Quote:
Originally Posted by Scott Charles
Does anyone remember the name of this cafe that used to be on La Cienega Blvd, between Santa Monica and Melrose, on the east side of the street?
This would be late '80s. It was a sit-down cafe, with waiters and menus. It had normal tables, no couches or booths or anything like that. It was open 24 hours, so my then-girlfriend and I would often end up there after a night out. We'd usually be there between 2 and 3 AM. We'd order espressos and, I think, a side order of french fries.
Radio DJ Rodney Bingenheimer was always there, every time, sitting alone at a table near the rear of the restaurant. I am no longer sure of the exact location, but it would be somewhere in the green area:
This Le Petit Bistro may be the same building:
This was one of the very few 24/7 places in LA at the time, so it should(?) be easy for LA noirishers to remember.
I can't remember the name of the place, and it's driving me nuts. But for some reason, I think the name was something animal or safari related - maybe something like Flamingo, or Giraffe, or Elephants... or perhaps I am wrong about the name.
I asked several friends about the place, and they remember it, too (including the ever-present Rodney), but none of us can remember the name of the place.
Does this place ring any bells with LA Noirishers?
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If
HossC hadn't come up with Pennyfeather's, I knew the name as I walk by there on occasion. As you note, it was 24/7 and very popular with the late night celeb crowd. (For some reason Dolly Parton was there a lot.) Celebs also liked it because, as you can see in the current photo, the sidewalk in front of it is extremely narrow, so paparazzi and looky loo's couldn't gather 'round the place.
Some other things in the area:
--Nearby on your map, at Melrose and Clinton St., where it shows the restaurant "AGO", Sonny Bono opened a restaurant there in the early 80's and used to hang around the place a lot, but not the one time when I ate there, heh! (I had fettucini alfredo.) Cher celebrated her 40th birthday there.
Here's an interesting article written about BONO'S, three weeks after it opened in February of 1983.
http://people.com/archive/l-a-s-newe...t-vol-19-no-8/
The first line is:
"On opening night at Sonny Bono’s brand-new eatery in West Hollywood the rain fell harder and faster than the ratings of his last TV series."
LOL!
Of note in the sentence, in the spring of 1983, it rained maybe more than I ever recall it raining here. That was the time Queen Elizabeth came to visit President Reagan at his ranch and the roads were flooded etc., if anyone recalls that.
This location is notable because when you are driving east on Melrose and you arrive at La Cienega, the building always looks like it's in the middle of the road as Melrose is on a curve there.
Haven't been able to find any photos of Pennyfeather's or Bono's.
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--On the map, north of AGO at Melrose Place is the Fig & Olive restaurant. On September 26, 2011, President Obama had a fundraising dinner there, where 120 guests paid $17,900 each. The following video gives an idea what it was like around there before the sun went down and the last bit shows the motorcade arriving down La Cienega at night.
• Video Link