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Tags: Dunkin' Donuts Alternatives / Donuts / Beverly Hills / → All Tags

Beverly Hills Cops Probably Hanging Around Frittelli's Doughnuts

We're trying to expand our quest for a better doughnut outside the NYC area, so obviously, as when looking for all things fancified, we now turn to LA.

One of the dough(NOT DO!)nut shops we've heard the most buzz about is Frittelli's Doughnuts and Coffee, a Beverly Hills bakery with the chutzpah to serve what they call "designer doughnuts." With Swiss chocolate, Tahitian vanilla and fresh fruit filling, they certainly seem to be a step above the Dunk.

They've got high-quality takes on all the classics—strawberry-glazed, sugar-topped, and chocolate sprinkle—as well as more inventive flavors like green apple fritter, latte-glazed, and PB&J-filled. At $2 a pop, they're cheaper than the New York designer doughnuts, although some of the fanciest (think Callebaut Chocolate Glaze Bars Filled w/ Chocolate Bavarian Crème) top out at $3. Still, we think that Beverly Hills cops can probably still afford a dozen doughnuts here.

Any LA readers care to weight in? Is Frittelli's dough worth a trip to the 90210? Let us know in comments below.

Related Stories:
· Frittelli's Doughnuts [Official Site]
· A Doughnut That Will Change the Way You Think About Doughnuts [Jaunted]
· Are Donuts the New Cupcakes? [Jaunted]

[Photo: optionthis]

Tags: HotelChatter / Paris Hilton / Kathy Griffin / Beverly Hills Travel / → All Tags

Paris Hilton and Kathy Griffin Have Dangerous Hotel Pool Habits

Our sis site HotelChatter does a bang-up job of covering the latest news and trends in the hotel world. Check in and stay awhile.

· 'D-List BFFs' Paris Hilton and Kathy Griffin Spotted Poolside at Avalon Hotel: Wanna see Kathy Griffin in a bikini? A hotel guest sent in a snapshot of Kathy and Paris by the pool at the Avalon Hotel in Beverly Hills. But HotelChatter's Jenna brings up a very good point: "why are both of you wearing heels with a bikini? That is inefficient and unsafe. pool areas should have a sensible footwear rule to keep everyone from hurting themselves."

· W Fort Lauderdale Needs a Little Bit More Time: The W Fort Lauderdale was hoping to open next week. But now they will officially miss out on Spring Breakers and Easter vacationers with their new opening date of April 30.

· Hyatt Hotels Around the World are Now 20 Percent Off: Hyatt kicks off a new sale tomorrow that gives guests 20 percent off room rates at nearly every type of Hyatt hotel worldwide.

· Live Out 'Recluse Fantasies' in Belize: If the world is getting to be a bit too much for you, consider the Cayo Espanto resort in Belize.

· What Kind of Internet Can You Expect at Hotel Indigo?: Know before you go that the Hotel Indigo has free internet throughout its hotels.

· Inside the Tune Hotel Kuala Lumpur : Julia Buckley goes inside the super budget Tune Hotel, a sister brand to Air Asia.

Tags: Oscars Travel / Oscar Nominations 2009 / Awards Show Travel / Celeb Travel / → All Tags

Oscar Nominations Announced

"We have a new camera focused on the press, so try not to fall asleep," joked Michael Seligman, longtime Academy Awards producer in the waning minutes before this year's Oscar nominations were announced at 8:30 this morning. We're not actually in the room, but we're as restless as a basket of kittens over here. (Go Team Winslet!)

Best Picture: "The Reader" (set in Berlin); "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" (New Orleans, mostly); "Frost/Nixon" (London), "Milk" (San Francisco) and "Slumdog Millionaire" (India).

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Tags: Wine Tasting / Los Angeles Travel / Santa Barbara Travel / → All Tags

Santa Barbara To Show LA Who's Boss When It Comes To Wines

Thirty of Santa Barbara's most dynamic wineries will be pouring their vintages for Angelenos to sip and swirl Wednesday, Januaury 21st, at the "Stars of Santa Barbara" tasting at the ritzy Peninsula Beverly Hills Hotel.

Hosted by Learn About Wine Learn About Wine, wine educator Ian Blackburn’s center for wine classes, trips and events, the evening will feature Santa Barbara vintners like Sea Smoke Cellars, Zaca Mesa Winery, Brewer-Clifton, Ampelos, and rising stars Jonata and La Fenetre. Winemakers will be around to pour tastes and answer questions from 7:00-9:30pm.

Since Santa Barbara is where it’s at these days, especially for devotees of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, the tasting is a great way to experience the wines without having to actually go to Santa Barbara for a weekend. It's like a drive-by wine tasting. Now, That's So LA.

Tickets purchased at the door are $99, but if you buy them in advance online from Learn About Wine, you save $20.

Related Stories:
· Wine Travel: New York's Napa [Jaunted]
· Hollywood Roosevelt: Winetasting with Kirsten Dunst [HotelChatter]

[Photo: Chrisamichaels]

Tags: The Hills / Heidi Montag / Spencer Pratt / → All Tags

Heidi and Spencer's Wedding: What Kind Of Fakery Is This?

This week's "Hills" had us all watching Spencer and Heidi's drunken beachside ceremony on Spence's video camera. While it seems pretty clear that one cannot just decide on a whim to wed in a foreign country requiring birth certificates and blood tests, clips from next week's episode show the terrible two making it legal. Or are they?

No less august a source than the Associated Press is on the case, discovering that MTV shot in a Beverly Hills courtroom after hours--but a judge was not present. They haven't filed in LA County either, although that's less telling since they could get married anywhere in the state. Maybe there ought to be a punishment for going through with a fake wedding on reality TV... say, for instance, being stuck married to the guy for life, Heidi. Some Patron with that?

Related Stories:
· Heidi and Spencer Get Married in Mexico [Jaunted]
· This Week's Hills: "I'll Show You What A Wife Does" [Jaunted]
· Montag, Pratt Nuptials Questioned [AP]
· Celeb Travel coverage [Jaunted]

Tags: Celeb Travel / Motorcycle Travel / Ewan McGregor / Africa Travel / → All Tags

Celeb TV Travel: Bike with Ewan McGregor This Summer

Now here's a reality show we actually want to watch: Actor and avid motorcyclist Ewan McGregor turned up at the Television Critics Association yearly press tour to talk about his new documentary "Long Way Down," which chronicles a ride he took with best friend Charley Boorman from Scotland all the way to South Africa.

The bike trip, which took place last summer, isn't even McGregor's first long race. Being rear-ended, devoured by mosquitos and getting held at gunpoint ensued on a 2004 trip across Europe and Asia and over to New York, but McGregor, currently bouncing between the Canadian set of the Earhart biopic "Amelia" and the Rome set of "Angels and Demons," wasn't deterred. And this time, his wife even learned to ride a motorbike so she could take a stage with them.

To find out what happens when a major star embarks on a "Road Rules"-style adventure, catch "Long Way Down" on August 2 on FOX Reality.

Related Stories:
· McGregor Completes 20-Country Motorcycle Tour [Jaunted]
· Ewan McGregor Returns from Africa, Hair Ablaze [Socialite Life]
· Celeb Travel coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: Scottish Actors]

Tags: Celeb Travel / Gossip Girl / Television Travel / TV Travel / Kelly Rutherford / Connor Paolo / → All Tags

Spotted: E and L Out on the Town

You can tell that Connor "Eric Van Der Woodsen" Paolo and Kelly "Lily Bass" Rutherford aren't mother and son in real life, because he just doesn't look sheepish enough about accompanying her to the Step UP Women's Network Inspiration Awards in Beverly Hills this weekend. (Unexpected bonus: No awkward family dinners where your sister's friend tells Mom you're gay!)

Rutherford was being honored for her work with the charity, which funds women's health programs and professional development for underprivileged girls. So how is Eric spending his summer vacation? Well, given that he attends the Professional Performing Arts high school in Manhattan along with "GG" costar Taylor Momsen, maybe he deserves a break from studying and working. (The school counts Claire Danes and Alicia Keys among its alums.)

Related Stories:
· Visiting The Gossip Girl Set [HC]
· Gossip Girl: Now You Know How Vanessa Hudgens Feels [Jaunted]
· Gossip Girl coverage [Jaunted]
· Celeb Travel coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: Ocean Up]

Tags: Restaurants / → All Tags

BondSt Coming to LA Soon, So They Say Again

After a long wait, The Thompson Beverly Hills Hotel is officially open, though since portions of the hotel are still under construction you may want to wait until everything is completed before stopping in. (That should be about late February/early March.)

One thing we are eagerly anticipating is the BondSt Sushi Restaurant from Jonathan Morr, owner of BondSt in New York and Miami. The restaurant was supposed to open inside the hotel sometime after Thanksgiving but it has (of course) been delayed.

Our sources say January 7th is the new target opening date. Whenever it opens, the restaurant will have 130 seats, outdoor dining and "alluring Japanese cuisine."

In typical Hollywood fashion, the restaurant did open for a sneak peek a few weeks back but only for celebrities and LA A-listers.

Related Stories:
· Beverly Hills coverage [Jaunted]
· Restaurants coverage [Jaunted]

Tags: Table Crashing / Restaurants / Celeb Travel / → All Tags

Table Crashing :: Where Tom and Katie Eat

Last Friday, we hit up another one of LA's hot restaurants, Cut by Wolfgang Puck at the The Four Seasons Beverly Wilshire in Beverly Hills. The restaurant opened in June 2006 and was quickly made a favorite amongst Hollywood A-listers like Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes and whichever celeb couple they're courting for Scientology.

Much like Craft Los Angeles, getting a reservation here takes a lot of work. So we settled for a 9pm time which on a Friday night wasn't that bad. At least we got in.

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Tags: Celeb Travel / Los Angeles / Food / → All Tags

Donuts Fit For A Governor

How does a busy lawmaker like Arnold Schwarzenegger fuel up for budget battles? Just like nuclear plant worker Homer Simpson -- with donuts! TMZ reports Schwarzenegger is chucking his diet over the trans-fat free fritters at Frittelli's Donuts and Coffee in Beverly Hills. Dunkin' Donuts is too East Coast and the South has Krispy Kreme, but the Guvnah has been shelling out daily for these handmade delights. (He'll probably be excited to know the store is rolling out Churro Saturdays and Beignet Sundays, too.)

[Photo: jjsawrey]

Tags: Celeb Travel / Paris Hilton / → All Tags

Paris Hilton's Kosher Meat Party

While serious Hollywood actors and actresses were getting their beauty sleep the night before the Oscars, Paris Hilton was throwing herself another birthday party at the Prime Grill on Rodeo Drive. This new Western outpost of the Manhattan steak house has already set the table for stars like Carmen Electra and Colin Farrell, says the New York Post, but that's nothing compared to the Saturday soiree, where Hilton pal Brandon Davis, the oil heir (and famous Lindsay Lohan basher), showed up to pick on Paula Abdul and proposition Courtney Love in front of daughter Frances Bean. Apparently Paris forgave him, though; he was allowed into her house later that night where the party continued.

We're pretty sure Paris didn't pick the Prime Grill in accordance with Talmudic law, but is the food any good? After all, its owner told the Jewish Journal, "We don't want people to think of us as a kosher restaurant that happens to be superb. We want them to think of us as a superb restaurant that happens to be kosher." The L.A. Times describes it as a place that doesn't take many risks with its offerings, but which has superb steaks -- "that and the joyous spirit of the place." That must have been what attracted Ms. Hilton & Co. But a Calendarlive.com review describes a 90-minute post-Shabbat wait and an oblivious hostess. Let the diner beware!

Related Stories:
· When Greasy Bears Attack! [TMZ]
· Prime Grill [Official Site]

Tags: Jaunted Parking Guides / Los Angeles / Los-Angeles-Parking-Guide / Beverly Hills Parking / → All Tags

Where To Park In LA: Don't Try To Park Overnight on the Streets of Beverly Hills

A while back Hertz banned us from renting their cars because of excessive parking tickets, no joke. We are fighting back by trying to help give visitors a clear view of the entire parking scene in a particular locale. We have put together our guide to parking in LA, and an accompanying map. On the map, we have plotted six LA public parking spots where we have had the most luck. Send along LA parking tips, tricks, and advice and comment here so other folks don't rack up steep parking fines, or worse yet, get towed.

Think you can beat the Beverly Hills Parking Wenches? So did we. A couple weeks back, while staying at The Crescent Hotel in Beverly Hills, we pulled onto Brighton Way just off of North Crescent Drive and spotted an open meter spot. As an added bonus we noticed the meter was $1.00 for one hour between 8 AM and 6 PM, the time just so happened to be a bit after 5 PM PST. Perfect, we can park here overnight, right? Wrong.

Even though there was absolutely no signage alerting us to overnight parking regulations, we were greeted with a $45.00 parking ticket when we arrived at our vehicle just before 8 AM the next morning. The reasoning? According to the City of Beverly Hills "Placard not displayed between 2:30 - 5:30". Of course, a stronger traveler might try to fight the ticket, but we are weak and weary, so we will just pay it, as soon as we can find the damn thing.

Related Stories:
· Los Angeles Parking Guide & Tips [Jaunted]
· Where to Park in LA: Original Map & Advice [Jaunted]