Will the restaurant be held in contempt...

Will the restaurant be held in contempt of chorizo?

Superior Court Judge Lance A. Ito stars in the most popular TV series in America. And he’s a resident of Pasadena. So perhaps it’s no surprise that he would have a dish named after him by a Pasadena eatery.

No telling how the judge will react to the use of his name by Burrito Express. But it does raise an interesting question: Who is Ito’s attorney?

And, for that matter, who is the Dancing Itos’ attorney?

L.A.’s BREAKAWAY REPUBLIC: The movie, “Usual Suspects,” has a big shootout at the L.A. Harbor. And you know who’s called in to investigate? The “San Pedro Police Department.” Another slap at the LAPD? Or has San Pedro followed through on its perennial threat of defecting from L.A.?

THAT’S ABOUT THE SIZE OF IT: In connection with the proliferating number of local doctors who offer “penile-enlargement surgery,” we mentioned that F. Scott Fitzgerald was once told by wife Zelda that he was under-equipped. And Fitzgerald then sought assurances from Ernest Hemingway.

M. A. Cavanaugh of L.A. writes to say that the episode is recalled by Hemingway in “A Moveable Feast”:

“You’re perfectly fine,’ I [Hemingway] said. “You are O.K. There’s nothing wrong with you. You look at yourself from above and you look foreshortened. Go over to the Louvre and look at the people in the statues and then go home and look at yourself in the mirror in profile.”

“Those statues may not be accurate.”

“They are pretty good. Most people settle for them.”

L.A. AND THE CHARACTERS ISSUE: To celebrate L.A.’s 214th anniversary, which was Monday (as you no doubt knew), we consulted some early histories of the city. It was intriguing to discover that street people, so much a part of city life today, were by no means unknown to the City of Angels of the 1870s.

One of the most colorful characters was “Colonel” Shaw, who was often seen striding about town, trying to find someone to look at the various plans he carried for huge architectural projects.

On one occasion, Shaw decided to advertise for a mail bride, and he found a taker. When his betrothed arrived from the East, Shaw showed her where he lived--under a tree. As historian William Spalding put it, “The ghastly truth dawned on the deluded woman” and she left town soon afterward. Thereafter, Shaw didn’t try to share his tree with anyone.

miscelLAny Charlton Heston, you may recall, chose the name for his recently published autobiography, “In the Arena,” after asking fans to submit suggestions. Reader Carlo Panno points out that “In the Arena” was also the name of a memoir by Richard Nixon. Perhaps Heston will be more careful when he writes his autobiography again. Again? Well, he’s already composed two autobiographies. His first one, written in 1978, was called, “An Actor’s Life.” We don’t think Nixon used that one.