Mishap Pokes a Hole in One Man’s Vision of a Landmark
“Living here in La Puente,” began the note from Donald Bentley, “you can imagine I was quite alarmed to discover that someone took a bite out of our town’s only internationally known landmark. Apparently some sweet-toothed giant is on the loose” (see photo).
I could understand Bentley’s concern. The nearly half-century-old Donut Hole has been featured in such tomes as Jim Heimann’s “California Crazy” architecture book. Local lore holds that it brings good luck to newlyweds who drive through.
I checked and found out the shop is open and thriving -- and the damage wasn’t the work of a giant (or speeding newlyweds), but a lone driver.
Said Bentley: “The worst thing is now I discover that there never was any filling within this, my favorite doughnut.”
Unreal estate: Today’s showings (see accompanying) include:
* A house with a very amusing air conditioning system (David Terlinden of Long Beach).
* A dandy place for someone who would “opt for additional closet space in lieu of indoor plumbing,” as Howard Williams of Oxnard put it.
* A couple of prospective renters who are very attentive, especially in regard to certain fumes.
Argument au jus: The L.A. Business Journal recounted the beef between Cole’s P.E. Buffet and Philippe the Original, downtown L.A.’s two 96-year-old landmarks, over who invented the French dip sandwich.
Cole’s says it introduced the concoction just after opening in 1908, when a customer “asked the cook to dip his bread in the meat’s juice because it was too tough on his gums.” Philippe contends that it unveiled the dish in 1918 when founder Philippe Mathieu “accidentally dropped sandwich bread into the hot juice at the bottom of a beef-roasting pan.” The customer, a cop, said he’d take it anyway; he liked it so much he brought a bunch of pals back the next day for more of the same.
Alas, no records of the two incidents exist, so historians are in a pickle.
“We don’t have a French dip department,” a city historian told the Business Journal.
miscelLAny: Al Klukis of L.A. was one of several readers who noticed eerily similar headlines in The Times last Saturday:
* “Smarty Jones Races for Place in History.”
* “Governor to Help Jones in Race.”
Gov. Schwarzenegger’s interest, however, is not Smarty but Bill, a Republican warhorse who is trying to unseat incumbent Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer. Right now, the polls indicate that Bill, like Smarty, will finish second in his race.
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Steve Harvey can be reached at (800) LATIMES, Ext. 77083, by mail at Metro, L.A. Times, 202 W. 1st St., L.A. 90012, and by e-mail at steve.harvey@latimes.com.
