OPEN: 1977–2002
LOCATION: 1342 N. Highland Avenue Hollywood, CA 90028
ORIGINAL PHONE: (213) 462-0297
CUISINE: American
DESIGN: M. Jensen
BUILDING STYLE: 1940s House
CURRENTLY: Hampton Arms Condominium Complex
PAUL NEWMAN FAMOUSLY LOVED TO COOK FOR HIS FAMILY AND FRIENDS. In the late 1970s, while having dinner with his friend, writer and artist Ron Buck, Newman boasted about his restaurant-worthy hamburgers. Buck told Newman that he had recently inherited his mother’s old house, a property that sat on the busy Highland Avenue in Hollywood, between Sunset Boulevard and Fountain Avenue. Newman and Buck collaborated to transform the Highland Avenue property into a restaurant that they named Hamptons, which opened in 1977.
The restaurant soon became a popular hangout for industry professionals. It felt homey, with maple wood chairs that looked as if they belonged in your grandmother’s kitchen, and an enormous old tree dominating the enclosed patio. On the far side of the restaurant was a big, round table used by writers during their working lunches. Actors and anyone with an industry union card automatically received a ten percent discount, while known agents got a ten percent surcharge.
The burgers at Hamptons were truly deluxe. They could be made with the customer’s choice of beef, turkey, or a variety of exotic meats including wild game, ostrich, and bison, plus a variety of thirty-four different toppings ranging from peanut butter to caviar. The menu boasted twenty-eight different burgers. The Golden Kazoo Burger had mushrooms, green onions cooked in red wine, and fresh broccoli with melted cheddar. The White Delight Burger was topped with bacon and covered in blue cheese. Frank’s Fantasy Burger was garnished with sour cream and caviar. My personal favorite was the Ménage à Trois, which included avocado, bacon, and cheese. Actor Phil Leeds, who had a regular table at the restaurant until he passed away in 1998, had a Hamptons burger named in his honor; it was discounted fifty percent for a full week after he died.
Hamptons on Highland Avenue, 1998.
Each burger at Hamptons contained eight ounces of meat that was ground fresh a couple of times a day. The restaurant used a special broiler that cooked the bottom and top of the burger patties simultaneously, so the natural juices were sealed in. All the burgers were served with a choice of one of four side salads: German potato salad, green salad, grain salad, or pasta salad. At the time, the Los Angeles Times, Hollywood Reporter, and L.A. Weekly raved about the burgers at Hamptons, calling them the best in Los Angeles. Hamptons also served as the test kitchen for the Newman’s Own brand, which launched in 1982.
In 1978, William Hunter and William Countryman, friends of the Newman family from the East Coast who were known as “the Bills,” arrived in Los Angeles with a touring production of Cabaret. The Bills were frequent dinner guests in the Newman home. One night, they brought dessert with them, a new confection that was sweeping the nation: carrot cake with cream cheese icing. Paul and Joanne loved the carrot cake and asked the Bills if they would make a few for Hamptons. The cake soon became a regular item at the restaurant. The L.A. Times ran a story on this new dessert and named the Hamptons version the best in the city. At only a dollar a slice, it was packed with pineapple and pecans and smothered in icing.
After the Bills gave up the stage, they began making cakes full time, opening a bakery called the Cake Walk at 5859 Third Street that continued to sell their famous carrot cake. The Cake Walk also created the Pistachio Cream Sherry Cake featured at Scandia (see page 173). In the early 1980s, I was a Cake Walk employee, delivering desserts to Hamptons on the weekends.
Even as the restaurant changed owners and names (it evolved from Hamptons Hamburger Buffet, to Hamptons Hollywood, to Hamptons Hollywood Café) and moved to another location in Burbank, it continued to offer its extensive gourmet burger menu.
In 2002, the restaurant was closed and bulldozed, along with its famed tree, to make way for a condominium complex named Hampton Arms. The Newman’s Own brand has gone on to enormous success, raising more than $400 million for charity. 