April 2010 Archives

The Thai T, 9000 Foothill Blvd. (at Hellman), Rancho Cucamonga

In the Orchard Supply/Big Lots center, The Thai T isn't in the flashiest location, but I've been there a half-dozen times since its opening a few years ago. The restaurant has plenty of windows for natural light. The atmosphere, and the service, is quiet and serene. And the food's better than average.

At lunch recently, I had the yellow curry (pictured) with pork, simmered in coconut milk with potatoes and carrots. My friend had broccoli with oyster sauce with shrimp. We both liked our meals, and he noted favorably the fresh, not frozen, shrimp. The 13 lunch specials are $7 with pork, chicken, beef or tofu or $8 with shrimp. They come with a small salad, soup, steamed rice and fried wonton.

My Thai iced tea was refilled for free, a rare touch. Everything I've ever had there has been good. It's a nice little place, not spectacular, not a destination, but a solid choice if you're in the area. But note the B in the window.

Out and about on Wednesday afternoon, I drove east on Nevada Street in Ontario from Sultana Avenue to get a look at demolition of the Sunkist plant, saw that the street dead-ended and turned around.

In the meantime, three chickens had crossed to the middle of the road. Not a sight you see every day, or even any day, so I shot this photo through my windshield.

I was hoping the chickens would cross to the other side and then give me an exclusive interview as to why, but they scuttled back to the north side. Looked like they live there -- there was a fenced lot with a gate standing open and a man inside working.

As I waited for my order at Zankou Chicken in Pasadena on Sunday, reading LA Weekly, a burly man approached my table and asked if I was a writer. This stranger turned out to be The New Diner, the food blogger from Diamond Bar who hits restaurants all over not only the Inland Valley but all over L.A. to boot. He might be in Chatsworth one day, Anaheim the next and Long Beach the next.

We'd e-mailed a few times but hadn't met. As a reader of his blog, I knew not to praise the people of Orange County (whom he reflexively refers to as "the pretentious, jerk people of Orange County," for instance, here) or to talk any trash about the late Baltimore Colts quarterback Johnny Unitas (the subject of a New Diner spinoff blog, Unitas We Stand). It was cool to meet him.

He was at Zankou for his blog, I was just there for a meal. Read what he had to say here. I like Zankou too.

The "open during construction" sign at the Old Schoolhouse center in Claremont could stand to make an "alteraton" to the Cactus Glasswork name, which is missing a couple of crucial letters. In the meantime, be careful sitting down!

The fourth and final film in our "Down With Depression" series of 1930s Depression-themed comedies screens at 6:30 p.m. Thursday at the Ontario City Library, 215 E. C St.: "Easy Living."

This 1937 screwball comedy is among my favorite movies. Working girl Mary Smith (Jean Arthur) is riding atop a double-decker bus to work when what should land on her but a mink coat, tossed out a penthouse window by a millionaire mad at his wife's spendthrift ways. Hijinks, as they say, ensue.

Read about "Easy Living" here. And watch a 2:49 video clip below.

Rancho Cucamonga's Jack Benny statue was among the celebrity statuary featured in an L.A. Times piece Sunday by Steve Harvey (the former "Only in L.A." scribe). Yours truly is quoted. Read it here.

Photo shot April 18 at Foothill and Fruit in La Verne. A Panera Bread is coming to the site. Here's a farewell to the Michael J's chain with plenty of comments.

El Merendero, 242 S. Garey Ave. (at 2nd), Pomona

El Merendero, which already had (and still has) a La Verne location, was a pioneer in downtown Pomona, arriving in 1980 and occupying the corner of the Fox Theater building until moving a block away in 2008 to much nicer quarters. Check the lovely mural. The new location has table service too. Alas, two years in, service remains shaky. I'm not sure the expanded menu has adjusted to the new surroundings either.

Five of us ate there prior to a concert at the Fox. Chips and salsa arrived. We liked both but the salsa's presentation in a plastic to-go container, with a lid, hints at the awkward transition to a full-service restaurant.

Our table had two enchiladas ($5.95), a chile relleno and carne asada ($8.50) (pictured), camarones rancheros ($9.25), a chile relleno ($5.95) and a milanesa steak torta ($4.95) (also pictured). The first three plates were enjoyed by their diners; the camarones customer was impressed by the number of shrimp. My torta was acceptable, although I've had better. The solo relleno diner, who's more exacting, said it wasn't cooked through and had a crunchy rather than soft exterior. She doesn't intend to go back.

The service was friendly, when we got it; nobody came to the table for the first 10 minutes (the first-timers began to wonder if they were supposed to order from the cashier) and at the end, the credit card transaction took at least five minutes.

I like El Merendero but have to say it's not my first choice for downtown dining. Somehow I liked it better when it was basically a taqueria and burrito joint in the then-dumpy Fox and you ordered at the counter. The new location raises expectations but can't quite meet them. That mural sure is pretty, though.

Next door is El Merendero's popular panaderia, which moved along with the restaurant and seems to have made a more successful transition.

The third of our four-film Depression comedy series at the Ontario City Library screens tonight: Frank Capra's 1936 romantic comedy "Mr. Deeds Goes to Town."

Longfellow Deeds is a tuba-playing dreamer in tiny Mandrake Falls, Vt., who inherits $20 million and stumbles around wondering what to do with his newfound wealth. The movie stars Gary Cooper and Jean Arthur. Read more about it here.

The movie screens at 6:30 p.m. in the community room of the library, 215 E. C St. See you there?

Today marks the 100th anniversary of Mark Twain's death in 1910. We'll all be marking the occasion in our own way, I'm sure. What will they be doing on this Rancho Cucamonga street (near 9th and Grove), I wonder? After all, the story that catapulted Twain to fame, and remains one of his most enduring pieces, is "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County," a tall tale set in a Gold Rush county in California.

If you're so inclined, you can read the full text of the story here.

Here I am Saturday afternoon at the Archibald Library in Rancho Cucamonga interviewing Laura Trombley, author of "Mark Twain's Other Woman" and president of Pitzer College in Claremont, after her talk about Twain's later years. Library staff took the photo and forwarded it. Well, what the heck, here it is. (On a weekday I'd be dressed better, btw.)

My interview with KPCC-FM's Alex Cohen about Inland Valley dining was bumped Friday for bigger news, in this case, Daryl Gates' death. Well, being in the news biz, I know how that goes. The Pasadena-based station (89.3) did, however, post the interview online. You can access it here. Focusing on local restaurants heavy on character, I talk about Ramon's Cactus Patch and Vince's Spaghetti, both in Ontario, and Centro Basco in Chino.

Conscious Claremont actually debuted last November, but an e-mail from the writer last week was the first I'd heard of it. Topics are mostly local politics, especially ones with a financial angle (logical for a writer with a degree in business economics and accounting), and the tone is less hectoring than the Claremont Insider.

The anonymous blogger grew up in Claremont, moved to L.A. for college and returned six years ago, meaning he or she is probably on the sunny side of 30.

The first post, from Nov. 3, titled "raison d'être," consists entirely of a quote from Clint Eastwood, presumably about why he ran for mayor of Carmel:

"It's making sure that the words 'public servant' are not forgotten. That's why I did it. 'Cause I thought, I don't need this. The fact that I didn't need it made me think I could do more. It's the people who need it that I'm suspect of."

Two nights, two shows -- after Vampire Weekend at the Fox on Wednesday, I returned Thursday to the Fox for Pavement, the '90s indie rock band that has reunited for a tour. This one also drew 2,000 fans. Pavement performed two long encores for a show nearly two hours long. Here's a view from the balcony.

The L.A. County Fair's food court was recently demolished. See Friday's column for more on that.

The top view of the Food Circle, as it was first known, is said to date to 1939, its debut year. (It's from a fair calendar, which accounts for the type at the bottom.) Bonnie's Southern Fried Chicken, Hap's Cafe, Hamburger King and Brock's Swiss Steak are among the original stands.

Examine the photo carefully. Did the fair really have a stand devoted to creamed chicken?

The food court was renamed Super Diner in 1985 after a remodel and Sunset Cabana in 2003 after another remodel. The second photo was shot in 2009. Friday's column is in part about the food court, which was demolished in December.

Anyone have any memories or comments to share about the Food Circle?

The pop band Vampire Weekend drew 2,000 fans to the Fox Theater in Pomona on Wednesday evening. The line to get in wrapped around three-fourths of the block: west along Third, south along Thomas and east along Fourth almost to Garey. The line also folded back into the alley between the Fox and the Prog building. Whew!

The Chino band Abe Vigoda, on a national tour with Vampire Weekend as the opening act, were greeted as hometown heroes, and Vampire Weekend didn't disappoint with its bouncy, rhythmic pop. The band had played the smaller Glass House two blocks away in September 2008 but now has two albums, and more songs, to choose from. The Fox gig was a great show. Were you there?

Young Dong Tofu, 3233 Grand Ave. (at Peyton), Chino Hills

Yes, it's a name that could launch a thousand off-color jokes, but forget the name and concentrate on the food. Young Dong has locations in Arcadia and San Gabriel besides this one in a neighborhood shopping center with an Albertsons. The Young Dong exterior is floor to ceiling glass, exposing the food hall atmosphere inside: rows of tables, bright lighting, minimal decor and lots of customers.

First they bring out the Korean side dishes: a half-dozen small plates with kimchi, fried pancake, seaweed, etc.

Our table of four ordered multiple dishes. Seafood and beef tofu soup, dumpling tofu soup and mushroom tofu soup ($8.83 each) come in bubbling pots, with a stone pot of rice on the side. Once they stopped bubbling, they were quite good, spiced to order (two of us went with medium, one with extra spicy). Spicy pork and BBQ beef ($13.95 each) were plates heaped with the meat in question, sweet and tender.

I've had Korean food only a few times, so I'm still a neophyte, but we all liked our meals very much and would go back. People on Yelp are excited too.

This 1936 William Powell-Carole Lombard screwball comedy is the second movie in my "Down With Depression" series at the Ontario City Library, 215 E. C St. "Godfrey" plays Thursday at 6:30 p.m. in the community free. Admission is free.

You can read about the series in my column here. The first movie, "City Lights," drew a nice-sized crowd of old and young.

Read about "My Man Godfrey" on Wikipedia here.

And here's the first 10 minutes via YouTube:

With its dozens of fruit trees, the one-acre Quonset hut property in Rancho Cucamonga at Church and Ramona, which I visited a while back for a column, was like a trip back in time. This effect was heightened by the smudge pots scattered about the property, such as this one.

Smudge pots, or orchard heaters, were lighted at nights when a freeze was predicted. They blanketed a grove with warm, oily smoke to ward off a frost. These smudge pots are no longer used, of course, but it was neat to see them in their natural setting.

"We hate to leave," Mrs. Provost told the Pomona Progress-Bulletin for this Sept. 14, 1959 story, which was unearthed, scanned and sent to me by Bruce Guter of the Pomona Public Library's special collections department.

(Special collections is as good a friend to this blog as Lassie was to Timmy.)

Click on the thumbnail for a larger, readable version of the story.

Warehouse Pizza, 2340 D St. (at Bonita), La Verne

Anchoring a prime corner in downtown La Verne, Warehouse practically anchors the entire downtown. Its website says it's been there 23 years, but that seems to refer only to the current owners. A University of La Verne alumnus friend says he was eating at Warehouse as early as 1971.

Either way, it's an expansive place -- could it have been a former citrus warehouse? -- with a large, open interior and exposed industrial ceiling. Equally large is the patio, only a portion of which could fit into the above photo. Warehouse is a favorite of ULV students and professors, as well as Bonita High students, sports teams and families.

The menu has a dozen sandwiches and three salads, plus beer and wine, but the pizza is the main reason anyone goes (the beer may be second). A 14-inch mushroom ($13.95), pictured, comes loaded, the sauce tomatoey, the crust chewy, but crispy at the edge.

For its size, La Verne has a lot of homegrown pizza parlors (Red Devil, Sal's, Pizza Barn, Pizza N Stuff and maybe one or two I've forgotten), with Warehouse perhaps the best, and certainly the most fondly regarded.

Two ULV alums are said to have opened Warehouse knockoffs in Hawaii and Colorado, duplicating the interior to the last neon beer sign, hanging ladder and miniature gas pump. The original is a classic college-town pizza parlor. Long may it bake.

Books bought this month: "Kolchak: The Night Stalker Casebook," Joe Gentile, ed.; "Vineland," Thomas Pynchon; "Supreme Courtship," Christopher Buckley.

Books read this month: "The Lottery and Other Stories," Shirley Jackson; "What Mad Universe," Fredric Brown; "The Quick Red Fox," John D. MacDonald; "Dark Carnival," Ray Bradbury.

Four books read in March: one science fiction, one mystery and two creepy fantasy. The latter includes my first Bradbury book of the year (after, er, 24 last year -- did I overdo it?). I've already devoted a post to the not only out of print but barely in print to begin with "Dark Carnival"; it's pretty good, but anyone but a completist can stick to "The October Country," which reprints the best of its stories, and not miss out. More on "October Country" next month.

Incidentally, here's a portion of a comment Doug Evans left on that "Dark Carnival" post:

"Here's what you should now do in your spare time: become a wiki editor and update the 'Dark Carnival' page, providing info on which stories from that collection can now be found in which of Bradbury's later collections, minus the four that have never been collected elsewhere. Think of the service you'd be doing humankind! Or at least the Bradbury completist like yourself."

Humankind, look upon the updated Wikipedia page for "Dark Carnival" and tremble. (I added paragraphs two through four. It took way longer than you'd think.)

And now, back to the countdown.

Jackson's "The Lottery and Other Stories," bought used in January, was astonishingly good. Nearly everyone has read the story "The Lottery" in school, right? If not, do so immediately; it's an American classic. The rest of the stories are of the same caliber. Some are straight fiction, some have an element of unreality, but most are unsettling. Women's concerns drive several pieces. A favorite involves a wife who travels into NYC for a tooth extraction and finds more than her tooth liberated.

Not one but two Pomona women were the focus of Sandy Banks' LA Times column Tuesday about auditions for the Ole Skool Crew, the WNBA Los Angeles Sparks' over-40 cheerleading squad.

Arlene Medina, 63, "dances nonstop at Pomona's concerts in the park" -- surely this can't mean the community band, can it? -- and Elaine Gallegos, 47, is a meter reader who grew up dancing to Motown tunes.

The tryouts were previewed in our paper Sunday by my colleague (and RC Now blogger) Wendy Leung.

This 1931 Charlie Chaplin classic is the first film in the "Down With Depression" series at the Ontario City Library, 215 E. C St., screening at 6:30 p.m. Thursday. I'll be there to introduce the film. You can read more about the series in last Sunday's column.

Read about "City Lights" on Wikipedia here and Roger Ebert's essay on the movie here. Spoiler alerts apply in both cases, of course.

Ebert concludes, for those of you uncertain about silent films:

"Most of Chaplin's films are available on video. Children who see them at a certain age don't notice they're 'silent' but notice only that every frame speaks clearly to them, without all those mysterious words that clutter other films. Then children grow up, and forget this wisdom, but the films wait patiently and are willing to teach us again."

According to Caltech, some 20 million people felt Sunday's 3:20 p.m. earthquake, at 7.2 magnitude the biggest quake here since the Landers in 1992. Where were you Sunday and what did you see or feel, if anything?

I was on my computer at home and it felt as though something -- a bull, say -- had butted against the house. Then it seemed like a giant was gently twisting the house back and forth, as if rocking it to sleep. I was surprised how long the sensation lasted. I got up and walked into the living room to make sure nothing important was teetering.

Then it was all over, except for a hanging light fixture swaying slowly for several more seconds.

Kazama Sushi, 101 N. Indian Hill Blvd. (at 2nd), Claremont

Sometimes these writeups are based on a single meal. Kazama, however, is a place I've eaten at a half-dozen times since it relocated to Claremont's Village expansion in 2007 after a couple of years in Rancho Cucamonga. I like it. It's easy to get to for me, it's near the Laemmle theater complex, the food's good and the experience is quiet and professional.

A friend took me to lunch there Saturday for a belated birthday get-together. I got the tekka don ($16.50), a bowl of tuna sashimi on sushi rice. Check out the presentation! That's a piece of sashimi curled into the shape of a rose. Very nice. And yes, the dish tasted good too.

My friend had the weekend lunch special ($12.50) which had a little of everything: tuna and salmon sushi, California rolls, shrimp and vegetable tempura, chicken teriyaki, salad, miso soup and fruit. She liked it. We also split an order of gyoza ($4.95).

Kazama is small, about six tables, plus a long, curving sushi bar with 20 seats. Decor is understated. Some grumble that the prices are too high, and they may be, although an extra couple of bucks for a nice experience in the high-rent district doesn't bother me.

There's a second Japanese restaurant less than two blocks north and there's nothing wrong with it either, but I give the edge to Kazama.

This long-lived Montclair restaurant isn't kidding around, despite what its name implies. I suppose if it ever closes, the sad headline would be "No Fu Lin."