Brunch Attack!

Wes and I came up with this brilliant idea to do a brunch crawl across a bunch of big LA celeb brunchspots to maximize the probability of a celebrity encounter.

We started at The Ivy, where we spotted Simon Cowell last time.



Had some Bloody Marys and a Pimm's Cup...



And shared the most wonderful lobster ravioli I've ever tasted.



No celebs though. FAIL.

...................................

Second stop was Hugo's West Hollywood. (Previous sightings include Anderson Cooper, Fabio, and Balthazar Getty.)



Shared a delicious-but-chewy Hangar Steak Sandwich.




Once again...no celebs. FAIL.

............................................

Finally we headed to the Chateau Marmont where there's always a celeb or two in residence.



Walking in I may have seen Monique. Or Mercedes from Glee.

And there was a woman who looked like Sarah Ferguson the Duchess of York.

And a woman who might have been Madonna's mom...

Hmmmm.....we were desperate.

And we had two giant glasses of champagne...



And split a banana split.



And then the little waiter guy came over and put a "reserved" sign on the table across from us.

We just knew someone good would be coming.

But all we got was this old-but-hot-looking guy who definitely looked familiar but we could not place him with his British accent and all. He was doing some kind of interview or something it seemed though, so he had to be a celeb. Had to.

It wasn't until I woke up this morning that I realized instantly who it was.

Guy Pearce!



He looks old now y'all!

Hugo's brunch

Ahhhh a beautiful morning in Los Angeles.



I met up with Kathy, Yvonne and the kids (Felix's cousins and "nieces") and introduced them to the wonder of Hugo's.

Kath and Yvonne both ordered the Desayuno Fuerte - Two poached eggs over potato pancakes with sauteed spinach, garlic, onions, tomato and shredded Parmesan cheese.

YUM.



And I of course ordered the Pasta Papa - Fresh pasta scrambled with eggs, garlic, parsley, bacon, chicken Italian sausage, scallions, parmesan cheese, and Hugo's special seasoning.

SUPERYUM.



Also there was looseleaf tea.




Koty lost a tooth!



And is a great little photographer.



Yay!

Celebrity Sighting! / Duplicity

Karl, who I haven't seen since Laura's wedding, was in town and surprised me with a telephone call the other night.

I took him to Hugo's to eat some epic food and maybe spot a celeb or two.



And we did!

Moments after we ordered, Balthazar Getty, of Alias and Brothers & Sisters fame, walked in.

I'm not that familiar with him except for knowing that both Kristy and Evan are both craaaaazy about him, so I suppose I got very excited on their behalf and tried desperately to snap a photo.

This is the best I could get. Lame, I know.



After we left the restaurant, I made Karl do three or four drive-bys.

And this is the best I could get.



Seriously, take away the facts that I am giant and crippled and unable to hide in bushes and I would still be the world's worst paparazzo.

Balthazar was pretty sexy. Though I'm sure he has crappy taste in art, like the rest of his family.



After brunch, we headed to the Grove for superfun movietime.

We saw Duplicity, the newest most-unique romantic comedy / heist movie by Julia Roberts and Clive Owen.



The stars had great chemistry and gave their standard awesome, witty, charming performances.

It was a really great movie. Smart, beautifully shot, and brilliantly acted, both by the leads and by costars Tom Wilkinson and Paul Giamatti.

Keeps your brain on overdrive with its twists and turns and crosses and double-crosses.

Definite recommend. Loved it.

FABIO!!!

Fabio, probably best known for his romance novel covers...or getting pwned by a stray goose while riding a rollercoaster, was spotted yesterday at, where else, Hugo's!



He's looking kind of large. And that hair is just so ridiculous.

Dad didn't care.



Nor did I really.



Calamarys were derricious.



As was Chicken Marsala yummmmm...



FABIOOOOOOOOOO!

Hugo's FAIL

No celebs. :-(



Actually that's a lie. We might have seen an Arquette. I think.

Maybe Rosanna?

Hugo's!

Since Emily and I had our Anderson Cooper sighting at Hugo's last week there have been additional celeb appearances at the awesome neighborhood eatery, most notably Zac Efron just this past Tuesday.

Gosh they must be loving all the free advertising.

Wesley and I are headed there for lunch in hopes of some more exciting celeb sightings.

Will keep you updated.



Ooh his hair is getting long. Like mine. Maybe I'll bump into him at Supercuts.

ANDERSON COOPER SIGHTING!

OMG OMG OMG OMG

So Emily wanted to do lunch at Hugo's which is right down the street from me but I've never been (which is stupid because hello it is delicious...)

Walked into the restaurant and who is just sitting there on the leather bench just waiting for a table with everyone else like it's Chili's or something?

ANDY COOPER.

He was with the most beautiful man I have ever seen. In fact, I didn't even notice Anderson at first because his friend was so dreamy.

And he was just dressed like any other lunching WeHo gay - tight olive green t-shirt and jeans.

They even called out his name ("Anderson, for 2?") to seat them.

So annoying though?

Emily and Erin had NO IDEA who he was.



I was like, "You guys..... It's ANDERSON COOPER!!!!!"

Emily was like, "Who?"

And I was like, "ummmm...only the sexiest face of the news ever..."

"I don't watch local news..."

"Not LOCAL news... CNN!!!"

And she looked over at him and was like, "The hot guy in the white shirt, or ... the OLD GUY?"

And I was like, "oh my god he is not OLD. He is the SILVER FOX."

And she was like, "I don't really watch CNN...I listen to NPR..."

GahhhhhHHH!HHH!H!H!H!HH!

So frustrating.

My Breakfast Pasta Papa with Egg, Parsley, Parmesan, Bacon, and Sausage, was REALLY good.



We also saw William Mapother who plays Ethan on "Lost"...



As well as James Cromwell who played Jack Bauer's dad a few seasons ago on 24, which, by the way, is the BEST SHOW EVER this season.



Famous faces everywhere!

Seen James before though.

But but but... I saw Anderson Cooper!!!!!!! In West Hollywood!!!!!!! With a ridiculously hot guy who was possibly-probably-how-could-he-not-be-his-boyfriend?

I wish could have snapped a pic for y'all.

But actually, I'm kind of glad I didn't, because as much as I love the Andy Cooper gay storyline and want him to just come out already, I have respect for him and his decision to not talk about his private life and I wouldn't want to be the one responsible for publicly outing him against his will.

(Amanda's just like, "Whatever. He's my cousin.")