to see celebs, but I’ve always had better stalking luck at hotels. If you want to try your hand at a restaurant, though, these are the ones I’d recommend: Marix Tex Mex Cafe (a Jen Aniston favorite located at 1108 N. Flores Street in West Hollywood – she sits on the patio), The Ivy (THE celeb stalking restaurant located at 113 North Robertson Blvd. in Beverly Hills – every celeb and their mother has dined here), Ago (the Robert Dinero owned Italian restaurant where Quentin Tarantino once punched out his dinner mate located at 8478 Melrose Avenue in West Hollywood), Nobu (another Jen Aniston – and every other celebrity – favorite located at 3835 Cross Creek Road in Malibu), Katsuya ( a celeb fave sushi spot located at 11777 San Vicente Blvd. #120 in Los Angeles), Orso (Simon Cowell’s favorite located at 8706 West 3rd Street in Los Angeles), Il Sole (Jen’s absolute fave and notorius celeb hot spot located at 8730 Sunset Blvd. in West Hollywood), and, finally, Madeo (the celeb restaurant du jour located at 8897 Beverly Boulevard in West Hollywood).

And finally, a few random locations where celebs always seem to congregate: the Brentwood Country Mart shopping center which seems to be Jennifer Garner and Ben Affleck’s home away from home; the Santa Monica Farmers Market – an outdoor food bazaar that occurs on Arizona Avenue twice weekly (Wednesday and Saturday mornings) where a lot of celebs buy their produce; Malibu Country Mart – Malibu’s main upscale shopping center; and the place I blogged about on Monday, the Los Angeles Farmers Market. It seems celebs like farmers markets and country marts. 🙂 LOL

My final piece of advice? If you are in the Beverly Hills/Hollywood/West Hollywood area and you see a large group of men standing out in front of a hotel or restaurant, pull over immediately! Those men are paparazzi, which means there is a celeb in the vicinity!! 🙂 I’ve seen quite a few celebs just by spotting the paps. 🙂 And if you are lucky enough to come across one of those yellow signs that I love so much, stop!!! and ask the crew what is being filmed. Most crews are very friendly and will let you on set to watch!

So there it is – my advice on the best places to go celeb-stalking. Just visit a hotel, mill around the lobby a bit, grab a bite to eat or just a cocktail (much cheaper than an entire meal) and sit back and wait for the celebs to arrive. 🙂

Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

January 16, 2009April 3, 2018

Gray’s Papaya

I know I have blogged about this location briefly once before in my You’ve Got Filming Locations page, but I think this is one location that is worthy of its very own blog post. So here goes. 🙂 I have long been a fan of Gray’s Papaya, a small hot dog stand/restaurant chain that was started in 1973 on New York’s Upper West Side. Today, 36 years later, it is practically a New York institution. Gray’s serves up the BEST darn hot dogs I have ever eaten in my life. I honestly don’t know what they put in there that makes ’em taste so darn good, but I sure want them to keep doing it! Every year, during my December New York vacation, I gain a few pounds in my stomach region thanks to Gray’s and its fabulous hot dogs. So I was super excited, while watching Sex and the City reruns this past week, to see Gray’s pop up in a Season 5 episode entitled “Plus One is the Loneliest Number”.

That episode centers around the launch party for Carrie’s newly published book – a party for which she has no date. When she leaves the celebration all alone, her limo driver happens to ask her what the party was for. When Carrie tells her that she has just published a book, the driver says that they have to celebrate the occasion and the two stop off at Gray’s Papaya for a midnight snack. And, after hearing about Carrie’s new book, the Gray’s worker gives them the hot dogs for free. This scene was actually based on the real life experience of SATC write Cindy Chupack. According to fave book Sex and the City: Kiss and Tell , after winning her first Emmy, dateless Cindy left the post-Emmy party alone and was headed home when the limo driver asked her about her night. When the driver found out Cindy had just won an Emmy, she immediately headed to a McDonald’s drive-through to commemorate the occasion. After the driver announced that Cindy had just won the award, the McDonald’s worker gave her a free chocolate shake. 🙂 For the SATC episode, producers decided to use Gray’s Papaya instead of McDonald’s because SJP has always been a big fan of the hot dog chain. 🙂

Gray’s was also featured quite notably near the end of You’ve Got Mail, as the location where Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks eat lunch just before Meg heads off to meet NY152 for the first time (pictured above).

Besides You’ve Got Mail and Sex and the City, Grey’s also showed up in one of my very favorite movies, For Love or Money (pictured above). It was also featured in Down to Earth, Crossing Delancy, and (very briefly) Die Hard With A Vengeance.

Nicholas A.B. Gray opened up the first Gray’s Papaya in 1973 with the belief that a good hot dog didn’t have to be costly. Thirty-six years later Gray’s is still serving up excellent dogs at low prices, even if they’ve had to raise those prices a few times over the years. In October of 2008, due to increased business expenses, Gray’s raised the cost of its ever-popular Recession Special (two hot dogs and a drink) from $3.50 to $4.45. Still not bad for what is easily the best hot dog in New York. I highly recommend stalking Gray’s – your pocketbook won’t mind at all. Your pants’ size might, but not your pocketbook. 🙂

Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

Stalk It: There are several Gray’s Papaya outposts dotted across Manhattan. The one from Sex and the City is located at 402 6th Avenue in Greenwich Village. The one from You’ve Got Mail can be found at 2090 Broadway on the Upper West Side. Yet another is located at 539 8th Avenue in Midtown. All Gray’s restaurants are open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

January 12, 2009February 14, 2009

Billy’s Bakery

At the risk of looking like a total and complete dork (not to mention a fool!), I thought I’d post some pretty idiotic photographs that I took on my very first trip to New York. At the time I was completely obsessed with Katie Holmes. This was in December of 2005, in the pre-Suri days, before her Jackie O. transformation, back when she was known as Katie, not Kate. A few months before my trip to New York, Katie was featured in a cover story for InStyle Magazine which chronicled her new single gal status, her life in Manhattan, and her favorite NYC hangouts. Most of the photo shoot for the article took place in Chelsea at Katie’s favorite bakery and cupcakery, Billy’s – a place she frequented almost daily at the time. As Tom once said about his wife, “She loves cupcakes, okay? I mean the girl loves cupcakes.” 🙂 Well, I absolutely LOVED that InStyle article. So much so that my copy of that issue is still sitting on my bookshelf all these years later. So, on my first trip to the big apple, I just HAD to drag my boyfriend out to Chelsea to stalk Katie’s fave cupcake maker. And, while there, I also just had to recreate her photo shoot. Yes, I am that big of a dork. 🙂 LOL

The story behind Billy’s is actually quite an unusual one. Billy Reece, a cupcake aficionado who idolized Martha Stewart, founded Billy’s Bakery with two partners in December of 2003. Billy started his baking career working at the ever-popular Magnolia Bakery in Greenwich for two years before quitting to begin his own baked goods venture. Billy’s Bakery became an overnight success. Not long afterwards Billy Reece changed his name to Lauren Reece and, thanks to some hormone treatments and a surgery, Billy ceased to be. Shortly after that, Lauren sold her stake in Billy’s to her two co-founders, Marc and Wayne, and is now enjoying her new life as a woman. So, in a city where change seems to be the only constant, it’s only fitting that not even a popular cupcake bakery’s namesake could remain the same.

But even without the original Billy at the helm, the small bakery has remained a success. The owners are currently planning to expand their business with another location in the same neighborhood. I can’t help but think that Katie may have had something to do with the shop’s blitz of success. Even after she met Tom and moved back to L.A., Katie remained faithful to the bakery. Billy’s not only supplied the cupcakes for Katie’s 27th birthday party at F.A.O. Schwartz in December of 2005, but they also reportedly made the cake for her 2006 wedding. But Katie is certainly not Billy’s only celebrity fan. Ethan Hawke, Mandy Moore, and Bungalow 8 club founder Amy Sacco are also fans of the neighborhood bakery. Billy’s has also been featured on Queer Eye For the Straight Guy, MTV Diary Katie Holmes, The Today Show, MTV’s Boiling Point, the CBS Early Show, the Food Network’s Roker On The Road, and Martha Stewart’s television show Martha.

Billy’s Bakery is an adorable little cupcake shop and with its yellow painted brick walls and cute and homey decor, it looks like it came straight out of a kitchen advertisement from the 1940s. I wanted to spend all day there. 🙂 But while the cupcakes were tasty, I have to say that they are just not as good as my, and SJP’s, New York fave Magnolia Bakery. But I still highly recommend stalking Billy’s, as much for the homey ambiance as for the desserts. Besides cupcakes, they also serve pies and cakes, which are supposed to be out of this world, as well.

Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

Stalk It: Billy’s Bakery is located at 184 9th Avenue in New York’s Chelsea neighborhood. You can visit their website here.

December 19, 2008February 14, 2009

Via Quadronno

One of my favorite places in all of Manhattan is a teeny, tiny Upper East Side cafe named Via Quadronno. I stumbled upon the cafe three years ago, but had yet to blog about it because up until my recent New York vacation I had no idea what a major celebrity stomping ground it was. Two weeks ago, while sipping cappuccino in the cafe’s cozy dining room, I happened to ask our server if any celebs had ever frequented the restaurant. I was shocked at her response! It seems Via Quadronno has its very own celebrity fanclub, with members including Madonna, Sean Connery, Robin Williams, Steve Martin, Scarlett Johansson, ARod, Tom Hanks, Matt Dillon, and, my fave, SJP and her husband, Matthew Broderick.

But not only is Via Quadronno somewhat of a celeb hot spot, it’s also a filming location! Well, sort of. 🙂 While watching SATC reruns the other day (which is the only known cure for New York homesickness), I was bowled over when I noticed Carrie and her friend Skipper walking past Via Quadronno’s exterior in the Season One episode entitled “Models and Mortals”. At the time the episode was filmed, though, way back in 1998, the space was actually occupied by a different cafe altogether – a chocolatier named La Maison Du Chocolat. But the exterior still looks very much the same – it’s just a lot cuter now.

To be honest, I actually didn’t recognize the restaurant at first. What I recognized was the large green sign located behind Carrie in the above pic. I knew I had seen the sign in person before, but I just couldn’t place where. Thankfully my boyfriend was standing nearby and exclaimed “Hey, that’s the gold dealer that’s next door to Via Quadronno.” 🙂 Eureka! We had walked by that sign everyday on our way to have morning cappuccinos. Maybe my boyfriend’s a better stalker than I give him credit for. 🙂

I HIGHLY recommend staking Via Quadronno – it’s definitely worth the trip even if you don’t encounter any celebs during your meal. The tiny cafe (seating capacity is 40!) is absolutely ADORABLE! Their croissants are out of this world and normally I don’t even like croissants! LOL My family and I ate breakfast there every single morning while in New York and we never, ever got tired of it. It is the best!!!! In fact, it’s been voted the “Best in New York” several years in a row. No wonder celebs love it! 🙂 I’ve only ever visited Via Quadronno for breakfast, but I hear their dinners are amazing, as well. I honestly can’t say enough about this place! Go, go, go to this restaurant – for the charming atmosphere, amazing food, friendly service, and celeb clientele!

Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

Stalk It: Via Quadronno is located at 25 East 73rd Street on New York’s Upper East Side. The chain also has restaurants in Tokyo, Hong Kong, and Coral Gables, Florida. You can visit their website here.