Name this Vietnamese Restaurant

[Rachel Perlow]

A very successful Vietnamese restaurant (rated Very Good by the NYT) near us is planning on opening an offshoot in a neighboring town. It will be an even more casual joint, just serving Pho (the famous Vietnamese soup), summer rolls, some other apps and salads, coffee & dessert.

Anyway, they are trying to think of a catchy name for the place and have thought of several with a play on words based on "Pho." As you may or may not know Pho is pronounced fuh with a short u sound, not foe with a long o. So here are some suggestions:

• Pho-natic(s) (fanatic/fanatics)
  Pho King (fucking, but it will look like a more typical Chinese take-out joint kind of name), the chef's brother suggested "Pho King Good" but I think that's too long.
  Mo'Pho (More Pho or something about someone's mother)
  Pho-Q or Pho-Que (Fuck You) then if she opens a second one, it could be Pho-Q 2
  

So, what is your opinion about the play on words? Is using the homonym for fuck too coarse? We were all thinking of it similarly to the "Cluck U" chain of chicken wing stores, but didn't know if it was just too blatant. If so, Phonatics would be the back up, unless someone can think of another pun that would work -- in other words, feel free to give us more suggestions!

[VeryApe77]

I seem to remember someone posting a link a few weeks ago with a picture of a Vietnamese restaurant in Miami called Pho Shizzle which I thought was funny (esp. if it was an accident).

Sorry, not really answering your question...

[Rachel Perlow]

Additional suggestions are welcome. I like that one, but isn't that whole Snoop Dog pig latin over with? I thought that once Fran Dresher used it in an Old Navy commercial it became passé?

[Chris Cognac]

Pho-Sure, Pho-Ton, Pho better or Pho worse, Pho-cus Pocus, I could go on and on

[Pickles]

I don't know enough Vietnamese words to pair up with "Pho" and I'd be too scared to start for fear of naming the place something totally gross about fish sauce and girls and fingers while trying to be "punny." I'll leave that up to Tony Bourdain. Tony? Any ideas, man?

Edited February 24, 2004 by Pickles (log)

[tommy]

riffing on chris's suggestion, Pho-sho (pho-show).

phe phi pho yum.

oh man, that was poor.

Pho Phun.

Edited February 24, 2004 by tommy (log)

[Rosie]

PHO-FOOD

[VeryApe77]

Additional suggestions are welcome. I like that one, but isn't that whole Snoop Dog pig latin over with? I thought that once Fran Dresher used it in an Old Navy commercial it became passé?

Oh God yes, even Snoop had said that it's played out. I got the impression that the restaurant name was an accident though. If deliberate, not so funny.

[Jason Perlow]

Pho Pas?

[babyluck]

I like Mo'Pho--I think it could catch on.

[Jason Perlow]

Pho' Max

[Jason Perlow]

I like Mo'Pho--I think it could catch on.

Crazy Mo'Pho. Even better!

[Jason Perlow]

Pho'Tastic

[Jason Perlow]

Pho' Real

[stephenc]

Nguyen's dinner?

[slbunge]

Nguyen's dinner?

Holy cow...that opens up a whole new line of thinking.

[Rachel Perlow]

Nguyen's dinner?

how would that be pronounced?

[GG Mora]

Wat Pho.

[Toliver]

Nguyen's dinner?

how would that be pronounced?

Pronounced like "win".

edited: Or kind of like "when" with more of a "ih" sound

Edited February 24, 2004 by Toliver (log)

[KatieLoeb]

What's Pho Dinner?

[DonRocks]

Hor Nee Yan Pho Ming

[foodie52]

Good Pho Yu

InPho Noodle Highway

[ExtraMSG]

We actually have a Pho Ton just down the road from me. Personally, I like Pho King. It's a nice double entrendre. It's also nice because so many people say pho with a very long "o" so it's funnier to people in the know.

[jhlurie]

Pho Nominal.

[Stone]

phoGullet