Taking a Sweetheart of a Stroll in Beverly Hills

Valentine’s Day is Cupid’s feast of love. Maybe that’s why so many sweethearts exchange confections, cakes and nectars on the amorous day.

And what better place than Beverly Hills to enjoy this weekend (our guided walk follows) and perhaps pick up a gift for next weekend? (Next Saturday, of course, is Valentine’s Day.)

This, then, is an epicurean walk of downtown Beverly Hills. The stroll will take you past art and architecture that’s a feast for the eyes--and by (or, your option, through) many of the confectioners, chocolatiers, bakeries and gelaterias in the Golden Triangle, perhaps the chicest commercial district compressed between any three streets. (In this case, Wilshire Boulevard, Santa Monica Boulevard and Canon Drive.)

You should begin the walk in the morning to give yourself plenty of time to explore the culinary shrines.

To accommodate thousands of daily visitors and shoppers, the city has constructed various parking structures and lots in the central commercial district, clearly labeled “public parking” with two hours’ of free parking. Plan to spend a few extra dollars for parking as the walk is from three to four hours long.

Begin the walk at Santa Monica Boulevard and Rodeo Drive in front of the Beverly Hills Presbyterian Church. Walk north and turn left into the alley, where one of the strangest houses in the country awaits you.

The O’Neill House, an Art Nouveau fantasy designed by Don M. Ramos and built from 1978 to 1981, was constructed as a guest house and an entertainment pavilion for the clients of O’Neill’s Art Nouveau antique shop. Inspired by the works of Victor Horta, Antonio Gaudi, and Hector Guimard, the house celebrates the organic forms of nature. Peacocks, frogs, dragon flies, serpent heads, fish and geese writhe from beneath the plaster walls as mushrooms and dancing girls sprout from the colorful tiled roof. Swirls of white plaster appear like sculpted whipped cream. The main house, designed by Tom Oswald, is now taking shape in the front of the property and, when completed, promises to be one of California’s more fantastic residences.

Return to Rodeo Drive and walk east through the parkway to Canon Drive. Cross Santa Monica Boulevard and Canon Drive; enter the Beverly Hills Post Office. Designed by Ralph C. Flewelling and constructed in 1933, the Italian Renaissance-styled building contains some surprising New Deal-inspired Public Works Administration frescoes in its lobby. Exit through the east door of the Post Office. Before you rises the central landmark of Beverly Hills: City Hall. Designed by William J. Gage and Harry G. Koerner in 1931, the Spanish Rennaisance-styled building features an ornate eight-story tower capped with gold, green and blue tiles.

In 1981 the city sponsored a competition for the expansion of the civic center and selected the design of Charles Moore/Urban Innovations Group. The Fire Station expansion phase is just being completed.

Walk south to Little Santa Monica Boulevard and Crescent Drive for a view of this recent addition. Note the use of colored tiles, Deco-ish lanterns, and varied setbacks, all reminiscent of the older City Hall. When completed in April, 1989, the expanded complex will also include a new police facility, a parking structure, and an expanded library, all surrounding three elliptical, arcaded gardens.

Now note the Union 76 gas station at 427 N. Crescent Drive, designed by Pereira & Luckman in 1965. Gigantic in scale, the futuristic triangular canopy of reinforced concrete might best be labeled “Jetsonesque” (after the 1960s futuristic cartoon, “The Jetsons”), with its cantilevered corners jutting skyward.

Cross Crescent Drive and walk east on Little Santa Monica Boulevard, past the Georgian Colonial-styled Litton Industries Plaza. Originally built as the headquarters for Music Corp. of America in 1937, designed by architect Paul R. Williams, the complex of offices resembles a Southern estate with its painted white bricks, columned porticos and detailed entablatures.

Neptune and Satyrs

Walk to the corner of Rexford Drive and enter the thistle-themed gateway. Follow the brick pathway as it winds beneath the colonnade into one of the city’s most enchanting public spaces. Litton Industries designed this plaza, but it remains a public right of way. The 125-year-old Italian fountain, with its bronze statuary of Neptune and satyrs battling a sea serpent atop a rose-colored marble pedestal, splashes water into a blue tiled pool.

In 1964 Litton added the 30-foot Tuscan colonnade, which once graced Ocean House, the 144-room estate built by William Randolph Hearst for Marion Davies on Santa Monica’s Gold Coast. Today, these elements form a gateway to the Golden Triangle and a centerpiece for the brick-paved public plaza.

Walk through the plaza to Crescent Drive, noting the ornate lanterns brought here from Copenhagen. Cross Crescent Drive and follow Brighton Way. Turn left on Canon Drive and walk into Le Grande Passage shopping arcade at 350 N. Canon Drive.

Pass Caffe Roma, a popular lunch spot with its antipasto buffet, and enter St. Moritz Luxury Chocolates. This nearly hidden shop serves as a kitchen, showroom and classroom. Inside you can watch truffles and other concoctions being made from Swiss chocolate, fresh cream and flavorings. Its shelves display gift and specialty items made in the shop, including its best-selling truffles ($24 a pound) and a chocolate molded chess set ($36). If you really love chocolate, you and your Valentine can sign up for the shop’s evening mini-courses to learn the art of making them.

Return to Canon, turn right, and walk north past 400 North, a cozy health-conscious restaurant serving “gourmet spa cuisine.”

Mouth-Watering Bundt Cakes

Stop in Miss Grace Lemon Cake Co., 422 N. Canon Drive. Since 1973 this bakery has been making mouth-watering bundt cakes, including lemon, chocolate fudge, macadamia nut, carrot, orange and apple, all sold in decorative, reusable tins.

Down the street another confectionary awaits you. Edelweiss Candy Kitchen at 444 N. Canon Drive also makes its concoctions in its own kitchen from Swiss recipes. Specialties include homemade marshmallows with nine different coatings, chocolate dipped pretzels, geraldines, brandied cherries and molded bears, champagne bottles, and tennis racquets. For Valentine’s Day they create chocolate baskets and satin heart-shaped gift boxes.

Walk north to Little Santa Monica Boulevard, turn left, and walk south on Beverly Drive.

Across the street, the venerable Nate ‘n’ Al’s Delicatessen at 414 provides homesick New Yorkers with a well stocked bakery filled with oven-fresh corn rye and Russian pumpernickel breads, chala, strudels and bagels.

Continue down the street to Fono’s, 375 N. Beverly Drive. Many claim this is the best gelateria in town. Eighteen gelatos, made in San Francisco, come in flavors like mango, pear, raspberry, and gianduia (chocolate and hazelnut). And with no shame whatsoever, Fono’s also features Aphrodite chocolates, made locally. The glass case displays truffles, cakes, turtles, haystacks, toffees and other sweets.

A Good Rest Stop

By now, you’ll probably need to rest a while. A good rest stop is the coffee bar of The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf at 361 N. Beverly Drive. You can sample the fresh-ground and brewed coffee or teas with bran muffins, shortbreads and Gertie’s cheesecake. They’ll wrap up a variety of gift baskets and boxes of gourmet coffees and teas for you to take home.

Another potential stopping point, just down the street, is Graffeo Coffee Roasting Co., 315 N. Beverly Drive. Headquartered in San Francisco, this small gourmet coffee store roasts coffee beans on the premises--in state-of-the-art equipment behind a glass wall--for its one unique blend. You can order the dark roast, light roast, or decaffeinated. And, you can sample on request.

At the corner of Dayton Way, you’ll find Il Fornaio at 301 N. Beverly Drive. Specializing in regional Italian bakery items, the store and restaurant offer fresh-baked breads, cookies, pastries, cakes and fruit tortas. With notice, all can be baked to order and gift wrapped.

Return to Beverly Drive and walk to La Maison du Caviar at 268. Recently opened by its Parisian namesake, this restaurant specializes in caviar and Norwegian smoked salmon. But you can order any of the four varieties of caviar, the salmon, or champagnes “to go” from the display case. La Maison also creates gift baskets ranging in price from $35 to $500; they will deliver free within a 15-mile radius.

Walk to the corner of Beverly Drive and Wilshire Boulevard and look back at the Islamic-styled structure at 206 N. Beverly Drive. Designed in 1925 by L.A. Smith as the city’s first movie palace, the mosque-like building now ironically houses the Israeli Discount Bank.

Eagles, Chevrons, Patterns

At 9441 Wilshire Boulevard rises a Zigzag Moderne office building cloaked in beige terra cotta. The stepped eight-story tower is highlighted with two stylized eagles and panels of chevrons and geometric patterns.

The city’s classic Zigzag Moderne structure, however, is the Beverly Theater at 9404 Wilshire Boulevard. Designed by B. Marcus Priteca in 1931 as the Warner Theater, it features a dramatic Deco sunburst in its main hall.

Stroll west to the Beverly Wilshire Hotel at 9500 Wilshire Blvd. Designed by Walker & Eisen and constructed in 1928 at a cost of $3 million, the eight-story hotel faces Rodeo Drive. Note its Italian Renaissance--Beaux Arts style and its Churrigueresque details.

Continue walking west to Gumps at 9560 Wilshire. Cross Wilshire and stroll north on Camden Drive to what many connoisseurs consider the world’s finest chocolatier: Teuscher at the corner of Brighton Way and Camden Drive. Each week the chocolates are flown in fresh from Zurich. Some people visit just to savor the shop’s specialty, the Champagne Truffle, with a Dom Perigon cream center. Also popular are its butter crunch and cocoa truffles, the assorted marzipan, forentines and the dipped fruit. Bright holiday decorations and hand-crafted gift boxes fill the shop. At $32 a pound, the truffles should please the most discriminating chocoholic.

Once outside, note the buildings at the intersection of Brighton Way and Camden Drive. At the northeast and southeast corners stand two handsome Spanish Colonial Revival commercial buildings, with arched openings, decorative wrought iron details and tiled roofs. A five-story, Churrigueresque-inspired medical building anchors the northwest corner.

SoHo-ish New Wave Diner

Walk west on Brighton Way and turn left on Bedford Drive, passing the Ginger Man at 369. Turn right on Wilshire to Napoleon French Pastry and Tea Room at 9667 1/2 Wilshire, a charming patisserie. One of the better breakfast cafes in town, the Beverly Hills Breakfast Club, is at 9671 Wilshire. The 1930s, ‘50s and ‘80s collide in this SoHo-ish New Wave diner.

Cross Wilshire Boulevard and enter Neiman Marcus. On the first floor you’ll find an impressive selection of confections. Yoku Moku, the best-selling cookie in Japan, has arrived at Neiman’s; its six varieties of French-inspired cookies are sold individually or in decorative metal boxes. On the other side of the display area, you can purchase a variety of gourmet treats, including Jim Terry’s fudges, Gena’s brownies, Godiva and Newhaus Belgian chocolates, Barringer’s candies and IntiMints.

‘Pedestrian Friendly’

Cross Wilshire again, walk east on Brighton Way and turn left up Bedford Drive. This block, lined with royal palms and brick buildings, is one of the most pleasant and peaceful lanes in Beverly Hills, due in part to its “pedestrian friendly” parking structures. With curved glass-encased stairwells, setbacks, hanging plants and street level shops, the brick parking structure at 461 must be the most beautiful in the state.

Turn right on Little Santa Monica Boulevard and explore Kron Chocolatier at 9529. Its specialties include assorted truffles, chocolate dipped fresh fruit and molded chocolate blocks shaped as legs, torsos, telephones, bears, and cowboy boots. Kron also offers oven-fresh cookies and rich ice creams.

Continue on Little Santa Monica to the city’s mythic street, Rodeo Drive, and turn right towards the Beverly Wilshire Hotel. This short section of Rodeo Drive provides some of the best window shopping, people watching and ice cream eating in the world. Enter the Rodeo Collection at 429 Rodeo Drive and explore Robin Rose, whose raspberry chocolate truffle ice cream has become something of a legend. The blazing neon sign lists its other liqueur flavors, including Cointreau Orange, Bailey’s Irish Cream and Frangelico Hazelnut.

Continue your promenade down Rodeo Drive to the hotel, cross the street and return on the other side to (ixi:z) at 474 N. Rodeo Drive. In the rear of this newly opened men’s shop, you’ll find (H2O--), the country’s only bar devoted exclusively to selling water, in the form of bottled waters from around the world. After all the calories, it’s time to relieve your guilt and sample one of the 68 varieties of domestic and imported waters bargain priced at $1 or $2 a bottle. First decide on either sparkling or non-sparkling water and then choose from the extensive menu, which includes Canadian glacial, Hawaiian artesian, Irish spring, Russian, and Chinese waters. When you’ve satisfied both your thirst and your conscience, congratulate yourself for completing this epicurean marathon.