Trip to LA - Ideas?

[JessiLu]

Hey guys! I'm finally making it out to Los Angeles for the first time, in August. I really would love to hit a few "Lucy" spots. Any ideas? 

For instance, anyone know if you can easily drive past Lucy's old house in Roxbury Drive, if any of the restaurants Lucy used to frequent are still open, where Lucy and/or Desi's stars on the Hall of Fame are located, etc. Just looking for some ideas like that.

I definitely won't be able to hit everything (hubby is coming with me!) but thought I'd start here for some ideas and see if anyone has ever planned an LA trip with Lucy tourism in mind. 

 

[JoeySanJoaquin]

Cool you're going to make it to LA for the first time! The first time (as with so many things 😉) is always extra special!

I moved away (kicking and screaming, believe me! -- Thanks, Covid! Grrrrr..) over a year ago so I'm not up on the "latest and greatest", but I can tell you the old Roxbury manse -- which has been totally rebuilt/remodeled, to it looks little like it did back in the Desilu heyday -- is easily accessible as it's right on the corner of Lexington & (1000) N. Roxbury Drive, not far from the "major artery" that is Sunset Blvd.  Her earlier home in Hollywood is still there (albeit significantly remodeled as well) at 1344 N. Ogden Drive, near Fountain Avenue and DeLongpre, just blocks from nearby Sunset Blvd. 

As for restaurants and "watering holes", the Brown Derby has been closed/gone for decades, as is Chasen's but Matteo's on Westwood Blvd. survives BUT I would call ahead just to make sure it's open as so many places have limited hours if they're even open (thanks again, Covid) and I'm not up on the current LA-area rules and restrictions.  Wolfgang Puck's Spago is still around (Beverly Hills) but I doubt it looks anything like it did back when the Mortons frequented it (but an iconic venue and surely worth checking out).  I might suggest checking out the currently popular, upscale eatery Craig's on Melrose in West Hollywood and while I don't think it was around "back in the day", you just might cross paths with current day patron Miss Carole Cook (and hubby Tom Troupe) Miss Ball's protege, at last report still alive and kicking and a "regular" at this establishment! 

Although I'm pretty sure neither has any studio tours like many of the majors, if you're curious where "the magic" of filming the various "Lucy" shows took place, you can at least drive by and see the exteriors of what is now named "Red Studios" (846 N Cahuenga Blvd.), Desilu Cahuenga back in the day and where the bulk of "I Love Lucy" and the later Comedy Hours were shot; just blocks away is what was General Services Studios (1040 N. Las Palmas) now known as Sunset Las Palmas Studios, where a nice plaque is housed that notes it was the "home" of "I Love Lucy" for the first two seasons (not sure if it's accessible to the general public now).  

The site of Lucy's last effort ("Life With Lucy") is nearby, on Santa Monica Boulevard near Formosa (check out iconic neighbor Formosa Cafe nearby); Warner Hollywood in 1986 but now known as The Lot. 

One studio that (last I heard) does do tours is Paramount, where "The Lucy Show" was filmed when it was still part of Desilu: 780 N. Gower Street, Hollywood, off Melrose. 

Couple of sites which may help in finding "touristy" things to do -- I'm sure there are hundreds more but I find these some of the more helpful ones -- as well as calendar of events like film premieres, filming locations, Stars on Hollywood Boulevard events, etc. etc.: 

https://www.iamnotastalker.com/

http://www.iamnotastalker.com/my-los-angeles-must-stalk-list-4/

https://www.seeing-stars.com/  

https://www.seeing-stars.com/Calendar/index.shtml

Good luck and have a great time! Hooray for Hollywood!!!

[JessiLu]

This is great. Thanks so much, @JoeySanJoaquin!

[JoeySanJoaquin]

16 hours ago, JessiLu said:

This is great. Thanks so much, @JoeySanJoaquin!

You're welcome! My pleasure.  Have a GREAT time!!  Oh! and let me know if you'd like any breakfast place recommendations, as I have a couple of favorites where the food and the service is WUNDAFUL *AND* star/celebrity sightings are pretty common! 

 

[JessiLu]

On 5/26/2022 at 1:55 PM, JoeySanJoaquin said:

You're welcome! My pleasure.  Have a GREAT time!!  Oh! and let me know if you'd like any breakfast place recommendations, as I have a couple of favorites where the food and the service is WUNDAFUL *AND* star/celebrity sightings are pretty common! 

 

@JoeySanJoaquin Breakfast recs are certainly welcome! My trip is in two weeks. 

[JoeySanJoaquin]

On 8/7/2022 at 2:03 PM, JessiLu said:

@JoeySanJoaquin Breakfast recs are certainly welcome! My trip is in two weeks. 

I wondered if you'd gone yet! I just made my first return visit -- a quick one! -- in about six months, and although "whirlwind", I had a great time!

Let me preface my recs by "warning" you that my tastes are simple (think 50's-type diners!) and on the inexpensive side, relatively speaking.  Also, most of my "list" is comprised of places primarily in the San Fernando Valley (e.g. Burbank, Toluca Lake etc.) as that's where I lived and "hung out" the majority of time that I lived there. 

So without further ado:

My all-time favorite breakfast-and-lunch spot, which I happily made a return visit to this most recent trip, is first and foremost:

• Vivian's Millennium Cafe. Plentiful breakfast, lunch (sandwiches, burgers) reasonable prices menu with a charming, casual outdoor patio section where locals and sometimes the familiar (yes, "stars" are sometimes spotted here) and industry-types enjoy the eats.  Owned and run by Leah Remini's ("King of Queens"; "It's All Relative"; "Scientology and Its Aftermath") family, husband Eduardo and stepfather George were present during my last visit; Leah's sister Shannon is sometime waitress there too although I missed her this last time.  Highly Recommended. (Except parking sucks, mostly street, so if in a hurry, take that into account.) (Trivia: from their front door, you can look toward the hill and see a giant one-eyed "Minion" looking over the theme park at Universal Studios!)
• EATS: North Hollywood hole-in-the-wall on busy Magnolia Avenue. A bit more "upscale" (but not much) similar in Vivian's vein of hearty breakfast and lunch menu in a high-traffic (folks on foot and cars) neighborhood, but really good food and fun for "people watching". Note parking here also challenging; 
• Paty's: another popular breakfast & lunch spot, also with a lot of outdoor seating and people watching and again, being fairly close to the studios in nearby Burbank, this Toluca Lake place offers reasonably priced, good eats, good people watching and many opportunities to "overhear" folks "in the business" talk about scripts etc. and possible "star" sightings too.  Plentiful parking, their own small lot and street; 
• TallyRand: this Burbank mainstay is probably the only place on my list that's closest to a "full serve" restaurant with a heavily diner vibe that is open for breakfast, lunch AND dinner, all reasonable $-wise, comfy and good homestyle-cooking. Can't go wrong for breakfast and if you have a hankerin' for some nearly-as-good-as-mom's "homemade" turkey (dinner or hot sandwich), it's one of the reasons fans and regulars keeping returning to this popular place that's been around over 60 years. Parking lot, plenty street parking; 
• Red Maple Cafe: relatively tiny side-street, sidewalk cafe between Burbank and Toluca Lake (newest establishment on my list) that I only got to frequent a few times during the tail end of my time there, but still highly recommended. Killer breakfast goodies like French toast, pancakes and waffles and fried chicken are their "specialties" and oh so good.... another place which is only open for breakfast and lunch. Street parking. 
• J Nichols Kitchen: If you're anywhere near the West side of LA (Venice/Venice Beach/Marina Del Rey), I'd suggest this upscale "new American" restaurant that is popular for breakfast, lunch and dinner... and since it's remodeling a few years ago, it's a bit pricier than the other recommendations but no less ...recommended.  Everything is good here and last I heard, it's still quite busy and popular. It's strip mall location provides plentiful parking. 

Hope this helped some and here's hoping you have a great, fun-filled, safe trip and I look forward to hearing all about it upon your return!! Have FUN!!!