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As we all know, Hollywood was once neck-deep in a sordid love affair with Tijuana. But the drive was long. And Hollywood stars don't take pit stops at just any ol' gas station. Big shots like Bing Crosby and Clark Gable were itching for a last steak and whiskey stop before crossing the border into vice land. So big shots convinced their friend, Marcel Lamaze, who owned a steak restaurant on Sunset Boulevard, to try out the hospitality business a little further south. Thus in 1940, National City’s Café La Maze was born.

Or so the lore goes. Others tell the story a little differently. You can read an article about the murky history of the Cafe here.

But more than a half-century later, star presence or not, La Maze still has that old school feel that should draw the likes of a Red Fox Room crowd. Big circular booths give a cozy, private ambiance to each table where a clean cut crew (with tattoos hidden under their sleeves) take orders of steak and potatoes. Soup, salad and seafood items like shrimp, lobster and the standard surf and turf flush out the menu that hasn't changed in more than 20 years. Black and white photos of old time Hollywood stars adorn the red and gold wall papered walls just to remind you who shared these seats before you.

After being bought by the owners of North Park hipster haunt Bluefoot, La Maze seems to be enjoying new popularity in the arts crowd. Local bands play around 9 p.m. to 10 p.m. Tuesday nights next to the bar.

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