Stargazers can scope out celebs at local hangouts

  MOHAMMAD ALAVI It may be possible to spot celebrities
dining at the Hollywood Canteen in West Hollywood.

By Sophia Whang
Daily Bruin Senior Staff

While some people daydream of eating lunch with their favorite
stars, others wait for hours before premieres and after concerts
just to catch a glimpse of them.

However, there is an easier way.

Since celebrities are known to lead “normal” lives,
we can invariably lead “normal” lives with them. We can
go to the same restaurants, the same bars, and even take the same
dance classes as them.

From word of mouth and a little research on where celebrities
choose to spend their time, I am visiting a few popular places to
see how simple it is to spot and hang out with the stars.

The first place on my schedule is a trendy café on Melrose
Avenue called Urth Caffé.

The place is always packed with people sipping the
restaurant’s organic teas, eating its low-fat meals, and
socializing on its perfect-for-people-watching patio.

There are celebrities, like Meg Ryan, who are such regulars that
the workers know what the stars want even before they order.

“One of the previous managers wasn’t only talking
about which celebrities came in, but also about what their favorite
kinds of tea were,” said Bonnie McNeil, a waitress at a
neighboring café.

Another spot famous for its celebrity sightings is a bar and
club on Cahuenga Boulevard called Hollywood Canteen, which has
served as a home to celebrities for years.

  Illustration by JARRETT QUON/Daily Bruin Once owned by
actor Bette Davis in the 1940s, it began as a place for servicemen
with celebrities waiting on them. In 1991, the founder of Virgin
Records, billionaire Richard Branson, turned the place into a
clubhouse that catered only to entertainment.

Its two new owners, John Kim and Michael Sutton, took over five
years ago and revamped the place into a bar and a restaurant. With
only three weeks since its new location and opening, the place is
packed nearly every night.

“In Hollywood, if people start talking, it’s like
seeing a good movie,” Kim said. “And if it’s hard
to get in, people want to get in more. On Thursday nights, we turn
away a hundred people, and they come back.”

From its VIP room to its grassy bar area with a shark tank, the
bar’s atmosphere is peculiarly warm yet modern. Three
separate parts of Hollywood Canteen are supposed to simulate the
atmosphere of New York, Los Angeles and Miami. This ambience is
undoubtedly what draws the celebrities in.

“Usually at a club the music is really loud and you
can’t move,” Kim said, “but celebrities like this
place because this looks like the backyard of someone’s
house, like you’re going to a house party.”

I did not run into any stars during my visit, but even when
people do, they are known to keep their cool in this often
star-studded bar.

“When you walk into a place this size and see Leonardo
DiCaprio, Matt Damon and Sean “˜Puffy’ Combs, people
think it’s cool,” Kim said. “But no one really
bothers them. It’s mostly entertainment people here, like
studio executives or assistants, so they’re not so star-stuck
and run up to them.”

Rap stars Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg recently had a party at the
bar, and a private UCLA graduation party was also planned to be
held there. Despite what its name might imply, Hollywood Canteen is
not exclusive to only Hollywood and its denizens.

If not at the bar, celebrities can get their groove on in a
dance studio. On my previous visits to Millennium Dance Complex, I
have run into recording artists Britney Spears, Mya and Pink. The
studio provides a convenient way to spot the stars while getting a
good workout and first-rate instruction from its top
choreographers.

“I don’t think people come in only for (the
celebrities),” said Levis Francis, manager of Millennium.
“We have some of the best classes and instructors here. Wade
Robson, who teaches every other Friday night, choreographed for
Britney Spears and *NSYNC.

The celebrities usually only rent studio space, but some also
take the group dance classes with the regular students.

“Just about every single day, there’s some celebrity
here,” Francis said. “They generally won’t come
and take the dance classes with everyone else, but I know that
*NSYNC has come and taken classes a couple of times, and I know a
lot of the new artists will as well.”

“It’s absolutely not intimidating for regular people
because that’s most of our clientele. Actually, they like
that celebrities come because they always want to get a chance to
see who’s coming in next,” Francis added.

Star watchers only have to walk down the studio’s aisle to
see the signed CD cases and posters of Tyrese, Jessica Simpson,
Jennifer Lopez and Britney Spears, among others, with personal
thank-yous written out to Millennium.

The last place on my list to visit, and the most obvious, is
Wolfgang Puck’s Beverly Hills restaurant, Spago.

In addition to being filled with celebrities during annual
Academy Awards after-parties, it is known to cater to the most
well-known people with the most talked-about names on a regular
basis.

During my visit, Ali Landry, famous for her Doritos commercials,
was sitting at a table adjacent to me. Wolfgang Puck paid a
personal visit to her and her lunch date, but must have forgotten
to visit my table.

Whether it is the Doritos model or Britney Spears, I still get
that immediate surge of excitement when seeing a star. However, I
have actually never approached a celebrity, unless I was introduced
to one. After living in Los Angeles for so many years, it almost
becomes second nature to run into a celebrity.

It is easier to spot celebrities in these popular hangouts than
at events such as premieres where they are bombarded with crazed
fans and cutthroat paparazzi.

These spots provide a close view of the stars, rather than a
mere sighting, and allow you to hang out with celebrities without
having to go through the trouble of getting your people to call
their people.