Dueling addresses:An urban folk tale we heard...
Dueling addresses:
An urban folk tale we heard years ago held that there were some freelance curb-painters in the city who would paint your home address even if you refused to pay them. The only catch is, they’d leave an incorrect number. We didn’t believe it until our colleague Paul Dean showed us the job a crew did outside his dwelling in Woodland Hills.
L.A.’S THE PLACE! To our list of geographical movie lines, Steven Gourley of Culver City adds this exchange from the 1967 private-eye movie “Harper,” starring Paul Newman and Lauren Bacall.
Newman: “Your husband is mixed up with some pretty bad people.”
Bacall: “How bad?”
Newman: “As bad as there is in L.A. . . . and that’s as bad as there is.”
Gourley adds: “Of course, that’s a lot worse than anyone in Culver City.”
Note: Gourley is the mayor of Culver City.
VODKA, ORANGE JUICE AND BAKERSFIELD: In honor of its 90th anniversary, the California Restaurant Assn. saluted 90 “innovators and innovations” in this state in its newsletter. The local birthplaces of some institutions may surprise you.
* Margarita cocktail, Tail O’ the Cock, L.A., circa 1955
* Harvey Wallbanger cocktail, Pancho’s Bar, Manhattan Beach, late 1960s
* Valet parking, Lawry’s, L.A., 1946
* “Doggie” bags for leftovers, Lawry’s, 1938
* Zombie cocktail, Don the Beachcomber, Hollywood, 1930s
* Orange Julius drink, Willard Hamlin’s lunch counter, L.A., 1926
* Mai tai cocktail, Trader Vic’s, Oakland, 1944
* Hot fudge sundaes, C.C. Brown’s, L.A., 1906
* Ranch salad dressing, Hidden Valley Ranch, Santa Barbara, 1950s
* Screwdriver cocktail, Bakersfield, date unknown
It’s a shame that the identity of the Bakersfield mixologist is lost to history. He deserves a toast.
POLITICIANS IN A POKE: The issue before the L.A. City Council was whether to continue to restrict potbellied pigs to agricultural and industrial zones.
City Council President John Ferraro asked for one of “the potbellied members of the council” to move to postpone the vote. Then Ferraro added, “Mr. [Rudy] Svorinich does,” an unfair jab since the Harbor-area councilman isn’t particularly paunchy. Nevertheless, the issue was referred back to the Planning and Land Use Management Committee for more study.
Referring to the levity, Councilman Joel Wachs said: “Remember that the next time you eat a BLT.”
miscelLAny The restaurant association also includes the category of waiters “identifying themselves” to diners. It says that the phenomenon started in the 1960s but does not say where. Our hunch is that it knows but wants to protect the culprits who initiated this distressing trend. On the other hand, the custom has provided some good comedy material. You may recall the gunman in Steve Martin’s film “L.A. Story,” who confronts a couple on the street and says, “Hi! I’m Bob and I’ll be your robber today!”