HEMISPHERE
ROVING GOURMET:
LOS ANGELES

Wannabe LA screenwriters may struggle to get a foot in the door, but not at breakfast; LA's restaurants serving a.m. fare are premier places to meet and eat. And don't worry if your screenplay is on the back burner -- all you need to make the scene at any of these hip eateries is an appetite and an autograph book.

It's been said that screenwriters are a dime a dozen in Los Angeles. Everyone, it seems, is working on the great American screenplay. What separates the would-be screenwriters from the successful ones is the subject of much debate: Talent, tenacity, and, surely, a healthy Rolodex all figure into the picture. But for both novice and established screenwriters, breakfast in Los Angeles is an important meal -- a time when copious amounts of coffee and stick-to-your-ribs fare get you prepared for creative morning hours of polishing dialogue, perfecting scenes, stretching character arcs, or perhaps even bumping into the key contact that can make it happen.

Tracking the screenwriting process -- from plunging into Act I to getting an agent and hopefully signing a deal -- is a path easily traced in the city's breakfast joints. From affordable fueling stations where screenwriters hash out ideas to serene settings optimal for deal-making, many argue that more drama is found over breakfast in Los Angeles than in the scripts under discussion. For screenwriters and mere mortals alike, however, morning meals in Los Angeles are a prime opportunity to witness how the power meal has morphed from a three-martini lunch to a two-egg breakfast.