Frommer’s local travel guide says, “Los Angeles...

Frommer’s local travel guide says, “Los Angeles ‘91-’92,” on the cover. Or is that “ ‘51-’52”? The chapter on dining lists 50 acceptable L.A. restaurants. Guess how many are in the San Fernando Valley?

One (Sportsmen’s Lodge in Studio City).

You can almost hear the eruption of sacre bleus coming from French chefs along Ventura Boulevard.

The Valley’s hotel industry didn’t fare much better, either, receiving three of the 34 mentions in the guidebook.

Someone did tell Frommer’s about Universal Studios, though.

List of the Day:

Some surviving pioneer eateries of L.A.:

1--Cole’s, downtown L.A., established 1908.

2--Philippe’s, downtown L.A., 1908.

3--Musso and Frank, Hollywood, 1919.

4--Vickman’s, downtown L.A., 1919.

5--Pacific Dining Car, downtown L.A., 1921.

6--Tam O’Shanter, Los Feliz, 1922.

7--The Original Pantry Cafe, downtown L.A., 1924.

8--Marcus Steak House, downtown L.A., 1924.

9--Man Fook Low, downtown L.A., 1926.

10--(tie) Les Freres Taix, mid-town L.A., 1927.

10--El Cholo, mid-town L.A., 1927.

The oldest in the Valley, by the way, is believed to be Sierra’s in San Fernando (1937).

You may recall that, a few months ago, we reported how the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce received a letter from a certain Princess Thekla von Stett-Vasary, who proposed acquiring the landmark HOLLYWOOD sign.

She explained that she wanted it “for my Caribbean island, from where the 50-foot high letters, properly illuminated, could be seen from afar, becoming a landmark for all visiting tourists.” (And becoming a mighty challenge for Caltech students, who like to alter the letters.)

But now comes the current issue of Spy magazine, recounting how several celebrities were duped into corresponding with an admitted hoaxer who used the name . . . Princess Thekla von Stett-Vasary. Her/his real name was not revealed.

And all this time we’d assumed that the sign had been packed off to the Caribbean.

We hadn’t seen it for months until Wednesday, when it became visible on Mt. Lee because of a rare, local atmospheric condition known as “clear skies.”

Always nice to hear from Woody Allen of North Hollywood, who wrote: “Thank you for including me in your list of (L.A. city) dogs named for movie celebrities.”

The letter, which was actually typed by Woody’s owner, Mitchie Merkelson, continued: “I am a German shepherd mix. . . . In June, I will be 13 years old, which should qualify me for a bar mitzvah. But where, oh where can I find a canine rabbi?”

miscelLAny:

A motion picture process developed by alumni of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology was given the name Technicolor in honor of MIT.