There’s More To San Simeon

Than A Castle!

By Rona Edwards

When I was a kid, we’d travel up the coast to Carmel and always stop at Hearst’s Castle in San Simeon. I remember the castle, and its huge towers along with the gorgeous view of the coastline. Mostly, I remember my mom ooing and awing about the furnishings when all I wanted to do was jump into the Grecian pool. But I was a kid then…and now as an adult I ventured on up to San Simeon not only to revisit the castle but to explore the area, which turned out to be much more than a circle of motels and a beach. This time would be different because my traveling companion would be my dog, Bizou, a miniature French poodle who was delighted to be on a road trip with me. I always carry his water bottle and some treats for him, while keeping one of his precious play toys near him for comfort while driving. I had his favorite pillow bed decked out in the backseat for him to lay on for the three and a half hour plus drive.

We made the prerequisite stop in Santa Barbara at La Super Rica Taqueria on Milpas Street. You can spot this unassuming restaurant by the line of people streaming out its doorway; otherwise you might drive right past it. The #7 – tri-tip tacos with onions and peppers along with the tamal de verduras – chayote, potato, corn, zuchini and cheese are my favorites. Afterwards, I took Bizou for a short walk around the block and stopped at the Trader Joes by the freeway to pick up more dog treats (and some human treats) before departing northward.

Driving up the coast is the best way for me to decompress. The ocean waters and blue skies make me forget the stress of Los Angeles. With good music on the mp3, Bizou sleeping in the back seat, and the never-ending views, I felt like I had been away for days and it had only been a few hours.

Our next potty break came at Arroyo Grande just below Pismo Beach. There’s a little park there that Bizou loves to walk in and I get to indulge myself at Doc Bernstein’s Ice Cream Lab located on the main drag of this quaint antique town. Why is it called a Lab? Because on Wednesday nights the public is invited to come, learn how to make ice cream and then concoct their own creation. Whatever flavor wins becomes a flavor in the ice cream parlor for the next week. Some of those flavors include Champagne Confetti Fudge, Marsh Potatoes and Gravy (marshmallow ice cream with chocolate toffee butterscotch chips and caramel cups) and Chai Cherry Blast, etc.

We arrived mid afternoon in San Simeon and stayed at The Morgan right      on the circle before Hearst’s Castle. The Morgan, owned by the Broughton Hotels, a favorite of mine, is dog friendly. They have a wonderful enclosed pool with the roof exposed and it’s only a short walk to the beach. The hotel used to be the Orchid but has been totally remodeled in a “W” sort of way. Named after the architect of Hearst’s Castle and a woman ahead of her time, Julia Morgan, there are blue prints on the walls illustrating her work for the castle. The hotel offers plush bedding (Bizou jumped right up and was very comfortable) plus they provide a continental breakfast, cheese and wine tasting on Friday nights, and even have a spa with massages and facials available. I had one of the most relaxing and best warm stone massages ever so I highly recommend it.

Being so close to the beach, Bizou and I ventured off after unpacking to romp on the beach at sunset. Then I put him to bed and ate at the hotel’s restaurant, El Chorlito, serving delicious traditional style New Mexican food and kickass margaritas. You can also substitute tofu for any meat or seafood dish. I chose to eat in the bar area – dimly lit, brightly colored south of the border charm with wood beams and gas light lamps illuminating the Mexican watering hole. The crab enchilada and chicken taquitos were muy bueno with no filler, and was followed by my favorite New Mexican treat, sopapillias.

After a sumptious night’s sleep of listening to the waves of the night ocean, Bizou and I had our breakfast and then ventured up the coast to Piedras Blancas, home of more than 7,500 elephant seals. During the winter months, you can see the females beached and giving birth while their mates eye next year’s conquest. What a sight to behold and is a must for anyone coming to this area. The docents are very helpful and answer any question you may have about these odd looking mammals. I was told I had just missed two babies being born. As we watched the male seals posturing to gain the attention of the females, one docent told me they are not monogamous creatures.

I took Bizou home from his day with the seals and headed off, solo, to Piedras Blancas Light Station, six miles north of San Simeon. I’ve always loved lighthouses and Piedras Blancas, first illuminated in 1875 and under restoration today, is not only historic but in a beautiful setting and well worth the tour. With no beacon on top and now governed by the United States Department of the Interior, volunteers, dressed in Victorian garb, guide us through the different buildings, explaining the architecture, foilage and details of the lighthouse.

For lunch, it was Lin’s located in Cambria, a quaint artist’s community that has grown by leaps and bounds since I was there last. Lin’s is famous for their meat and vegetarian pot pies which are probably the best I’ve ever had as well as their famous Olallieberry pie. The Linn family moved to the central coast to become farmers in 1976. By 1985, they opened Linn’s Fruit Bin, a real country fruit stand and pie making business. Using the little known Olallieberry, it became the cornerstone of their success. First developed in 1949 by the U. S. Department of Agriculture at Oregon State University by crossing a Loganberry with a Youngberry, the result was called the Olallie, a Native American word – meaning blackberry. Physically the Olallieberry looks like a classic blackberry but genetically it’s two-thirds blackberry, one-third European raspberry.

Near the restaurant is Linn’s Easy As Pie café and Linn’s Farmstore where you can take the pies home, wrapped in newspaper that keeps them frozen up to seven hours. Buzzing with galleries, shops and restaurants, Cambria and its environs is also home to a budding coastal wine industry. My first stop was Moonstone Winery owned by Todd Clift (whose card says Grape Stomper on it) and has only been open since 2007. Located in the heart of Cambria, it offers a nice respite where the tasting is five dollars (seven if you want to keep the glass). Todd worked for four years at the other known winery in the area, Harmony Cellars before venturing out on his own. Moonstone and Harmony Cellars present distinct chardonnays, pinot gris’, zinfandels, sangioveses, syrahs and barberas that could someday rival their neighboring wine consortiums. Plus they’re just plain charming to visit. Bizou came with me and sat very patiently as I tasted at the Harmony Cellars and chatted with fellow wine tasters amidst the gardens and coastal countryside views. At Harmony, you can get six tastings for three dollars (seven if you want to keep the glass). Housed in a country barn like style, with a gazebo and views of the valley, Harmony is located in the town of…yes, you guessed it, Harmony just south of San Simeon. I liked their wine so much I joined their club.

After our sunset walk on the beach, Bizou was exhausted and I headed to Manta Rey on the east side of the hotel circle where seafood is king. Owned by Miguel De Alba, who worked as a bag boy at a local market while starting his restaurant, the food is continental and elegant with a wine list spotlighting the region. The ambiance is one of a seafood shanty and the wine list is definitively Central Coast and Santa Ynez Valley. I ordered the full flavored and very tasty Lobster Crusted Sea Bass whose panko and flour mixed with lobster gave a new take on the old standard breading. The dish has a rich saffron butter sauce but is surprisingly light. For dessert, Miguel wanted me to try the Chocolate Decadence – flourless chocolate cake topped with chocolate ganache and raspberry sauce. But it was the Orange Ice Cream (not sherbet or sorbet) made with real oranges that was the winner. Manta Rey offers early bird dinners as well starting at $11.95.

While I think San Simeon is more than just a castle, I still made a reservation to visit it anyway. I hadn’t been there since I was a kid and it was very interesting to me to see it from an adult’s perspective. I wasn’t disappointed. I noticed things that I wouldn’t have before as a child and because of my background in the movie industry as well as my fascination with the beginnings and history of Hollywood, it felt like I had been there for the first time. I was in awe with the decorative styles and the stories that were told. The ornate fixtures and opulence of an era now forever gone haunted the grounds. One thing that I found fascinating was that the Hearst family gifted the Castle to the state of California but maintain the largest single-source supplier of free-range, all-natural, grass-fed and grass-finished beef, fully sustainable Hearst’s Ranch. While at the castle, order the beef, sauces and dips from the Ranch. Personally, I love their smoked ketchup.

 Another walk on the beach with my boy who enjoyed all the accoutrements of the hotel and surroundings followed by one last night of dining pleasure before heading back down to the hustle bustle of Los Angeles. This last night I chose to eat at Black Cat Bistro in Cambria. Owned by a former film and television producer, Deborah Scarborough, it is described as an American Bistro and Wine Bar and serves up such fare as prime beef filet, cocoa rubbed over roasted rack of elk, stuffed pheasant, pancetta wrapped pork tenderloin, salmon and ahi tuna. The food and produce is seasonal so you never know what the menu might highlight. This is definitely one of the best fine dining restaurants on the central coast.

Sad to leave but feeling fulfilled and yes, restored, Bizou and I packed up, had our breakfast at The Morgan, and stopped one more time at Lin’s to pick up our take home pies where we partook in a final Olallieberry lemonade. We drove through the Paso Robles Countryside, stopped by one more winery, Four Vines, bought a beautiful Syrah, and enjoyed the countryside one last time before heading down the ramp of the 101 towards Hollywood. Both of us had a vacation, yet we learned a lot about San Simeon. Where else can you get elephant seals, lighthouses, wineries, the beach, gorgeous sunsets, charming towns and shops, and award-winning California cuisine? The castle was definitely the icing on this trip but the filling was so much more.

Photography by Rona Edwards. All Rights Reserved. No portion of this article or photos should be used without author’s consent. Copyright 2009 Rona Edwards.

By

Rona Edwards

Hollywood Sign from Lake Hollywood

There’s something comforting and familiar about sauntering up Beachwood Drive. Maybe it’s the neighborly feeling, the fact that people say hello as you pass them by or that you know the residents by their dogs’ names as they walk them up the magical, mystical street leading toward the Hollywood sign. However, Beachwood is more than the gateway to that landmark icon. There’s more than meets the eye here.

I live on Beachwood – the lower part, not the posh, tucked-in-the-canyon, manor home Beachwood. I’ve lived here for twenty years in a wonderful townhouse with entrances on both Gower Street and Beachwood Drive.  Hollywoodland, as it came to be known, has housed some notable and some notorious celebrities, running the gamut from authors (Adous Huxley) to actors (Keanu Reeves) and rock stars

A variety of eclectic apartments on Beachwood Drive

(Madonna). Originally the neighborhood began as a real estate stunt, a housing development in the prime area of the Hollywood Hills. But it soon became a symbol worldwide of a town born from celluloid fairy tales. Tucked away in the recesses of the canyon lies a potpourri of homes from the heyday of Hollywood: from Normandy castles to vine-covered cottages to cubical 60’s hideaways on stilts. Mack Sennett was a co-owner of the Hollywoodland Development Company according to 2222Beachwood.com/believe.html, which lists all sorts of Beachwood statistics including the fact that Bugsy Siegel owned a speakeasy on Durand Drive from 1938-39. Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., was born in a house (now an apartment building) at 2210 North Beachwood Drive and 2222 was once the home of Charlie Chapin (now a large apartment turned condominium). Sennett wanted to create a residential area for artists and Hollywoodland was born in 1923.  Earlier, Albert Beach named Beachwood Drive in 1911, naming it after himself after he paved the drive into the hills.

Hollywoodland: Relax, Slow Down

Walking up this street, you can feel the presence of yesteryear and what life must have been like when your neighbors were Norma Talmadge or Pola Negri of the silent film era. At 2560 North Beachwood sits the very first silent movie theatre, currently the Hollywood Theosophical Center. Steeped in history, scandals, Hollywood legends, sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll, Beachwood retains the spirit of Hollywood and its origins. Lined with Palm trees and a wide drive that narrows as you reach the center of the canyon, Beachwood’s heart is in the old stone gates that were once the entrance to Hollywoodland. Here is where the Beachwood Market caters to the canyon residents and the iconic Beachwood Village Café dishes up breakfast and lunch in an atmosphere that has remained unchanged for the past twenty-five to thirty years.

What I love about the Beachwood Market is that they actually have real butchers who will cut you a piece of meat anyway you like it and make recommendations to you for your dinner party. Unheard of in today’s fast paced, homogenized climate. My mother used to love going to a butcher to buy her meats and it makes a difference, rather than buying the pre-packaged take it or leave it variety found at chain markets. She would come back with gorgeous cuts of tri tip and eye of the round, fat trimmed and packaged in white butcher paper. Now I can have the same experience and it’s in my neighborhood.

The wait staff at the Village Café is friendly and, if you’re a regular, the minute you walk in the door your beverage of choice is waiting. It’s regular home grown American food. Nothing fancy. The last time I was there, the waitress spoke to me as if I was a long lost friend and made sure my coffee cup was filled with piping hot Joe. Eating there is as relaxed as the canyon itself.

If you travel a little more north on Beachwood, you’ll find the Beachwood Stairs, 175 steps up to Hollyridge Drive located near a large Pine tree on the right-hand side. My neighbor used to walk up and down those steps five times to stay in shape; no small feat (no pun intended).

 Continue on to the end of Beachwood and you’ll find the Sunset Ranch where you can rent a horse and ride the trails. I’ve always meant to do the sunset ride through Griffith Park but it’s like people who live in New York City who have never been to the Statue of Liberty. Since you know it’s always there, you keep thinking you’ll get to it eventually. Eventually never comes. Maybe this summer?

The castle

The lower part of Beachwood is lined with apartments and condominiums in a variety of decorative styles dating back to the 1920s. The illustrious past of Hollywood’s Golden age is marked by art deco columns of ornate Spanish and Mediterranean style buildings amidst the California craftsman homes and the squared off, angular apartment buildings (some turned condos) of the 50s and 60s and later. It’s a hodgepodge of every era since this development was launched. This is my Beachwood where I walk my dog, Bizou, a miniature poodle who loves the smells of the canyon and the King Charles Spaniel he bumps into now and then, and whom he adores. Beachwood is home to animal lovers, hikers, tourists, Hollywood types, young people just getting started, people with a dream. It’s a symbol of days gone by, a yesteryear where life was simpler and gas cheaper. Yet, once you walk Beachwood Drive, life becomes simpler, complexities and stress melt away, this is a neighborhood and everyone’s got your back.

 This article was originally printed in the Los Feliz Ledger.

Rona Edwards is a movie and TV producer who has written for the Beachwood Voice, NeoWorld Review, Produced By magazine and is the co-author of the critically acclaimed book, “I Liked It, Didn’t Love It (Screenplay Development From the Inside Out).”

They had a fire a year ago and after battling with the city over permits and other such nonsense, construction is finally underway to restore the restaurant. They expect it to take about five months for the establishment to be up and running again – hopefully just in time for the holidays.  And I will be there to report to you any changes and improvements there may be in the menu and the surroundings. I’ll keep you posted.

So if you want to tweet, feel free to tweet me at http://twitter.com/OURSIDEOFTOWN

Happy Adventuring!

ESE FILM WORKSHOPS ONLINE was founded this past year by myself, Rona Edwards, and Monika Skerbelis.  We aim to provide professional
instruction without leaving your home. Filmmakers
who want to learn more about Screenplay Development; the players involved at Studios and Production Companies, Agencies, Management Companies; Creating a Production Company; Finding and Developing New Ideas; How to Pitch Those Ideas; Basic Screenplay Format, Basic Screenwriting Fundamentals, will benefit from ESE Film Workshops.
Individuals will learn how to apply the skills in
order to open doors and network with professionals in the film industry. Improve your filmmaking in 4 – 6 weeks without leaving your home. All you need to know how to do is “Click, Type, Download & Read!”

There are two more classes before the end of the year.  CREATING A PRODUCTION COMPANY, a six week intensive course where filmmakers will learn what is necessary to have a shingle in Hollywood, begins September 24th.  And rounding out the year is MANEUVERING FILM FESTIVALS, a 4 week preparatory course to help filmmakers navigate and get the most our of the film festival experience begins November 12th.

The 2009 schedule has just been posted on the ESE website.

For more information on Edwards & Skerbelis, ESE FILM WORKSHOPS ONLINE or their book, “I Liked It, DIdn’t Love It (Screenplay Development From The Inside Out)” check out their website Edwards Skerbelis Entertainment

Hi all,

Wanted to let you know there will be more articles in 2009. It’s been a busy year for me, not only writing for the paper, Produced By magazine and the NeWorld Review, I have been working diligently on my film projects as a producer and starting up ESE FILM WORKSHOPS ONLINE, presenting comprehensive film courses globally. All you have to do is “click, type, download and read,” and you’ll improve your film knowledge in four to six weeks.

Coming up however, will be articles on a recent coastal trip I took up to San Francisco – (Lots of great “eats”) and also a wine experience in Virginia (yes,Virginia, there’s wine in them there hills!).  Stay tuned.

 Warmly,

Rona Edwards

I am very sorry to report that there was a fire at one of my favorite eateries in Hollywood, Off Vine.  I don’t have all the details but do know they are closed and will reopen in approximately three months.  Housed in an historic Hollywood craftsman bungalow, I did a review on their weekend brunches for the Beachwood Voice several years ago. It was always a wonderful place for business lunches and romantic dinners, eating inside in the intimate dining room or outside on the patio.  It was always a wonderful treat and I had planned to go there on Mother’s Day as I had for the past few years.  I know you all join with me in wishing Greg and Richard the very best and hope that they get back on their feet and we get to enjoy their warm hospitality and delectable food (notably the souffles) very soon. And I’ll let all of you know when they reopen.