Curry? Cake? Just Look at What Award-Winning Spam Can Do

Hello. My name is Steve and I’ll be your server of items today.

Let me begin by telling you that in the Spam Recipe Contest at the L.A. County Fair, Peggy Linberg of Upland won the adult competition with her delectable Delhi Delight (Spam curry), while Brice Sitz of Covina, 9, finished first in the kids’ division with scrumptious Spook Spam Spider Deviled Eggs.

And, for dessert: Katie Carter, 8, of Lakewood captured third place with mouthwatering Chocolate Spam Snack Cake.

I’d have dug into the cake but, alas, I’m trying to cut down on snacks.

Spam (cont.): The county fair recipe contest, by the way, has attracted national recognition.

A few years ago, Harper’s Index paired these two items: “First prize awarded the creator of Savory Spam Cheesecake at the L.A. County Fair’s Spam Recipe Contest last year: $100.

“Price of a full halitosis-prevention exam and follow-up at the California Breath Center in Los Angeles: $450.”

Not idyllic Coronado! Betsy Campbell and William Krisel each sent me clips of an arresting headline in the Coronado Eagle and Journal (see accompanying).

Law and order hasn’t broken down there. The city has just promoted veteran cop Paul Crook to the top job.

Columnist Diane Bell of the San Diego Union-Tribune recalled that when Imperial Beach had a police officer named Jack Hook, locals used to warn: If you speed in Imperial Beach or Coronado, “you’re apt to get caught by Hook or by Crook.”

You can say that again: While visiting the Lake Siskiyou area of Northern California, Mary Kennelly of Diamond Bar somehow got the idea that pets weren’t warmly welcomed (see photo).

A place where you can cry in your beer: Don Stevens of Camarillo noticed that the wording in one proposed lease agreement gave the impression that “the Alcoholic Beverage Commission requires a license if you want to share your complaints with your bartender” (see accompanying).

Such a deal: Otto Ross, sharp-eyed at 92, pointed out that a real estate agent has priced one Long Beach property at more than $1 million, though apparently admitting the house is liable to crumble at any time (see accompanying). And it was only built in 1991!

miscelLAny: Yes, it’s true -- Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s numbers are down. “The Govenator,” a $12.95 Halloween mask bearing his likeness, was marked down 30% at one Longs Drugs I visited. Not sure whether that’s a compliment or an insult.

Steve Harvey can be reached at (800) LATIMES, Ext. 77083, by fax at (213) 237-4712, by mail at Metro, L.A. Times, 202 W. 1st St., L.A. 90012, and by e-mail at steve.harvey@latimes.com.