Steve Harvey's "Only in L. A."

Columnist Steve Harvey says he was disturbed to read that the New York Times is questioning whether fortune cookies were invented in L.A. "My understanding was that they had been created here in 1918 by David Jung, a Chinese immigrant and founder of the Hong Kong Noodle Co." said Harvey.

The New York Times, however, cited the work of a history student who found a book of Japanese tales that referred to "written fortune crackers." The book was written in 1878.

Ah, well, L.A. can still lay claim to a few other culinary inventions, including:

* The Cobb Salad (named after Brown Derby owner Robert Cobb).



* The cheeseburger (the brainstorm of a chef named, no kidding, Lionel Sternberger; he worked in Pasadena in the 1920s).

* _The chili size (a burger on an open-faced bun topped with chili, which was introduced around the same time).

One website claims that fortune cookies didn't appear in China until the 1990s -- and were introduced as "Genuine American Fortune Cookies."

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