The Pizza Hut of Malibu

I was talking with C today, who recently moved with her boyfriend to an oceanfront home in Malibu. They had been living in Santa Monica, but C's boyfriend's new job in Oxnard necessitated a move up the coast. Malibu was a good compromise, and a long sought and finally found under-market rental made living there affordable.

C and her boyfriend had come into a quantity of gift certificates for Nobu Malibu, and finally decided to make an evening of it. When they walked in on Friday night, the place was packed with families -- families playing cards, wearing sombreros, making scenes, acting silly. Over at the sushi bar, two six year olds with a mop of sun-streaked white-blond hair had to be controlled by mom Cindy Crawford as they tried to crawl up on the bar. The restaurant, known elsewhere for upscale sushi and Peruvian-Japanese fusion, was in Malibu a magnet for families with money to burn.

C's boyfriend turned to C and remarked, "I guess this place is the Pizza Hut of Malibu."