Connie and Ted are all about fish.
They have opened an upscale fish restaurant on the spot where the iconic Silver Spoon restaurant stood on Santa Monica Boulevard. It is always jam-packed on weekends, the only days they are open for lunch. It could be the crab cakes, it could be the sole, it could be the lobster roll that brings the customers in.
But I believe it is David.
He is a young, up-and-coming actor, working (as so many of them do) as a waiter. However, he never gives attitude or considers himself too grand for the work as others of his ilk do. He is pleasant, engaging, shares light laughter with his patrons and has a boy-next-door quality that makes one feel downright neighborly. One day an agent is going to come into the restaurant, be as charmed as most patrons of Connie & Ted’s are by David, and his career will then begin with a non-stop upward-bound trajectory that would put Haley’s Comet and Chad Michael Murray into the shade.
I asked David 10 questions.
Was Los Angeles what you expected when you arrived here from New Jersey?
That question reminds me of the “high on life” moment I experienced the morning my girlfriend and I set out on the road for our cross-country trip to Los Angeles to start a new life. She was driving and it suddenly hit me—I was finally fulfilling my dream to move to L.A. All of a sudden I was stoned! Naturally high! I just started to laugh—ya know, that kind of laughter that is so overwhelming it almost hurts. Like when you were a kid. I had my head out the window and was screaming at the top of my lungs with joy. It was the best feeling I ever felt. So yes, Los Angeles was what I expected—perhaps even more. The weather was perfect. Palm trees lined Sunset Boulevard, and there was nothing but endless possibilities ahead of me. Best decision of my life.
Describe your perfect day.
Morning coffee (cream and two sugars). A big lunch. Sexy nap with my lady—same one I arrived in Los Angeles with. Long drive somewhere. Our favorite song on the radio ("Bittersweet Symphony" by The Verve). The sun is setting the way I like it, and the car windows are open. A nice restaurant with good bread. Bottle of wine (Montepulciano d’Abruzzo.) Great conversation about life and what it means. Dance party back at home. Another sexy nap with my lady.
The day you looked (and felt) your best?
This was recently. My girlfriend and I have spent 10 passionate and crazy years together, sometimes off and sometimes on (hey, we are human after all.) I had made reservations for us at Mozza. My barber had just given me a fresh look (short with a side parting) and I was in a black Varvatos suit. I could see in her eyes that she was impressed and turned on by me. I’m going to marry that girl!
Your best friend?
My best friend is Brian Eldridge. He is a great guy, and I am thrilled that he is in my corner. Whenever he tells a story he always has to say the year it happened and the girl he was seeing at the time. “Yeah, I went to that restaurant—it was in ’06. I was dating this chick with long legs and great big breasts. She was 5’7”. Remember?” I say yes, even if I don’t remember. Brian makes me smile.
Your first memory?
I was young. Probably 4. My father worked as a bartender. He would come home early in the morning or late at night. He would wake me up when it was still dark out. We would drive to the top of a hill somewhere in West Orange, New Jersey, and watch the sunrise. Then we would go out to breakfast and eat 'pannycakes.' That’s what I called them back then. We would bring home bagels for my sisters and my mother. I knew even at that young age that this was something very special. It was father and son bonding, and a tradition to be passed on.
Your greatest fear?
My greatest fear is not being able to provide for my future family.
Your favorite 'hang-out' place?
I dunno. I just like it when my best buddies from home are either out here or I’m home visiting and we’re just lounging on the couch cracking jokes and being a bunch of stooges. Talking about where we’re gonna eat next.
Who is your greatest influence, and why?
That’s a tough one, but I’m gonna say Zach Braff. He wrote, directed, scored and starred in the 2004 movie Garden State. I related to that film in every single way possible. he story, and the story behind the story and how he got it made. That was my dream, and some guy from Jersey just like me did it. I always knew I was born to be an actor/film maker. Garden State proved it could be possible. I knew what I had to do, but it would still be another four years, a BA in business and a whole lot of running from fear before I would go for it. Now it’s four years later and I’m in it and I’m here. Sometimes I wish I never saw that movie. [Laughs]
Your favorite time of day?
Magic hour. The hour before the sun sets—on my day off, especially in the fall, which happens to be my favorite season. The sky is pink and orange and blue. There is a chill in the air, a slight breeze—sweater weather. And I’ve got no place else to be.
Boxers or briefs?
Boxer briefs. I like the ones from GAP.