Kamala Harris Frequently Dines at $300,000-a-Year Club, Neighbors Claim

Kamala Harris’ dining preferences in Los Angeles are attracting attention, as locals observe her frequent visits to the exclusive Hillcrest Country Club and the beloved local Mexican restaurant chain, El Cholo.

A recent report in The Wall Street Journal highlights the vice president’s life in Los Angeles, where she and her husband, Doug Emhoff, reside in a $2.7 million, 3,500-square-foot home in the Brentwood area. Beyond the posh country club, neighbors have taken note of her apparent fondness for El Cholo.

The initiation fee at Hillcrest currently stands at $300,000, according to a source familiar with the club’s membership, who spoke to The Daily Beast on condition of anonymity. Monthly dues tally up to $2,300, amounting to $27,600 annually.

Emhoff, an accomplished entertainment lawyer before assuming his duties as Second Gentleman, has long been a member of the historically Jewish country club. The Hollywood Reporter mentioned that in 2011, the initiation fee was $185,000, suggesting Emhoff likely paid less than today’s rates. Established in 1920, the club has a storied history with Hollywood icons like Al Jolson and Milton Berle among its regulars.

Attempts to contact Hillcrest’s general manager for comment were unsuccessful. Reached by phone, a club employee mentioned unavailability.

The club offers a range of amenities, including an 18-hole golf course, tennis courts, an Olympic-size swimming pool, and a fitness center. The club’s website notes specific dress codes, prohibiting women from wearing shirts referencing sex, drugs, alcohol, tobacco, or social or political statements on the tennis courts. However, it makes no such stipulation for men, who are instructed not to wear shirts with wording unless designed for tennis.

For dining, the club features five different venues—The Grill, The Patio, The Lounge, the Courtside Café, and the Poolside Café—though only the first three offer dinner. Prices are not listed on the dinner menus, which include starters like oysters and shrimp cocktails and main courses like miso sake black cod and wagyu flat iron steak. The Wall Street Journal did not indicate any preferred menu items for Harris.

On the other hand, El Cholo offers a more accessible dining experience. The chain has six locations in Los Angeles and one in Salt Lake City, with one outpost in Santa Monica, conveniently close to Harris and Emhoff’s residence.

Despite the focus on where the vice president and the Second Gentleman dine, some neighbors express frustration. One neighbor told The Journal that it’s “very annoying” living next to America’s Second Family, while another jested, “I will vote for her if she agrees to sell her house.”

These complaints aren’t personal but rather stem from the increasing security measures around Harris’ home. The security radius is expected to grow larger and more stringent if she ascends to the presidency.

Read more at The Daily Beast.

Source: The Wall Street Journal, The Hollywood Reporter