October 2007 Archives

Did you know we have Pomona to thank for Halloween?

The ancient Celts celebrated their new year on Nov. 1, "when the world of the gods was believed to be made visible to mankind," a Reuters story on Halloween explains. This was known as Samhain.

When the Romans invaded Gaul and Britain in the 1st century A.D., the Romans assimilated Samhain into their day for Pomona, their goddess of fruit. And this in turn was blended into the Catholic Church day of observance for saints, known as All Hollows Eve, then All Hallows Eve, then Halloween.

So Pomona played a part in the creation of Halloween, and also in one tradition of the holiday.

Says Reuters: "Pomona's symbol is the apple which might explain the origin of bobbing for apples on Halloween."

What about the origin of eating candy until you're sick? I don't know who to scapegoat for that.

Sunday evening I ventured to the Claremont Laemmle to see the new Ang Lee movie, "Lust, Caution." This is the first NC-17 movie to play Claremont and the first such movie produced in several years. It got the rating for its sexual content.

Slightly furtively, a friend and I bought tickets, gave them to the ticket-tearer and took our seats. The theater was two-thirds full with people of all ages. I think I saw a former councilwoman but under the circumstances decided not to make direct eye contact.

The story is set in China in the 1940s when Japan controlled the country. A Chinese collaborator with the Japanese regime is targeted by a group of amateur patriots from a drama troupe. A woman from their group manages to get close to him. Very close. NC-17 close.

Honestly, this was a classy movie and the two or three sex scenes were uncomfortable to watch (on purpose) but not especially long -- at least not relative to a movie that lasts 2:48. I doubt it was as shocking as the torture-porn of the "Saw" and "Hostel" movies that somehow get R ratings.

While I liked "Lust, Caution," it moves at, shall we say, a stately pace, and I don't see myself watching it again. It's very well made, and worth watching, but perhaps more to be admired than loved. In its final week, it's playing just one show a day, at 5 p.m., and ends Thursday. So if you're motivated to see it, this is no time for caution.

Toward the end of my Flo's Cafe column on the women in the back who do all the baking, the pair said their bread pudding was something special. In print I expressed the desire to go back and try it sometime.

Well, three friends corraled me into hitting Flo's with them for a Friday lunch, to be followed by bread pudding. (It's made on alternate Thursdays; banana pudding is made the other weeks.) So we made the trek to Flo's, the one at the Chino Airport, on Merrill Avenue just east of Euclid Avenue.

I'll say upfront that I can take bread pudding or leave it. The Flo's version was tasty, though, and we agreed the bread was chewy, not soppy, and not too sweet. We asked the waitress how it's made, and she said the bread is actually the bakers' housemade cinnamon rolls. How about that?

Incidentally, the manager and I exchanged a wave from across the room midway through lunch. My guess is that she told our waitress that the writer of the Flo's column was at the table. I say this because as my retired friend Ken, who had bantered with her throughout the meal, paid the tab at the register, she told him, "That was a great article you did on us, and I liked your column a couple of days ago too." He had to tell her the writer was the guy standing over there.

I suppose she naturally assumed the writer must be the witty guy, not the quiet guy. Not the first time that's happened to your shy scribe. Oh well, as long as she likes my column...

Call me a crabby misanthrope if you must, but although I like street life, I hate street fairs, and seeing Claremont's streets overrun on Village Venture gives me the heebie-jeebies. I don't want a handcarved wooden duck, I don't want kountry klutter signs, I don't want pottery or informational brochures or beaded jewelry.

So as usual I high-tailed it out of town. I went to Glendale's lovely Alex Theater to see, of all things, "Creature From the Black Lagoon," in 3-D.

Everyone upon entry was handed paper glasses, with a blue lens for your left eye and a red lens for your right. Wearing these with actual glasses proved tricky but not impossible, and the 3-D effects were, well, effective: fish swimming right at us, harpoons headed our way, clawed man-fish hands groping off the screen and toward our faces. The whole thing was a hoot.

Unanswered question: Why do monsters always want our women? Frankenstein, Werewolf, King Kong, the Creature, they always find human women fascinating. Hey, me too, but aren't there werewomen, queen kongs and creaturettes for them to kidnap? Sheesh.

Anyway, it was the kind of afternoon I like, and if you went to Village Venture, hope you enjoyed it!!

My Oct. 7 and Oct. 18 columns on Xavier Alvarez, the non-war non-hero from Pomona, prompted a lengthy note from Steve Fletcher of Van Buren, Mich. I'm sharing it here in full because there's no way to squeeze all his comments, and his list, into a column:

"I'm now living in Michigan but I grew up in Pomona, and served in Viet Nam. I've been reading the articles about this individual who lied about his service and about being awarded the Medal of Honor.

"There are many of these frauds walking around now claiming to be Viet Nam heroes, there are even websites that have been created to expose them. When they are found out they're usually ostracized from society, some have even relocated and changed their names to escape the shame of what they've done.

"I don't understand how this guy can continue to serve in any civil position of responsiblility after they have clearly exposed him, and even have it on tape. I believe we should show our respect for those who have made the ultimate sacrifice by shunning these charlatans, and preventing them from obtaining positions of responsibility.

"It is in the memory of the following people that I write this to you. Maybe you can publish this list sometime, these are the REAL heroes from Pomona."

In a followup e-mail, Fletcher explained where he got the list: "The list was taken from the official Viet Nam wall list in Washington, DC. The list gives the 'home city of record' of each member, i.e., the city they designated as living in when they enlisted or were drafted (as I was). I would venture to guess that there are more people who were from Pomona who had relocated as did John Larimore before going in the service."

Click below to see the list of Pomona's Vietnam War dead, and draw from it what you will.

Did you read this week that La Verne is getting $400,000 from county transportation funds?

The money is for a system to monitor and adjust traffic lights on White and Bonita avenues and on Arrow Highway to keep traffic moving. As a taxpayer, I think I speak for everyone when I say: What a relief! Once downtown La Verne gets a handle on its hellish traffic, we can all sleep easier.

At last week's Rancho Cucamonga council meeting, a proclamation was given to Anthony's Italian Kitchen in honor of -- wait for it -- 10 years in business. Does a decade in young Rancho Cucamonga qualify you as historic?

Despite the arguably premature award, I had to admit I hadn't eaten at Anthony's, nor had I even heard of it. To erase my shame, I headed to the Albertsons shopping center on Milliken just below the 210 for lunch Monday to try it out. The center doesn't appear to be thriving. Anthony's is one of just two or three restaurants.

It's a real hole in the wall, with just four tables. Two were occupied by sheriff's deputies, who soon had to rush out on a call, and the other by a lone diner.

The walls are crowded with plaques from youth sports teams and testimonials from fans. A postcard from one admirer begins: "In the Last Judgment, Anthony's Pizza will sit at the right hand. It's that good!" The far wall (which isn't that far) has three video games and a pinball machine with a "Demolition Man" theme, a tie-in to the 1993 Sly Stallone-Sandra Bullock movie.

More deputies came in, and a steady stream of people arrived to pick up take-out orders, including a man with an eight-ball tattooed on his neck; I hope he had better luck with his meatball sub than with the rest of his life. The lone diner told me I looked familiar and asked if I'm a writer. I replied that I write for the Daily Bulletin and my picture is in the paper. "Brewster?" he inquired. Stifling a sob, I gave him my name, and he said he likes my work, although I'm wondering if he was complimenting me or Lou Brewster.

I'll tell you now that my gold standard is San Biagio's New York Pizza in Upland, where I always get the single slice, salad and soda combo, for $5.12. There is no single slice-salad combo at Anthony's, so to get a salad I got the No. 3 combo: two slices of cheese pizza, a salad and a soda, all for $6.89.

The Anthony's salad is very similar to Biagio's, being iceberg, shredded mozzarella, tomatoes and black olives. The pizza is similar too, thin crust with a lightly spiced sauce, but with (maybe) a bit more cheese, marginally thicker crust and a slightly wider cut.

Excellent stuff, and at first blush I'd rank Anthony's a close second to Biagio's for Inland Valley pizza. (If you prefer a medium or thick crust, you'll have your own opinions.) The menu includes a dozen specialty pizzas, hot and cold subs and a range of pastas.

I thank the Rancho Cucamonga council for tipping me off to a good restaurant, and hope Anthony's makes it another 10 years, and beyond.

Here's a belated, but still welcome, note from Bob Poff of San Dimas on a perennial topic:

"I have read with interest your reporting on Walter and Cordelia Knott and their connection to Pomona.

"Also on display at City Hall is an edition of the same sculpture that was awarded to John Wayne. Unfortunately he passed away before the presentation. Just thought you might like to know."

Thanks, Bob.

Unwittingly I participated in Lights Out LA, in which many county residents were encouraged to turn off at least one bulb between 8 and 9 p.m. Saturday, by going to the Claremont Forum from 8 to 10:30 p.m. for its first concert in its new home in the Packinghouse.

John York and Patrick Brayer, two Claremont fixtures, have performed together off and on for a decade. The duo shut down the Forum's longtime home on College Avenue a few months ago with a concert. (Because it was lightly attended, they did a second one.) Now they opened the new Forum musically.

Some 60 of us in folding chairs packed the place. York and Brayer performed in a portion of the room decorated with two floor lamps and a rug for a homey feel, York playing acoustic guitar, Brayer alternating between acoustic guitar, mandolin, violin and pedal steel.

They traded off lead vocal duties. Brayer did originals like "Freedumb" and "She's Pretty as Alcohol"; York covered "Walk Away, Renee" and "Highway 61 Revisited" and sang a few originals, including "The Earth is Getting Warmer," which he co-wrote with rock oddball Kim Fowley. He quipped that Fowley has a reputation as "the Darth Vader of rock."

The patter was friendly and warm, the musicianship sharp.

"We know there's other things you could be doing, so it's really cool that you're here," York said shortly before the final encore, a cover of "Go Now" (pertinent lyric: "We've already said goodbye...").

All in all, a fun evening, and one of those small-scale community events that makes you feel plugged in. Even when the lights are supposed to be off.

I trekked to L.A. Sunday to see "Blade Runner: The Final Cut" on its final weekend at its only location, the new Landmark theater at the Westside Pavilion. Great movie, obviously, except that even though I'm a fan who's seen its various iterations probably four previous times, I really couldn't tell you what was different about this version. Always good to see it on the big screen, though.

A few tidbits about life in "Blade Runner's" Los Angeles, 2019, that were noteworthy here in 2007:

1) It rains all the time; this is meant as oppressive, but compared to the past couple of bone-dry years, it was kind of pleasant;

2) Harrison Ford's character twice is seen reading actual newspapers, meaning yours truly may (whew!) be employed for a while yet;

3) Judging by the neon billboards, the defunct Pan Am company will be revived; and

4) The current downtown L.A. condo boom will be shortlived. J.F. Sebastian lives alone in the decrepit Bradbury Apartments and says to Pris: "No housing shortage here. Plenty of room for everybody."

After the movie, I walked a block for lunch at the Apple Pan, the burger stand celebrating its 60th anniversary. Hadn't been there in a few years, but of course it's exactly the same, with the same guy behind the U-shaped counter hustling to serve everybody. The service is dryly efficient and hilariously blunt. Ordering takes no more than 5 seconds.

Counterman: "Yes?"
Me: "Steakburger."
Counterman: "Cheese?"
Me: "Yes."
Counterman: "Fries?"
Me: "Yes."
Counterman: "Coke?"
Me: "Yes."
Counterman: "Anything else?"
Me: "No."

Was my lunch good? Oh yes.

You may recall the comedy club that was announced as coming to downtown Pomona's Opera Garage building on Thomas near Third. As late as July, the Gerrymander was said to be opening in September. Well, the club is still coming, but obviously it's missed its target date.

I ran into Cathy Tessier, the club's landlord, at the Claremont Packinghouse the other morning -- neither of us was injured -- and I asked her about the club's status. She said getting an elevator up and running to the second-floor club was proving more difficult than expected. Apparently elevator repairmen are in such demand, they make plumbers and cable TV repairmen look speedy.

The club won't open until January, Tessier said.

Until then, looks like we'll have to continue to rely on the Pomona City Council for our improvisational humor.

I've visited Pomona's Second Street on a couple of occasions recently, which may be what inspired not one but two dreams the other night as your bleary-eyed blogger lay sleeping.

In the first, I happened to be downtown when I saw people converging on the Glass House nightclub. There was a rumor that the Rolling Stones were playing a rare club date there in just a few minutes. The event had been so hush-hush that, amazingly, tickets were still available.

My problem was, I had already paid $15 for a ticket to see the band She Wants Revenge (note: this is a real band but I've never heard their music) at another (note: nonexistent) club downtown that night. Did I want to waste that money by seeing the Rolling Stones instead?? Clearly I'm no more spontaneous in my dreams than I am in real life. Nevertheless, I was swept up in the crowd going into the Stones show. Alas, my dream ended before the concert could start.

In my second Second Street dream of the night, I was again downtown and was stunned to see that the Glass House exterior, and much of that block, was halfway through an extensive remodeling. How had I missed this? I was just down there a few days before!

From there I dropped into Magic Door Books, which was open, but completely bare inside, and freshly painted. The owners weren't in. A customer came in and asked me for help finding a certain section of books. I was going to show him but realized there were no books. I didn't know what to say. At this point I woke up.

What does all this mean? I guess the changes coming to Second Street have me excited but anxious. It's also possible I need to get out more. Say, to Euclid Avenue.

Orhan Pamuk, the 2006 Nobel laureate for literature, spoke Thursday night at Claremont McKenna College, and it was yet another count-your-lucky-stars moments, to get to hear a world-class thinker and writer expound so close to home, and free of charge.

Pamuk read excerpts from two of his essays, one describing Istanbul, the other constituting a monologue from his daughter's point of view on all the reasons she didn't want to go to school. (Among them: "The teacher gives me a nasty look, and she doesn't look too good to begin with.") He talked about why he writes, listing a series of explanations: he "can't do normal work," he likes to be alone, he likes the attention, he likes the smell of paper and ink and he wants to read books like his. He also spoke of representing Turkey to the world through his work.

Pamuk, as you may know, faced prison for speaking openly about the Armenian genocide, which his government refuses to acknowledge. After an international outcry, he was instead accused of "insulting Turkishness," a charge that was quietly dropped. He didn't talk about that directly on Thursday, nor did he say anything about the faltering move in Congress to press Turkey on the genocide issue.

"If your country is troubled, as mine is, those troubles find their way back to me in journalists' questions, and then I cannot shut up my mouth," Pamuk said. Other than that remark, he did a good job of shutting up his mouth.

Afterward he signed books. "Snow," his most popular novel, sold out right before I got to the sales table. Instead, I picked up "The Black Book," a novel whose back cover notes that one of the characters is "a popular newspaper columnist." Maybe I can pick up some pointers.

With time to kill before Monday's Pomona council meeting, I thought I'd try a south Pomona taqueria for dinner. But once I hit downtown I swung by the Pomona Fish Market, a take-out place at Third and Park streets.

I've always been curious about the market, which has a vintage neon sign (restored a few years back) and seems out of place in the neighborhood. But the view from my car always made me unsure if one could dine in, as the front window has big letters reading "Fish to Go."

Not to worry, the interior has seating for eight, plus an outdoor patio. My order was taken by a woman behind the supermarket-style display case, which was about half-stocked with fish on ice.

There's a limited menu of fried fish plates, such as sole, sand dabs, oysters and shrimp, served with fries and cole slaw and all priced under $7, as well as a couple of sandwiches. I got the catfish plate ($5.95). Well, the slaw was a bit dry, but the fries were acceptable and the fish, fried in a light coating of (I think) flour, wasn't bad at all. I'm not a fried fish guy, but if I were, I'd probably go again. The food's a darn sight better than Long John Silver's.

The Fish Market has been in Pomona for decades. In researching city character Urban Ziegler on Progress-Bulletin microfilm last summer at the library, I found an April 1, 1937 ad for the market, meaning it's at least 70 years old.

Prices included haddie, 35 cents a pound; cod, 20 cents a pound; sea bass, 29 cents a pound; and halibut, 25 cents a pound. The ad boasted: "An Exclusive Fish Market is the Best Place to Buy Fish." Oh, that snooty Pomona.

Clearman's Village near San Gabriel was a collection of shops with fake snow on the roof, built around a restaurant, Clearman's Galley, starting in 1968. The restaurant was housed in a converted 1913 Alaskan mail boat. John Clearman, the developer, also founded the North Woods Inn, another theme restaurant, which looks like a hunting lodge.

Well, the Village is gone, demolished to make way for a Kohl's, as reported recently on the Foothill Cities blog. I believe the boat will be relocated to one of the North Woods Inn locations.

I bring this up to note that Rancho Cucamonga's Magic Lamp Inn, the rococo structure on Foothill Boulevard, was another Clearman production. The man liked high-concept restaurants and eye-catching buildings, that's for sure. The 'Lamp, which has a Middle Eastern sign and name and an Old World design, was founded in 1955 and is still going strong. No Kohl's in its future, thankfully.

Reader Richard E. Nunez writes with an intriguing question:

"I have been trying to find out the name of the dog on the seal of Pomona. Nobody seems to know at City Hall. So if you could help me with this, that would be great. Thanks."

I wasn't aware the city seal even featured a dog, but by golly it does. View an image here.

Pomona with a dog turns out to be mythologically correct. An online search turned up the tome "Manual of Mythology" by Alexander Stuart Murray, in which the entry for Pomona reads: "Was goddess of garden fruits, and was represented wearing a wreath composed of such, or holding in her hand a horn of plenty full of them, with a dog by her side."

My understanding is that little is known about the Roman goddess Pomona, so perhaps her dog's name, if he/she had a name, is lost to history. That said, can any students of mythology shed any light on this?

Alternately, I suppose we could simply make up an appropriate name for a dog that would belong to Pomona the goddess/Pomona the city. How about Taco?

The Cellar, 195 N. Central Ave. in Upland, is gone, which caused me to reflect on the high turnover in that building.

Sneakers was the tenant in the late '90s, the only time I ventured inside. There was at least one other restaurant or club in there between Sneakers and the Cellar, probably two (the name Penguin's comes to mind), and no doubt there were many more before Sneakers.

At one point post-Sneakers an operator had (I think) Jello wrestling matches in a desperate attempt to get customers in the door, until police cracked down.

And yet year after year, optimistic entrepreneurs keep leasing the building, sure they can make something work. In fact, another business already appears to be moving in to replace the Cellar.

Anyone remember previous tenants there?

Gustavo Arellano, who writes the "Ask a Mexican" column for the OC Weekly, came to Pomona Saturday afternoon to talk about "Bless Me, Ultima," the Rudolfo Anaya novel that everyone in Pomona is asked to read as part of an NEA-funded program, the Pomona Big Read.

Calling it "an amazing book," Arellano told an audience of 50 in the Cal Poly Pomona Downtown Center that he first encountered it in English class in Anaheim and was won over -- first by its profanity ("That was the first time I had ever seen curse words in a book") and then by its power. He said the novel, about an immigrant boy growing up in New Mexico during World War II and torn between his mother's desire that he become a priest and his father's that he become a laborer, is "as American a novel as you'll find."

During the Q&A, nobody asked about "Ultima." Instead, they wanted to know about his column. He said he gets 50 to 60 questions a week and has a backlog of several hundred, enough to keep him going six years if no one ever again asked one.

"People are just fascinated by Mexicans," he said with a smile. Aren't we, though?

I hope to write about the various city-reads efforts (Pomona, Claremont and Rancho Cucamonga) in print this week or next. Meanwhile, I've gotta get back to "Ultima."

I wrote in Wednesday's column (read it here) that the Guasti Cafe -- home of big breakfasts and 25-cent coffee, and known until 2005 as Homestyle Cafe -- will close Oct. 31 and relocate to Chino. Reader Randy Volm writes:

"David, I don't know about you, but I have been a longtime fan of the Homestyle Cafe since it opened in 1985. I have always enjoyed their wonderful food (huge portions I might add) and the warm hospitality of home no matter how busy they were.

"Personally, I wouldn't care if they had to raise the price of coffee to $1. Even that would pale in comparison to what other establishments are charging. Why, even Denny's I believe is charging $2.25 for a cup of coffee.

"In closing, I don't care about the extra distance to get to the new Homestyle Cafe (I'm in Upland). To me, it will always be worth it."

The cafe's owners will be cheered by an Uplander's willingness to follow their restaurant to Chino. But Randy, did you have to say you'd pay four times as much for one of their cups of coffee? You might give them ideas.

Rancho Cucamonga, which has a Central Park, now has a Big Apple-themed deli. Gandolfo's New York Delicatessen, in a strip center at 7th Street and Milliken Avenue, is a chain operation with an array of sandwiches, all with NY names: the Holland Tunnel, the Yonkers, the Greenwich Village, the Throgs Neck Bridge, etc.

I went there a couple of weeks ago and had the Little Italy, a cold deli sandwich with ham, salami, pepperoni and provolone ($5.49 half/$8.49 full). Not bad. I went back on Thursday with an East Coast transplant who grew up in Rhode Island to get his take on it. He had the Bronx Barbecue, with roast beef and cheddar ($4.49/$7.49), and I got the King of Queens, with pastrami and Swiss ($4.69/$7.69).

We were mixed on the experience. Service-wise, we had to pick up our order at the counter despite being told it would be brought to us. My friend wasn't impressed by the sauce or the bread on his sandwich. I found my sandwiches acceptable both visits. But we agreed the place was a little cute for our tastes. Keep in mind I'm not generally a fan of chains.

Still, a NY-schooled friend who has seen the menu is enthralled by the place names, and other New York expatriates may find Gandolfo's a nice haven. Bear in mind that according to the corporate website, there are no Gandolfo's in New York, and the headquarters is in Utah.

Claremont painter Karl Benjamin is suddenly ubiquitous (look it up), and that's a good thing. The New York Times had a piece on him Sunday (read it here), with an online slideshow to boot (view it here).

And the L.A. Times today notes he has work in a midcentury show at the Orange County Museum of Art (read that here). The LAT says the work of Benjamin and other "hard edge" painters "is about egalitarian perceptual liberation." I have no idea what this means. But I do know that I really dug Benjamin's show at the Claremont Museum of Art this summer.

As it happens, I got a very nice letter -- not an e-mail, a letter -- from Karl the other day. Among other topics, he touted the brand-new dba 256 wine bar/art gallery in Pomona, at 256 S. Main at Third Street (read about them here). I visited there on Wednesday and will have an item in Friday's column.

I'm a bit late in noting this, but Kem Nunn's 1992 novel "Pomona Queen" has been optioned for a movie. According to a Variety article forwarded by Derek Deason, Shoreline Entertainment has hired Jeremiah Chechik to direct the film, with Christopher Doyle as cinematographer and with shooting to begin before the end of the year.

As Variety summarizes the plot: "The book revolves around Earl Dean. He is a broken-hearted door-to-door vacuum cleaner salesman who happens to knock on the wrong door. Before he knows what happened, he is embroiled in a stranger's manic quest to avenge the death of a brother. The story takes place over the course of one night."

It also takes place in -- where else? -- Pomona, with mentions of such local spots as the Midway bar, Golden Ox hamburgers and Buffum's department store. After I recommended the book in print a few years ago, readers were divided on its merits, with its grittiness turning off some and delighting others. For my money it's an entertaining way to learn the darker side of our local history.

Nunn, a former Pomona Library page, has gone on to write several well-regarded "surf noir" novels and he created HBO's recent "John From Cincinnati" series.

Incidentally, the Pomona Queen of the title was a real-life orange crate label. Now it's the name of a local brew by Dale Brothers. That probably means something, but I'm not sure what.

Eating Thai food Sunday afternoon at Mix Bowl in Pomona, an almost-weekly ritual for me, I witnessed a birthday celebration, the first I can recall ever seeing there.

The servers don't speak much English, so they didn't all gather around to sing. Instead, the ever-present pop music in the background suddenly became a louder pop version of "Happy Birthday," to an unusual, but pleasant and peppy, melody. The server brought out a big bowl of mixed fruit with flavored syrup on ice, with spoons for sharing, to the birthday boy, a Latino. The table of seven more Latinos sang along, once they got the rhythm, ending with "Happy birthday, dear Ricardo, happy birthday to you."

Latinos, Asians, blacks, whites, Pomona cops and Claremont college kids can often be seen at Mix Bowl. It's a cultural mix in itself. And now one thing is clear: I have to have my next birthday party there.

Resuming where we left off: Leaving Huntington Hardware, Pomona Mayor Norma Torres and I journeyed to Raspado X-press, which is located in a strip mall on Indian Hill Boulevard just north of Holt Avenue. The business is next to a bottled-water place and a couple of storefronts up from Mariscos Ensenada No. 5, which some of you may remember as the former Xochimilco restaurant.

Raspados are Mexican snocones topped with your choice of fruit. I counted 30 flavors on the board, and those can be combined, seemingly for no extra cost. I got banana and pineapple and the mayor had (if memory serves) mango and pineapple. This time I paid the tab, $6 total.

The raspados come in tall cups with fat straws. The ice wasn't crushed finely, so the routine became to pound the straw up and down in the ice, like a piledriver, to get some ready to drink. Torres said she spent a fair amount of time here last summer and that the ice had been better crushed on previous visits. Still, as a snocone fan from way back, I liked my drink, and the fresh fruit is a neat touch.

Raspado X-press also sells fresh juice drinks, fruit with chili powder and lime, licuados and smoothies, among other items. There are colorful photo blowups on the walls of several menu items. Some are a bit mysterious -- even Torres couldn't identify them -- but most look promising, and some look delicious.

"You'd never think there would be so much flavor in a rundown strip mall," Torres observed before we parted.

That's Pomona: always full of surprises.

Picking up where we left off Sunday: As Mayor Norma Torres drove me to the raspado place, heading east on Mission Boulevard, we approached AMA Donuts, which I pointed out was one of the earliest McDonald's, a fact she knew, of course. At Holt and Towne, we commented on the gleaming glass storefront of Santa Fe Outlets. She asked if I knew what it had been originally. "Tate Cadillac," I replied.

She had been telling me about Huntington Hardware, where she has bought glass doorknobs and other home-improvement items. When I pled ignorance on the place, she made a detour west on Holt to take me there. It's at Holt and Park avenues, an "HH" on the long storefront. I'd noticed those letters many times but had no idea what was inside.

Well! It's like Pomona's version of Restoration Hardware, full of antique-looking windows, doors, knockers, lamps and the like, all brand new. "They sell new things that look old," the mayor explained.

The general manager came over to help. "We've been in Pomona for 55 years," Daniel Herrera said. "Fifty years in this location. We started on Huntington Boulevard." That's a few blocks west, for you out-of-towners. Herrera continued: "We have another store in Huntington Beach. It's called Pomona Hardware. Just kidding. That's as good as the jokes get."

I laughed, so I'm not complaining. Wish I'd known about Huntington Hardware when I was writing my "Pomona A to Z" series -- it would've made a handy H.

Pleased to have introduced yours truly to Huntington Hardware, Torres said, referring to her husband: "Luis said there wouldn't be anything new I could show you." I'm flattered my knowledge of Pomona is considered so wide-ranging by those within the mayoral manse, but it always seems to me whatever I know is the proverbial mile wide and an inch deep.

That's enough for now. Let's pause here and come back Tuesday for those icy raspados. Gosh, talk about a cliffhanger!!

Pomona Mayor Norma Torres has been telling me since May that she was going to invite me out for a raspado, which is a Mexican snocone with fruit. As the months went by, and hot weather came and went, this appeared to be yet another politician's empty promise.

Until last week, when she invited me to lunch, with a raspado for dessert. Of course I accepted, having never been invited to lunch by a mayor before.

(Imagine if Ontario Mayor Paul Leon, who's on a major diet, invited me out for lunch. We'd probably eat trail mix.)

At Torres' suggestion we met at Sakura Ichi, the high-end sushi bar at Mission and Garey downtown. I've been there before, and it's pretty good. The ambience is even better -- this is a sharp lookin' place, very sleek.

Torres talked about her tour that morning of the Indian Hill Swap Meet, a collection of vendors that is probably worth a column someday, if the language barrier can be overcome. We touched on many other Pomona topics as well.

I had the sushi lunch combo and she ordered the chicken teriyaki. My chopstick skills aren't so good, but I can manage. The mayor ate with a fork.

She tried to pay but we split the tab at my insistence. Can't be in the mayor's debt, after all. Next, a raspado! Except first there was a detour to check out a Pomona business I'd never before investigated. More on that Monday.

My colleague Liset Marquez had a story in Friday's Daily Bulletin on a City Council vote in Norco to require those 18 and younger to wear helmets when riding horses. I can see how this regulation wouldn't be a slam dunk, but given how electeds like to be on the right side of every issue, I couldn't help but laugh at one aspect.

Our headline: "City votes for child safety."

Vote breakdown: 3-2.

So two Norco council members are against child safety? Whoa.

With plans to attend the La Verne council meeting Monday evening, I carefully pondered my options for dining in that city, which is too remote for me to get to from Ontario on a lunch break. Should I try the Caribbean place? How about the Indonesian place? The city's online dining guide (find it here) was a big help in evaluating the possibilities.

Alas, I delayed too long at the office trying to wrap up a few things and by the time I got to La Verne, I had under half an hour for dinner. Oopsie. So I tried a new-to-me spot close to City Hall, to cut my travel time, and where I guessed I could get a quick meal: Mr. Fish and Chips, in the CVS shopping center on Foothill.

I ordered the fish sandwich, with onion rings as my side, from the friendly woman behind the counter. Without a drink -- who had time? -- my tab was $5.29. A sign asks customers to be patient because the food is made to order. My own order arrived on a plate in the shape of a fish, a cute touch. The verdict? The sandwich was surprisingly good and the onion rings were also a cut above. The batter on both was light and crispy, not heavy as you might fear.

I'll have to go back sometime when I don't have to inhale my food in 15 minutes. Although that Indonesian place will probably get my business next...

Rancho Cucamonga is getting a Beard Papa, a development whose profound significance does not have to be explained to Asian-food hipsters.

For the rest of you, Beard Papa sells cream puffs injected with the custard of your choice on the spot: vanilla, chocolate or green tea, plus a flavor of the week. The chain, founded in Osaka, Japan, is very hot right now. I visited a Beard Papa on Sawtelle Avenue in L.A. recently and it did live up to the hype. The chain's logo is a cartoon of an almost garden gnome-ish bearded old man's face.

Beard Papa will open later this year in Victoria Gardens (where else?), joining Pinkberry, Gyu-Kaku, P.F. Chang's and Kabuki, representing Korean, Japanese and Chinese foodstuffs. Well, Victoria Gardens is in Rancho Cucamonga's far east...

Eating lunch in Ontario today at Daphne's Greek Cafe, I took a seat out on the patio, the interior being filled. A table away, a twentysomething couple sat. The woman smoked. Each wore black sunglasses. Most notably, they conversed easily in French, a language you don't often hear in the Inland Valley. Sitting at an umbrella-shaded table in the warm afternoon, eating Greek food and listening to the musical French nearby, I felt cosmopolitan in a way you rarely feel out here. Even if it was a chain restaurant.

Well, Tuesday's Ontario council meeting was kind of a bust, news-wise, but at least it was short. Speaking of short, five very cute children from Grace Yokley Middle School went to the microphone to address the council. In round-robin style, the students declaimed about an upcoming walk for cancer. It's a 5K walk. "That's 3.1 miles," their teacher said helpfully.

I couldn't help but be reminded of last week's episode of "The Office," in which clueless boss Michael Scott hosts a 5K run to defeat the scourge of rabies. The event was grueling, but not as grueling as it first seemed to Michael. As receptionist Pam explains: "He thought it meant 5,000 miles."

In La Verne, the City Council finally has its first woman. Donna Nasmyth was sworn in Monday night, the first councilwoman in the city's 101-year history. You'd think a city whose name sounds like a woman's would have gotten this milestone out of the way earlier, but, well, better late than never.

(Coming soon to La Verne: electricity, flush toilets and direct-dial telephones.)

There was a celebratory mood in the council chambers. The city clerk, a woman, said it was an honor to swear in Nasmyth, and a representative of the city trash hauler, also a woman, said: "Normally I would say in a presentation to a woman that you're following in the footsteps of all the women who have gone before you, but there were no women who have gone before you."

More in my Wednesday column.

Saw "In the Shadow of the Moon" on Sunday, a documentary on the moon landings that interviews all the surviving astronauts except Neil Armstrong. Terrific stuff; the men, all or most in their 70s, are candid, funny and humble about their experience. I watched the moon landings on TV as a youngster, read space books and played with Major Matt Mason astronaut toys, so this documentary was right up my alley. It does a good job of recreating the period and the sense of wonder.

I saw the movie at the Claremont Laemmle, where it's playing through Thursday. Recommended.

Oh, and the Laemmle now has a marquee, on Indian Hill Boulevard, a feature that seems to have sprung up on Friday or Saturday as more green construction fencing came down. A welcome touch.