I haven't addressed the List in many a moon, but I thought you would enjoy a Nabokovian romp I witnessed. Jansy and Carolyn began this anniversary morning with a charming (if we do say so ourselves) ramble on one of our favorite topics, "the egg and ....".
Let me see, it all began with Carolyn asking Jansy if by "Eysenstein" in a recent posting she didn't really mean "Eyestein." Jansy then corrected Carolyn's misspelling to "Eystein" and further imagined when queried, that the "ey" could refer to a german egg or an english self. We thought this was terrifically interesting.
This then reminded Carolyn of "The Egg and I" (a wonderfully humorous book about raising chickens by Betty MacDonald) --- which in turn lead Jansy to recall a restaurant that Pnin patronizes called "The Egg and We." Which lead Carolyn to recall a delightful restaurant that used to serve omlettes across the street from the Los Angeles Museum of Art called "The Egg and the Eye."
A google later she was able to produce some details on this unique restaurant:
from
http://www.mgaa.net/Main%20Gallery/Wyle/index.htm
Edith Wyle 1918 - 1999
During the 1960's, in search of her own true interests, which lay in the realm of food, crafts and folk art, she conceived of and opened an innovative restaurant and folk art gallery called The Egg and the Eye. Located on Wilshire Blvd. in Los Angeles, The Egg and The Eye immediately became fashionable with both the arts and business crowd, as its mezzanine restaurant served 54 kinds of omelets in a very elegant setting and the gallery and shop had exotic folk arts and crafts from around the world.
Edith Wyle of "The Egg and the Eye"
Betty MacDonald of "The Egg and I" (book 1945, film 1947)
Which finally leads us to the question: If Pnin was written in 1957 was the name of the restaurant a coincidence?
Little Childe, :> (her sign) a buff Orpington hen residing and striding in Pasadena