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Restaurant Names

rich

By rich
in Food Traditions & Culture

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Bombdog

Bombdog

Posted
Posted

Downtown Martinez, near the Superior Court building,

Legal Grounds, coffee house.

Dave Valentin

Retired Explosive Detection K9 Handler

"So, what if we've got it all backwards?" asks my son.

"Got what backwards?" I ask.

"What if chicken tastes like rattlesnake?" My son, the Einstein of the family.

ms. victoria

ms. victoria

Posted
Posted

In Lenoir City, Tennessee (or at least used to be) the Chat and Chew, affectionately known to locals as the Chat and Choke.

I went to college in Chattanooga, TN which has several eateries with interesting and/or odd names. Choo-Choo Hot Fish and Yum Yum's are my favorite. But there are others: Durty Nelly's (Irish Pub), The Pickle Barrel (college bar in a Flatiron type building), The Back Inn Cafe (which is, you guessed it, behind an inn. I worked there briefly), Clumpie's Ice Cream, and The Mudpie (coffee house).

Victoria Raschke, aka ms. victoria

Eat Your Heart Out: food memories, recipes, rants and reviews

pim

pim

Posted
Posted

Ruth's Chris steakhouse. A chain steakhouse in the US.

Not that I would ever be caught dead eating there, but what's up with the name?

Is "Chris" a code for something I am entirely unaware of? Should it matter to me that Ruth's got it?

chez pim

not an arbiter of taste

Gifted Gourmet

Gifted Gourmet

Posted
Posted
Ruth's Chris steakhouse. A chain steakhouse in the US.

Not that I would ever be caught dead eating there, but what's up with the name?

Is "Chris" a code for something I am entirely unaware of? Should it matter to me that Ruth's got it?

How Ruth’s Chris Got Its Name

Ruth's Chris Steak House" is such a tongue-twister that one restaurant critic suggested it be used as a sobriety test: anyone who could say that name three times certainly couldn't be intoxicated.

The restaurant Ruth Fertel bought in 1965 was named "Chris Steak House," and she acquired the right to use that name as long as the restaurant remained in the original location. But after a fire forced her to move, she needed a new name. Adding her name to the logo seemed the simplest solution and "Ruth's Chris Steak House" was born. It has proven to be effective as people remember the name because it's so unusual. It has also had an additional benefit. . . people stopped calling her Chris.

This is from their own website and explains a lot ....

Melissa Goodman aka "Gifted Gourmet"

deibu

deibu

Posted
Posted
In Lenoir City, Tennessee (or at least used to be) the Chat and Chew, affectionately known to locals as the Chat and Choke.

There's also a "Chat 'n' Chew" in the town of Turbeville, SC...

Busboy

Busboy

Posted
Posted

"The Office," a dive bar in Council Bluffs, Iowa ("If you need me, I'll be at the office).

"The Horse You Rode in On" in Baltimore.

"Bertha's," also in Charm City" but only for their vaguely unsettling and wildly popular bumper sticker reading "eat Bertha's mussles."

"Big Wong," in DC

I'm on the pavement

Thinking about the government.

Bicycle Lee

Bicycle Lee

Posted
Posted
"The Office," a dive bar in Council Bluffs, Iowa ("If you need me, I'll be at the office).

There's a strip club here called The Office...same pun applies...

"Make me some mignardises, &*%$@!" -Mateo

Gifted Gourmet

Gifted Gourmet

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Posted

"Chuck-a-Rama" (food going in or out here??) :laugh:

in the forties in Oklahoma City, there was "Squat and Gobble"

"Skogs" outside Columbus, Ohio ... is this a Klingon restaurant?? :biggrin:

"The Bloated Goat" in Fowlerville, MI

"The Pickled Wig" in Clarksville, Tennessee (see why The Monkeys wrote/sang the song "Take the last train to Clarksville"??) :rolleyes:

Melissa Goodman aka "Gifted Gourmet"

rich

rich

Posted
  • Topic Starter
Posted

These are all great names - both good and bad. But would (or has) anyone either eaten at a place because of its name or refused to eat at a restaurant because of its name?

Rich Schulhoff

Opinions are like friends, everyone has some but what matters is how you respect them!

Gifted Gourmet

Gifted Gourmet

Posted
Posted (edited)
These are all great names - both good and bad. But would (or has) anyone either eaten at a place because of its name or refused to eat at a restaurant because of its name?

I know I personally am not planning to eat at "The Bloated Goat" when I next vacation in Fowlerville, MI. :laugh: It just doesn't sound appetizing .... :rolleyes:

Thanks for a great thread here, rich! Most enjoyable discussion!!

Edited by Gifted Gourmet (log)

Melissa Goodman aka "Gifted Gourmet"

Jean Brislance

Jean Brislance

Posted
Posted
The Horny Toad and The Satisfied Frog (both barbecue places in Cave Creek, Arizona , near Scottsdale)

I have actually been to the Horny Toad, about 10 years ago. If I recall, really good fried chicken.

This has been a very entertaining thread!

Jean

Shannon_Elise

Shannon_Elise

Posted
Posted

I'm with who ever said "Buca di Beppo" or as we refer to it buca di barfa. Same with Olive Garden, it's just wrong.

A cafe near me just opened up with the name "Skambo", they say it derives from french origin and means "a tasteful expirience". To me it sounds like someone combined "scamming bimbo".

Shannon

my new blog: http://uninvitedleftovers.blogspot.com

"...but I'm good at being uncomfortable, so I can't stop changing all the time...be kind to me, or treat me mean...I'll make the most of it I'm an extraordinary machine."

-Fiona Apple, Extraordinary Machine

adoxograph

adoxograph

Posted
Posted

Driving through MInnesota this weekend, we passed by "Carlos O'Kerry's cafe".

I couldn't help but think "What the hell do they serve there?"

--adoxograph

Gifted Gourmet

Gifted Gourmet

Posted
Posted (edited)
Driving through MInnesota this weekend, we passed by "Carlos O'Kerry's cafe".

I couldn't help but think "What the hell do they serve there?"

How about Democrat enchiladas?? :laugh:

or maybe even chalupas with corned beef and cabbage? :rolleyes:

more fusion, to be sure, as in boxty with nachos and Limerick Ham with huevos rancheros ...

Edited by Gifted Gourmet (log)

Melissa Goodman aka "Gifted Gourmet"

chow guy

chow guy

Posted
Posted

I can't stand places that have misspelled names like "Kowboy Kafe" etc. Places with Kutsey names often seem to have awful food.

There used to be a place here with a sign that read, "Siagon House and Emissions Testing" and another small cafe attached to a gas station that read, "Eat Here Get Gas" So much for saving money on signage.

There is a great little place in Santa Fe called "Dave's Not Here".

Swisskaese

Swisskaese

Posted
Posted (edited)

I use to live in Atlanta and there was a sign on Ponce de Leon Avenue that said "Chinese Restaurant and Oil Change". I was always worried that they might cook using the oil from the oil changes!!! :laugh::laugh::laugh:

Edited by Swisskaese (log)
Gifted Gourmet

Gifted Gourmet

Posted
Posted
I use to live in Atlanta and there was a sign on Ponce de Leon Avenue that said "Chinese Restaurant and Oil Change". I was always worried that they might cook using the oil from the oil changes!!! :laugh::laugh::laugh:

My favorite: General Tsao's 10-W-30?? :laugh:

Melissa Goodman aka "Gifted Gourmet"

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