February 2012 Archives

A Feb. 29th occurs only once every six years. Bonus! How do you intend to spend this extra day?

* OK, every four years. See comments.

Reader Maria Tello, who contributes the above photo, is puzzled by the turtle outside Bethel Congregational United Church of Christ at Euclid Avenue and F Street in Ontario.

"Is he a greeter? Perhaps reminding churchgoers that slow and steady wins the race? Maybe he draws in the younger crowd, looking to ride a tortoise?" she asks.

Or draws in the older crowd who identifies with the tortoise, perhaps?

Sunday's column (read it here) sets out to document mentions of Cucamonga in Looney Tunes cartoons. Hey, if anyone was ever going to do that, I knew it had to be me.

Above is a moment from "Raw! Raw! Rooster" (1956), a Western Onion telegram illustrating the little-known fact that one of the best-known Looney Tunes characters actually resided in Cucamonga. Is there a more famous celebrity with a Cucamonga connection?

Move over, Jack Benny. Maybe the Victoria Gardens Cultural Center needs a statue of Foghorn Leghorn.

Curry Express, 9668 Milliken (at Fourth), Rancho Cucamonga

Note: By April, the restaurant had changed hands and was now Royale Indian Cuisine.

Curry Express opened in 2011 cater-corner from Ontario Mills in what I believe was previously a Hawaiian fast-food spot. I dropped in for dinner on a recent Tuesday.

Despite the "express" name, this is a sitdown restaurant now, not fast food, although they do deliver. The interior has been redone with glass-topped tables, cloth napkins and high-backed booths. Yet it's brightly lighted and not stuffy.

(I looked around the room and noticed some diners who seemed to be from India and several young couples. A fair number of couples, in fact. Then it occurred to me that this was Valentine's Day, and rather than get an "express" meal, I was dining alone in a sitdown restaurant. Sigh.)

Making the best of things, I had the chicken curry ($12), rice pellow ($6.50) and garlic naan ($3), and a glass of water. Like most Indian places, dinner made for a not-inexpensive meal (with tax and tip, $27), although I took home half. I guess that's why so many people like Indian lunch buffets; Curry Express' is $8.

The curry was tasty, the naan thick and chewy. Six bucks is a lot to pay for a dish of rice, even if it does have onions, peas and nuts. Service was indifferent to friendly, depending on which of the two servers was near.

The menu has tandoori specialties, chicken, lamb, goat and seafood dishes, and a fairly long list of vegetarian entrees, 19 in all.

I preferred my subcontinent meals at Haandi and Koyla, both featured on this blog previously, but Curry Express is certainly acceptable, and vegetarians in particular might want to investigate it.

Friday's column (read it here) is about the Upland entry monuments that have sprouted around town. A blog post about the signs previously appeared here, from which some of the comments in the column were drawn.

A few days after we mocked the two directional signs for the 10 Freeway seen a few feet apart on Foothill Boulevard east of Towne Avenue in Claremont, they were both replaced with a new dual sign directing motorists to both the 10 and 210 freeways.

It's double the information in half the number of signs -- a nice upgrade. Haven't noticed if they've since taken down the spare pole.

If you want to live in a development named College Park, you have your choice of Chino, above, and Upland, below. The former is near a Chaffey College campus while the latter is near the Claremont Colleges.

Wednesday's column (read it here) has items about an Ontario councilwoman who was wrapped her car with the city's PR message and other items of note from around the valley.

Jane Vath O'Connell of the whimsically named Alta Cucawanda Friends group forwarded the above image (click on it for a slightly larger view) and says it was done by member Marie Vecchio's father in 1969 and depicts the Belcher Ranch.

The what? She doesn't know either. She adds: "I'm not having any luck researching this. Do you think your readers could help?"

If I know them, they can. Incidentally, O'Connell says Alta Cucawanda Friends is up to 550 members, who share information and photos about the history of Rancho Cucamonga and environs.

These signs line a hallway at the Ontario Museum of History and Art leading to the permanent exhibit "Road Signs." They weren't positioned quite right for a photo where you could see them all, but they read in full: "The highway makes/a grand exhibit/You won't just look/You're really in it!" I think the last one is "Road Signs Exhibit Here."

The exhibit is really cool, by the way, if you like 20th century Americana: early campsites, roadside art, neon signs, Route 66 and even a display about the legendary Ontario restaurant Ford Lunch.

Sunday's column (read it here) is about Burma-Shave, the shaving lotion whose roadside signs in verse were a sensation.

A few more jingles that I liked but didn't fit into the column:

"The cannibals/took just one view/and said/he looks too nice/to stew."

"She put/a bullet/thru his hat/but he's had/closer shaves than that."

"Broken romance/stated fully/She went wild/when he/went wooly."

"He had the ring/He had the flat/But she felt his chin/And that/was that."

"Said Farmer Brown/who's bald/on top/Wish I could/rotate the crop."

Wikipedia offers a history of Burma-Shave, with many jingles, here. And all the Burma-Shave jingles can be perused on the official Burma-Shave website.

I'm taking a few days off, but columns written in advance will continue appearing, as will blog posts. Your comments, as usual, will continue popping up here as you post them (barring glitches). I'll check in here as I can, but because I'll be busy not working, don't expect links to my columns, at least in a timely way, or much in the way of replies to your comments.

Dripp, 13855 City Center Drive (at Grand), Shoppes at Chino Hills

Dripp, a new coffeehouse at the Shoppes center in Chino Hills that opened in November 2011, took the place of a Peets on a busy corner. In a surprise to me, this is a one-off coffeehouse, not a chain, although it certainly could become one. A lot of money was poured into the space to revamp it and install some complex drip coffee equipment.

The beans are roasted by high-end LA coffeehouse Intelligentsia. You'll have to find someone else to explain or critique this aspect (the website uses such terms as "ambrosial coffees," "flavor-enhancing methods" and "Japanese drip bar") because I don't drink coffee. But I visited recently with three friends and they were impressed.

What I can tell you about is the ice cream. Dripp has eight flavors of ice cream and eight types of cookies. The sandwiches ($4) are made to order and you can choose two different cookie types if you like.

I had peanut butter ice cream between two peanut butter chip chocolate cookies. As you can see, they put a spoon in it and that's recommended for getting started. The cookies and the ice cream both were amazing. You can also get ice cream solo in one, two or three scoops, or the cookies by themselves.

The coffeehouse looks like hipster central: exposed piping, menus attached to pieces of distressed wood, ropes hanging from the ceiling, antiques, a loft upstairs with sofas and chairs. An annoying notice on the door reads "No Photography," which is roundly ignored. There's a shady patio outside.

But, wait: Dripp? At the Shoppes? As my local friend told me: "It's Chino Hills. We can afford some extra letters."

Friday's column (read it here) begins with a tour of a pottery exhibit at the small museum at Pilgrim Place that's little known and is rounded out by more items from around the valley.

The Hofer Ranch south of LA/Ontario International Airport displays an old-time Burma-Shave roadside jingle, which sold a brand of shaving lotion. The jingle is authentic but the signs are replicas, commissioned years ago by the late Paul Hofer Sr. The signs line Jurupa Avenue near Turner Avenue along the south end of the ranch.

You're not supposed to stop, as it's private property, but Paul Hofer Jr. gave me permission last fall to shoot photos. Here they are in sequence. And look for more about Burma-Shave in my Sunday column.

After receiving a document from the City of Pomona utility billing department (click on the image for a large view), reader Rubio R. Gonzalez writes: "I noticed that the seal in the left corner had a founding year of 1988. What a mistake! There must have been a confusion among the staff, considering that many city employees indeed do live in Diamond Bar which was founded in 1989. Pomona was actually incorporated in 1888."

Hey, what's 100 years between friends? Maybe Pomona has decided to lie about its age. We'll know for sure if Pomona is confused if they celebrate 25 years of cityhood next year.

* Update: Assistant to the City Manager Mark Gluba says a vendor that handles utility billing incorrectly reproduced the city seal quite some time ago and no one, including utility customers, has noticed until now. The error will be corrected as soon as possible. Gluba adds: "Hope this solves the mystery and I assure that none of us, including the City, are getting any younger!"

Wednesday's column (read it here) is about Monday's meeting of the Upland City Council. Do you need any further inducement to read it than that?

...let's put a local spin on the subject. What do you love about living in the 909?

On its way to downtown Upland: Aria, a casual Italian restaurant. It will replace the ill-fated Christophe's.

Sunday's column (read it here) is mostly about the new Lucky Elephant restaurant in Ontario and its grand opening, which numbered among its guests officials from the Thailand consulate in L.A. There are a few other items as well to round things out.

This nifty piece of art by Rose Tursi was forwarded to me and presents a colorful caricature of the heart of the downtown Pomona Arts Colony. Click on the image for a much larger version. It's worth scrolling around it to look for details. (I like the skeleton in the dirt pit myself, and the Shadow in the apartment window.)

Which reminds me, Second Saturday, as the monthly Art Walk is known, is tonight. Probably the main event is the annual "Simply Red" show at the dA Center for the Arts, 252 S. Main St., in which every piece, in honor of Valentine's Day, incorporates red. There'll also be a party at the dA to mark Upland artist Dee Marcellus Cole's 80th birthday. HB, Dee!

Lucky Elephant, 1515 N. Mountain Ave. (at 6th), Ontario; also 531 W. Arrow Highway (at Eucla), San Dimas

Having dined at the very good and exquisitely decorated Lucky Elephant in San Dimas, I was excited to see a banner along 6th Street at Mountain Avenue in Ontario, by the Edwards 14 cinemas, that a Lucky Elephant would be coming soon. It opened in late January and affords much the same experience as in San Dimas.

The interior is lined with teak paneling, with gables over the booths. A glass display case is filled with elephant figurines. Thailand tourism videos play on flat screen TVs. (The narration is turned low but can catch you unawares if you're seated without a view of the TVs, as I was on my first visit.)

At lunchtime, the hostess is clad in a long lavender traditional dress. All the plates, platters, bowls, cups and saucers match and were made in Thailand. In other words, it's something of an immersive experience.

The only comparable place locally of which I'm aware is Green Mango in Rancho Cucamonga. Like Green Mango, Lucky Elephant also has very good food. On my first visit, I had one of the lunch specials (all $7): ginger pork, sauteed with peppers, onions, carrots and mushrooms. Salad, soup and rice come with. Tasty and filling.

A few days later, I returned to try the crispy ground catfish salad ($9), a dish I've had in Thai Town. I have no idea how it's made, because in appearance and texture it's akin to deep-fried cotton candy. The Lucky Elephant version is credible but desperately needs another ingredient; one excellent version I've tried was served on a bed of sliced apples. I wouldn't order it again here, at least not solo; for one person, finishing it was monotonous.

But I'm looking forward to my next visit. The menu is lengthy and contains many dishes rare to the Inland Valley. And despite the white tablecloths and lovely surroundings, few entrees are above $9. You might leave feeling as lucky as the elephants.

La Verne Councilman Robert Rodriguez, seen here during a break in Monday's meeting, is back after two months of convalescence from bypass surgery. Friday's column (read it here) is about the meeting. La Verne's are among the most genial council meetings in the valley.

If you've crossed the city limits into Upland, you've no doubt noticed their new markers. There are 10 at different points around town. They began going up a year ago and the final ones (which needed Caltrans approval due to freeway proximity) went up in the past few weeks.

The marker at the top is on Euclid Avenue at 7th Street; the one below is on Mountain Avenue at the 10 Freeway.

I may be writing a column about them soon. What are your thoughts? Do you like them or dislike them? How would you describe them?

They remind me of the monolith in "2001: A Space Odyssey." But so far I haven't seen any primitive Uplanders worshiping it.

Wednesday's column (read it here) is an ode to one of the more striking TV shows from my childhood, "Soul Train." Thanks to the Internet, it's possible to watch clips from the show. Above is a delightful dance-line sequence said to be from 1974.

Below is a compilation of Afro Sheen and Ultra Sheen commercials:

And here's a Scramble Board sequence:

Can you dig it?

Super Bowl Sunday is one of my favorite days of the year: When you have no interest in the big game, you have the streets almost to yourself.

I drove to Chino to try a burger at Jollibee (verdict: for a fast-food burger, pretty good), and read out on the Spectrum food court patio; then drove to a nearly empty Flo's Airport Cafe, also in Chino, for apple cobbler a la mode, where over a quiet couple of hours I managed to finish Steve Martin's "The Pleasure of My Company" with little company other than myself; then drove to the Macy's at Montclair Plaza to shop for clothes in a near-empty store. Later I browsed at Rhino Records in Claremont, again virtually deserted, while the rest of America slipped into a food coma.

If you didn't watch the game, I hope you found equally relaxing or productive ways to spend your time. And if you did watch the game, well, that's fine too. I heard it was pretty good.

Sunday's column (read it here) is about Upland's recently adopted downtown specific plan, which lays out in detail what's allowed down there. Encouraged will be three- and four-story buildings with apartments or condos on the upper floors and retail and restaurants on the ground floor. Changes will occur gradually, of course, but the goal is a more vibrant district with more residents and more entertainment, dining and shops.

Any thoughts about the plan as described in my column, or about Upland's downtown?

Jollibee, 4021 Grand Ave. (at Pipeline), Chino

The dominant fast-food chain in the Philippines, Jollibee has locations elsewhere in Southeast Asia and in the United States that are often beloved by Filipino immigrants who remember the food from childhood. Its only Inland Valley outlet is in Chino, a city that must be more exotic than we'd dreamed.

I drove down for lunch one recent Saturday and found Jollibee in the outdoor food court of Chino Spectrum Towne Center, by a Starbucks. The interior resembles a slightly louder Pinkberry, with orange molded-plastic chairs and white tables. One wall is filled by a photo mural of children's faces.

The menu has Filipino takes on hamburgers, fried chicken and spaghetti. I ordered a combo with spaghetti and one piece of chicken with a soda ($6). The dark-meat chicken (the chain calls it ChickenJoy) came with a cup of gravy. The spaghetti had a sweet marinara sauce, a sliced-up hot dog and melted cheese on top.

I can't say this was delicious, but the food and ambience were pleasantly odd. Interesting to see another culture's slightly surreal version of American staples. I might go back sometime to try the YumBurger just to see what that's all about. Service was cheerful but emphatic. Outdoors, there's seating around a burbling fountain, relaxing on a warm afternoon.

This Jollibee also has a bakery, named Red Ribbon, that makes cakes and small snacks. The restaurant hosts children's parties that feature an appearance by the Jollibee mascot, a smiling bee who wears -- why not? -- a blazer and a chef's hat.

Friday's column (read it here) kicks off with a visit to a dress rehearsal for "Don Pasquale," which opens Saturday in Pomona, and continues with items on dining, my Twitter page, local vignettes and the Bowlium.

The new Super King market, and its surrounding Claremont Promenade center off the 10 Freeway at Indian Hill Boulevard in Claremont, has a super-sized sign, seen here in an eastbound view. (Thank goodness traffic was light as I slowed to snap this through my windshield.)

Although the Super King sign may appear more super than the Norms' sign installed last year, the dimensions show there's no contest. Norms is 99 feet high while Super King's is a mere (ahem) 80 feet.

Books acquired: "Fire and Rain," David Browne; "Kafka Americana," Jonathan Lethem and Carter Scholz; "The Long Lavender Look," "The Empty Copper Sea," John D. MacDonald.

Books read: "I, Robot," Isaac Asimov; "Like I Was Sayin'," Mike Royko; "I Wouldn't Have Missed It," Ogden Nash; "Soon I Will Be Invincible," Austin Grossman; "I Hope I Shall Arrive Soon," Philip K. Dick; "I'll Mature When I'm Dead," Dave Barry; "I, Robot: The Illustrated Screenplay," Harlan Ellison; "As I Lay Dying," William Faulkner; "I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream," Harlan Ellison; "Take My Picture Gary Leonard," Gary Leonard; "Party of One: A Loner's Manifesto," Anneli Rufus.

Welcome to my first Reading Log of 2012, the feature where I chart my reading month-by-month, and you chime in with comments about your own reading life.

You may recall that over the past three decades or so I've accumulated a shameful number of unread books, close to 550. Yikes! (That includes some childhood favorites that I've read but intend to reread, and some omnibus books and anthologies, like the complete Shakespeare, that I'm counting as multiple books. But still.)

Between purchases and gifts, that number hasn't budged much despite three years of reading 50 to 60 books per year. But at least my backlog is slowly getting fresher.

This year I'm planning to focus on short books (200 pages or less) in an attempt to sweep away some of the easier ones on my shelves. If I can read, I dunno, 75 this year, including a lot of SF, a few literary classics and the final three Sherlock Holmes books, that would be satisfying. But you never know what a year will bring, and thus, I reserve the right to switch gears and delve into gloomy Russian epics.

I'm off to a good start, polishing off 11 (!) in January. That's too many to talk about, and even for the photo I had to stand on a footstool. But there weren't so many that I had to lay them out in a field and charter a plane for an aerial shot.

Just for fun, the first nine use the personal pronoun in the title, sometimes twice. I started some of them last fall, arranging to finish them in January for a month of "I" books. Oh, we must get our jollies somehow. With a week left in the month and no more "I" books to read, I found two with similarly narcissistic titles to round out the month.

Favorites of the 11 would be Nash's light verse, Dick's short stories and Rufus' defense of 24-hour wallflower people. Biggest disappointment was Barry's latest. I think Will Plunkett was similarly disappointed by it in a comment here last year.

As for the books' provenance, "I Have No Mouth" was bought in about 1981, with Nash's and Royko's acquired in the mid-1980s. Nice to have three oldies out of the way. The rest were purchased in the past decade; notably, Rufus' was purchased at the excellent Green Apple Books in San Francisco and Faulkner's at the Faulkner House museum and gift shop in New Orleans.

February will bring a much shorter list of books. i'll be starting from scratch today with a new, as-yet-unchosen book.

Now, what are you reading, and do you have any personal reading goals for the year?