Malibu May Be Burning Its Plywood Behind It

Dennis Drissi of Oxnard was watching a Fox TV reality show, “The Complex: Malibu,” in which competing couples renovate a condominium complex under the watchful eyes of judges.

“One couple,” Drissi reports, “was reprimanded for using plywood! A judge said, ‘Malibu and plywood don’t go together. Maybe in Oxnard.’ ” To which Drissi replies: “Well, Malibu, don’t look to Oxnard for plywood when El Nino returns, the winter storms start, and the waves are crashing in....”

Unclear on the concept: Scott Schneider noticed that a ticket to a movie screening contained a redundant reference to “infants” (see accompanying). Unless it referred to Hollywood folks who act like babies.

Unreal estate: In a local city (not Oxnard), Glen Nock spotted a really open house (see photo).

I knew L.A. was multicultural in several areas but ... : Manhole covers? Just look at the evidence uncovered by Jerry Trent of Studio City (see photo).

Chew on this: I’m still digesting the new book “Schott’s Food and Drink Miscellany” and came upon a section titled “Epicurean Eponyms,” about dishes and drinks named after people.

Author Ben Schott mentions that the sandwich, for instance, may have been named after John Montagu, fourth Earl of Sandwich (1718-1792).

Some of you may recall Woody Allen’s essay of years ago in which he wondered how much experimentation by Montagu went into this wondrous creation. Did he first try one piece of bread inside two pieces of meat? Or perhaps one piece of meat inside two other pieces of meat?

By the way, Schott says that Montagu’s snack was created in order “to facilitate simultaneous eating and gambling.” (Men obviously haven’t changed over the intervening centuries.)

Epicurean eponyms (cont.): Sadly, I must add that Schott left out a few dishes named for locals, including:

* The Cobb salad, a favorite of Brown Derby owner Bob Cobb in the 1930s.

* The Caesar salad, said to have been concocted by hotelier Caesar Cardini in Tijuana in 1924; he later moved his operation to L.A.

* The Shirley Temple and Roy Rogers kids’ drinks (circa 1940s).

* And the Orange Julius, named after juice stand operator Julius Freed in 1926, though it was the drink’s inventor, Bill Hamlin, who went on to open Orange Julius stores across the nation.

miscelLAny: Whether the Harvey Wallbanger cocktail carries the name of its inventor seems to be lost in a cloud of alcohol fumes. Pancho’s Bar in Manhattan Beach and the Office in Newport Beach both have been cited as its birthplace in the 1960s or ‘70s.

One story holds that the drink honors “a surfer named Harvey [who] liked his screwdrivers spiked with Galliano and, after a hard day, had one too many and walked into a wall.”

It’s not this Harvey, by the way. I would never indulge in such behavior. After one attempt in the 1960s, I swore off surfing for life.

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.