Restaurant Names

[Grovite]

There is a nice grill/bar in Denton, TX across from the county courthouse called The Loophole. Kinda clever I suppose, and hey, the food is good.

[schnitzel]

More for the "coffee table" book. In Ocean City, MD: Big Pecker's Bar and Grill, Brass Balls Saloon & Bad Ass Cafe, and a bar called The Bearded Clam.

[Milt]

"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...

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I grew up in Farmington, New Mexico - an oil field community. Adjacent to the Avery Hotel was The Office, the hotel's bar. Same story as above. A couple of years later another bar opened in town and it was named The Rig - referring to the drilling rigs that were so common. Same story as above. Everyone was covered - the white collar workers and the blue collar workers.

We have a Korean restaurant here in Marietta, Georgia named Il Mee - which a Korean friend of mine says means beautiful place, or something similar to that. They seem to attract a Korean clientelle. The rest of us are too put off by the name to try the food.

We also have a restaurant named Thaicoon.

[sazji]

To really appreciate this one, you have to know how to pronounce Thai. "Ph" is not pronounced "f," it's a "forceful p." Back in Seattle in the late 90s, there was a fairly nice little Thai place called "Sala Thai." They sold out to another owner who focused on north Thai food. He renamed the place after a "very beautiful mountain in northern Thailand." The new name: Phuu Ping Thai. I.e. Poo Ping Thai. I really should have gotten a couple matchbooks as souveniers. I didn't have the heart to tell him. Several months later, the name had changed to "Lanna Thai." Someone must have had the heart.

When I was fourteen, my first job was at a Chinese restaurant named "Ming Garden." Their over-the-top, Polynesian-style bar with waterfall and plastic ferns, was called the "Hung Far Lounge."

Edited October 12, 2005 by sazji (log)

[vbmontana]

In Brooksville, Maine there is a decent retaurant with the puzzling name of "Bread and Water." That's not what I go out for. "Let's go out tonight to Bread and Water" doesn't sing.

[MarketStEl]

In Brooksville, Maine there is a decent retaurant with the puzzling name of "Bread and Water."  That's not what I go out for. "Let's go out tonight to Bread and Water" doesn't sing.

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No, but I imagine that people in the area would cheer if they were sentenced to "a diet of Bread and Water."

[akebono]

here in northern virginia,

there is a joint called

"The Lost Dog Cafe"

it is a stones throw from several

asian eateries...

but i think it is a pizza deal.

i kid you not.

google it.

see,

told ya.

-m

stereotypes, inc.

[lancastermike]

Several years ago my wife and I got seriously lost while driving in Norfolk Va. We ended up driving through a less than nice neighborhood. We saw a sign that made us both blink: Chinky-Chinks. I would guess it was a Chinese place but we did not stop

[Mooshmouse]

Just drove past one of Vancouver's ubiquitous hole-in-the-wall noodle joints yesterday: Kinda Japanese Ramen.

I wonder what the word 'Kinda' is referencing? Is it implying that the provenance of their noodles is Japanese-Trinidiadian or Japanese-Danish? Or are their soup dishes actually a combination of ramen and tagliatelle?

[markovitch]

Around Portland, OR, we have a few oddly named thai restaurants-- Appethaizing, Thai Noon, and My Thai (soon to open). there was discussion about Pho Shizzle up in BC.

i'd like to hear the best and the worst kitschy restaurant names. whatcha god, Egullet?

[lannie]

Not sure if this is really kitschy, but it made me laugh when I saw it.

In an HDB foodcourt (hawker food stalls underneath the towering public housing complexes in Singapore), a vendor wanted to appeal to those who liked American fast food. So, naturally, he took the name of two of the most popular eateries, and called his place: McTucky (combo of McDonald's and Kentucky Fried Chicken!).

[Kouign Aman]

"Krisha Mulvaney's" used to serve the best mudpie in San Diego.

Outside Miami, "The Pit" barbecue joint. It was, too. My pal was sick for two days. We shoulda figured....

[Lilija]

I always liked the names of these two (VERY) local joints, Barb's Big Burrito, and Big Bertha's Weenie Winnebago.

Barb's Big Burritos are good, served up by Barb herself. Never tried Big Bertha's Weenies, though. It literally was a Winnebago, and you'd catch Bertha hanging around outside in her mumu and support hose. *shiver*

[sweetfreak]

Here in the DC area, there are two Asian restaurants, the first called Pho King and the other New Big Wong.

[jvictor930]

I once worked for a restaurant that was rebranding from a bar (innocently named Jerry's) to a steakhouse. The "consultant", which was hired for an obscene amount of money came up with the name Cripple Creek Steakhouse. Cripple Creek, Colo. was the site of the largest gold lode in the US, as well as the subject of a song. However, this "consultant" didn't feel this could insult any folks who might be differently abled. Ergo, once the thought of the handicapped parking spaces beneath the Cripple Creek sign entered the minds of the powers that were in charge, the name was changed and the consultant was sent on thier way. One PR nightmare averted!

[ghostrider]

Today I drove by "Gag's Carribean & American Restaurant."

[Chris Amirault]

I once worked for a restaurant that was rebranding from a bar (innocently named Jerry's) to a steakhouse.    The "consultant", which was hired for an obscene amount of money came up with the name Cripple Creek Steakhouse. 

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A drunkard's dream if I ever did see one....

[WHS]

There is a nice grill/bar in Denton, TX  across from the county courthouse called The Loophole. Kinda clever I suppose, and hey, the food is good.

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And the bathrooms are labeled "Hung" and "Split"

[ed davis]

A few interesting names I've run across:

There is a Pho King in Seaside CA also

An old time (dating from the 20s) Chinese place in Portland OR is/was called Hung Far Low

In San Diego there used to be a small Chinese place that was either Mr Sho's or Mrs Ho's - one was never sure by the sign which was correct.

In Monterey CA there used to be an excellent place called Beau Thai.

[Oyster Guy]

A few places I have run across........

Pub in Toronto called "The Spotted Dick". Shouldn't you want to see a doctor about that?

Pub in Vancouver called "The Smoking Dog". Put that damm dog out while I am eating!

A.W. Shucks in North Carolina. Aww shucks, couldn't you come up with a better name?

Chinese place in London......Ho Lee Fuk. Does that describe the food or the prices?

The Mad Dog Bar and Grill. Was too afraid of the possible clientele to check this place out. Did you want a side of rabies with that burger?

The Bovine Sex Club in Toronto. Just too many things wrong with that to even begin....

[markovitch]

'Hung far low' has been a PDX greasy chinese restuarant since the 1950s

[fud]

A shame that is closed down but in Vancouver, a personal favorite was

Pho Bich Nga

No matter how you try to make it sound non vulgar it always seems to come back to being vulgar in some way.

[annanstee]

A few places I have run across........

Pub in Toronto called "The Spotted Dick". Shouldn't you want to see a doctor about that?

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You probably already know this - but Spotted Dick is an English steamed pudding as well as an unfortunate result of injudicious partnering

[jsmith]

It's a pub but still..... "Filthy McNastys"

Yuck

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I've actually been there (they have UFC pay per view on big screens every event). You know your in a classy establishment when they have plastic disposable shot glasses.

I just got a flyer last night for "Old Man's Pizza and Wings" Yum!

[Peter B Wolf]

Choosing a name for a public establishment, such as a Restaurant, could evoke public embarrassment.

Namely : The word “ clo “ is used in German colloquialism describing a toilet / restroom.

It is a direct diminutive of the word “ closet “, a shortened term of “ water closet “

Or “ CC “, an inscription found frequently on doors of such ‘facilities’ in Europe.

( Eating and drinking in a ‘CLO’ is GROSS !! )

edited to say " WC " vs. " CC "

Clo Encounter ( from Gayot travel pages )

The final restaurant in the Time Warner Center food court has just been revealed: Clo, located right across from Per Se. Andrew Bradbuy, last seen as sommelier at Aureole in Las Vegas, will run the 75-seat wine bar which will offer 100 different bottles when it opens in November.

And in the NY Post :

The final piece of Time Warner Center's Restaurant Collection will arrive next month - Clo, a 75-seat wine bar on the galleria's fourth level, just outside Per Se and Masa.

"I'm looking forward to it - it will bring energy to the floor, said chef Michael Lomonaco, who owns Porter House at the floor's north end.

Related honcho Kenneth Himmel said Clo will be run by Andrew Bradbury, who made his mark as the master sommelier at Aureole in Las Vegas, famed for its 42-foot tall, glass-enclosed wine tower.

At Clo, customers can sample 100-odd vintages served in two-ounce pours and then buy them by the bottle from a small store to be installed near the elevators on the same floor. A light menu will offer wine-appropriate nibbles.

Edited October 4, 2007 by Peter B Wolf (log)