The Way We Were -- in Studio City.

I know this is a Google world and we inhabit it but...there are places and times that I really miss in the Studio City of old.

I miss our single-screen movie palace – Studio City Theater (yes, La Reina too). I miss Studio City Camera (along with Dutton’s Booksand Steven’s Nursery). How I long for a visit to Tail of the Cock – the steak sandwich and fried zucchini followed by an Irish coffee at the piano bar. Tiny Naylor’s was fun, Saba;s Pharmacy with Diane and Don was always an impromptu meeting place and hangout where you bumped into Dennis Cole or Eddie Van Halen amd Valerie Bertinelli. Joe Walsh crashed his car on Coldwater but you could always count on seeing Jay Leno in one of his classic cars zooming down Coldwater Canyon each morning on his way to NBC.

The BeeGees parked the Rolls convertible in the Hughes parking lot – Ernest Borgnine was there in his Mercedes with the “Borg 9” license plate, so was Shelly Winters. There was a men’s clothing shop or two but the names escape me, The local women all shopped at Joan E. Johns, Isabelle’s, Jona. We loved Jay’s luggage, Stroud’s, the Scoreboard and always stopped to buy our newspapers at Bernie’s Newsstand. You rented your videos at 20/20. Weby’s Deli and Bakery were always crowded – we always loved their delicious food, bagels and cakes. Phil’s had the phreshest phish in town. Thrifty had just about everything you could want or need from a big-box-pharmacy combo. We still miss Dom and Phil from Studio City Florist. My friends and I wondered if anybody ever ate at Bing’s?

Everybody bought their supplies and greeting cards at McInerny’s. We ate at Café Francais when we wanted the best onion soup or steak frites in town. For the best drag show – the Queen Mary had the finest Barbra, Judy, Marilyn or Supremes anywhere in the world. Papillon had a huge share of celebrity customers for hair, makeup and beauty treatments, La Ve Lie was a lively spot for Mediterranean cuisine.

Who can forget the “in” place for a power lunch? It was always La Serre – Roger, Jeannette and Henry were front and center to meet and greet you with a hug. St. Moritz had their share of hungry A-listers. Stevie G’s and Giorgeo’s were popular with local fans too. Du Par’s is still here but we miss Winchell Donuts.

The most well-attended AA meeting was at the Radford “Church” Clubhouse where people tried to remain anonymous but there were more deals made there than at William Morris, ICM or CMA. The Good Earth has been torn down (where will Jon Voigt eat?) but new, trendy places are springing up all over town. We lost Baskin Robbins but we’ve still got Art’s, Jerry’s and Sportsman’s Lodge. Hooray. Now we have become sushi central with burgers running a close second. We love progress but we sure hate change when it takes away the places we love. Still it’s a long way from our Mack Sennett days and the lonesome cowboy riding out of town as pictured here.