Perking Up at Lizards : Quest for the perfect bean blends poetry, art and caffeine

Some people seek the Holy Grail. For Clinton Oie and John Gonzales of Hollywood, only the perfect coffee bean will do.

Their quest took them on a one-year, cross-country trip through the United States, where they toured cappuccino bars from Akron to Walla Walla, stalking caffeine Nirvana and taking copious notes.

When they returned to Hollywood several months ago flush with knowledge, they opened Lizards Coffeehouse.

Lizards, which lies along the decidedly untrendy and industrial stretch of Santa Monica Boulevard east of Cahuenga Boulevard--just around the corner from the old Lhasa Club--bills itself as a low-key alternative to Gasoline Alley on Melrose Avenue or the Pik-Me-Up Cafe in the Fairfax district.

“We have people come in off the street who say it looks like a New York or San Francisco kind of place,” said Oie, obviously pleased with the comparison. Amid the drabness of the street, their sign, a 10-foot-long electric green neon lizard that curls around the storefront--exerts a reptilian lure.

And inside this saurian lounge?

“We wanted it to be a sort of high-class Pee-wee’s Playhouse,” Oie said.

As a result, the ambiance is jumbled like the sitting room of your favorite aunt, but a decidedly hip aunt. There are high-tech cafe tables and track lighting, an Oriental rug and futon couch juxtaposed against Queen Anne chairs and pink, 1960s butterfly chairs.

The decor attracts an equally mixed crowd of employees from the nearby film processing studios, theatergoers and performers from the Attic Theater across the street, and night crawlers who arrive after the 2 a.m. clubs close.

“One guy came in with a giant iguana perched on his shoulder,” Oie said.

Like many contemporary coffeehouses, the walls feature a rotating show of art that’s for sale. The partners are also beginning to schedule events with local theaters and envision weekly readings of writers such as Dorothy Parker. They already host open poetry readings Monday nights.

“Mainly I want it to be people who aren’t established. I’m partial to students,” said Oie, a former student and theater actor.

Perhaps that’s why the two partners took such a studious approach to starting their first business. Gonzales found work at Coffee Emporium, a coffee distributing business, where he stayed for six months to learn the ins and outs of Kenyan beans and the difference between Colombian and French roasts.

And on their trip around the continental United States, the duo cased coffee joints in many cities. One of their favorites was Seattle, which they found had the right blend of form and substance--cool on the outside, but with easygoing character--and an intellectual yet casual atmosphere.

At Lizards, the emphasis is on the casual.

Tunes by Jean Michael Jarre, ragtime and sound tracks from movies such as “Cabaret” and “The Last Emperor” flavor airspace along with the aroma of just-ground coffee beans.

The bar also serves fresh-squeezed orange juice, a variety of mineral waters, tea and soft drinks as well as desserts catered by La Mousse in West Los Angeles. Those include lemon torte, German chocolate cake and white-out cake (a coconut covered, custard-and-apricot filled concoction). Prices are reasonable: Espresso is $1, cappuccino $1.50, most desserts $2.50.

Oie, who was born in England, recently kicked off a Lizards High Tea for $12 on weekends that includes sausage rolls, water crackers with chicken-liver pate, ham and cucumber finger sandwiches, and lemon tea cakes.

Like most coffeehouses, this one stays open for the night hawks. Hours are 4:30 p.m. to 3 a.m., but the duo said they’ll stay as late as the patrons want--the record so far is 5:30 a.m.

Lizards, 6545 Santa Monica Blvd., Hollywood. (213) 962-1889. Open from 4:30 p.m. to whenever Thursdays through Mondays. Cash only.