dumb restaurant names [Moved from Ontario Board]

[KayceeK]

Every time I go by "Dazzling" on King West in the Entertainment District, I feel sick to my stomach. What a silly name for a restaurant!! It makes me not want to go in there, as does "Superior" on Yonge, though for all I know, it could be a great spot.

Are there any restaurants you won't go to, just because of their unfortunate name?

[monkeyrotica]

The food is actually pretty good, but combining "shawarma" and "falafel" into "Shawafel" just doesn't work for me. Sounds too much like "Sure awful."

http://districtcuisine.files.wordpres...

[klyeoh]

Saw this in Singapore today:

[mucho gordo]

There's a grungy looking joint on Van Nuys Blvd. called OK Chinese Food

[alkapal]

that is beautiful, man!

[gaffk]

Or maybe it's trading off the new trend of Oklahoma Chinese ;)

[jumpingmonk]

Come to think of it, there is (or at least used to be) a place at 218 Grand street, Mahattan called OK 218.

[seamunky]

Pho Shizzle

[buttertart]

Maybe they make it with beef pizzle.

[UTSGWindsor]

Villain's Beastro, Windsor Ontario. Portions were tiny, but the food was decent, interesting idea, an evil theme restaurant, only in Detroit...

[California Sunshine]

There's a new Korean tofu/sushi fusion restaurant in Sunnyvale, CA named olleh . It's awkward to arrange to meet for lunch at a place named "hello" backwards!

[semorrow]

saw a restaurant called "greek house" with the subtitle "an italian family restaurant" on a trip to GA from MD a few years back...

[josquared]

Here's one that's a twist on this theme:

I had just finished a long swim workout in the morning near San Anselmo, CA, and I was absolutely starving for something savory. I passed this place on the side of the road that had a silly name but the last of the three items just sounded grand at the time - "Peace, Love & Grilled Cheeses."

Of course, I pulled over, only to be mightily disappointed to find out it was a freakin' hair salon!

[mamachef]

I thought they actually did serve grilled cheeses to their customers. If I'd have been that hungry, i'd likely have come out full, with a perm or a new color or something. : )

[Sobremesa]

Hang Fung in Monaghan, Ireland. Everyone makes fun of it. "Flung Dung" was vulgar, I'll admit, but it still makes me chuckle whenever I think of it. Hang Fung might mean something appetizing in whichever Asian language it is from, but one really must consider the people of the target country when a business goes international.

[kubasd]

Hang Fung? Am I being obtuse?

[alkapal]

our british friend refers to any anonymous person as "hu flung dung"

~~~~~~
kuba -- i'm with you.

[mamachef]

Wow Bao! A Rick Melman enterprise, of course.....just irritates the hell out of me.

[AndrewPF]

I don't know if I love or hate cutesy names based on location. On Bowdoin st. in Boston, right behind the State House, there's a bar called The 21st Amendment and a Greek deli-type place called The Fill-A-Buster. Both are pretty damn good, but I can't reach a verdict on the names.

[mwk]

Maybe it's just me, since I don't live in NYC, but when we were in Manhattan last month, our hotel was across the street from a bagel restaurant called "Hot and Crusty".

My New York friends don't seem to think there's anything wrong with that. However, to me it sounds like something you'd want your dermatologist to take a look at, or something you'd want to rub creme on. I know what they were going for, but not appetizing to me at all...

[small h]

We're just used to seeing it. But I agree with you - Hot & Crusty is not an inspired choice for a place that sells food.

[cosmogrrl]

We have a restaurant herein SF called Hot n' Hunky.

Another one was called Medicine. It's closed now, but the name never appealed to me, at all. They had very health conscious, gourmet, asian inspired food, which I just found bland, and dull. Also, despite the brouhaha, Red Medicine doesn't appeal to me because of it's name. I just don't want to think of my food as medicine. NO appeal to my senses.

[buttertart]

Hot 'n' Hunky is in the Castro, I trust? ;-)
Medicine isn't appealing AT ALL in a restaurant name. Yuck.

[Tripeler]

Hot 'N' Hunky was in the Castro. I think it has been closed for a couple of years now.

[klyeoh]

London once had Pharmacy, a very trendy restaurant in Notting Hill. Its decor (by Damien Hirst) & even food all had a pharmaceutical theme. Opened in 1997, closed (not surprisingly) in 2003.

[gaffk]

Just what I want when I eat--reminders of sickness and medicine (and I work for a pharma).

[klyeoh]

I know what you mean! BTW, Pharmacy London's decor included bar-stool seats which looked like giant aspirins, drinks were served in syringes, and they even had preserved human skeletons for decor.

[weewah]

Many years ago I used to eat at a little place in Sedona called Eat your Heart Out. They had kick-ass deli meats and cheeses, amazing sandwiches, homemade breads, chocolate chip cookies. But the imagery of that name bothered me and still does.
Eat your Heart Out. You're either bitter and acrimonious, or literally eating your own heart! Yuck!

[buttertart]

My nominee for most cutesy and annoying new NYC restaurant name is "Hung Ry", an apparently quite excellent noodle and Chinese food place. Maybe it's because I spent time wondering if the owners were Vietnamese until I realized what it was that it annoys me.

[gaffk]

In my area, it's Thai Titanic that makes me do a double take every time I pass it.

[porker]

You'd figure Thaitanic would be more appropriate?

[klyeoh]

I'd seen a Thaitanic in Sydney, Australia - together with Thaiphoon and Thaicoon.
Even Thai Me Up Thai Me Down (Almodovar would have been impressed!) in Los Angeles.

[gaffk]

Actually, I am told it has great Thai food. I might have to stop in on my next double take.

[klyeoh]

We thought this Singaporean chef was joking, but no - the food was positively mediocre :-(

[tatamagouche]

Hilarious. Surely he thought it meant something else?

[klyeoh]

We thought it was because he parted ways acrimoniously with his former place, The White Rabbit. But he denied that in a media interview recently. Still, I thought this was a really dumb name for a new restaurant :-D

[Delucacheesemonger]

Restaurant in Montreal called Toque, very high level. However, they pronounce it ' toe-kaye' as opposed to toak. Always seemed silly, is there a reason for this oddity ?

[buttertart]

It's supposed to have an é on the end which is of course pronounced "ay".

[freia]

????Never seen tuque/toque spelled with an accent on the end, nor have I ever heard it pronounced as TOE- QWAY...ever... as in EVER.
http://www.howjsay.com/index.php?word...

[porker]

Not TOE-QWAY, but toe-KAYE.
Doesn't matter how the word is supposed to be pronounced or spelled, the restaurant *name* is Toqué!, pronounced toe-KAYE
http://www.restaurant-toque.com/en/

[freia]

touche, toque! LOLOLOL :)

[buttertart]

This Canadienne bilingue and former toque-wearer thanks you, porker.

[alkapal]

tokey-dokey!

[Pipenta]

Used to be a take-out place in the Westville section of New Haven called, I kid you not, SOUPY PAILS. Sounded like the up-chuck bucket to me. The soup was almost as bad as the name, almost. They didn't last but six months.

[grlwhoeats]

This would have to be "Eat 'n Park" in central PA. Wait a minute- I thought I should really park the car first, then go in and then eat? It's not a drive in, soooo....??? Actually it was diner food, not bad really.

[porker]

Saw this heading today
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/7163...;
talks about a place "Thai Tanic" and I thought of this thread.

[bitsubeats]

There's a Thai Tanic in DC as well

[monkeyrotica]

Spike Mendelsohn of Good Stuff Eatery in DC is opening an NY pizza place.

It's called "We the Pizza."

[BobB]

Didn't you just post this five days ago?

[porker]

I heard of this guy in DC opening a new pizza place called "We the Pizza".

[alkapal]

hmm, has anyone heard about this guy opening a "we the pizza"?

~~~
LOL!

[monkeyrotica]

You can't miss it. It's located right next door to bathroom fixture and bidet repair shop called "Oui the Pissoir."

[monkeyrotica]

Burger entrepreneur Spike Mendelson just opened his new pizza place in DC called, "We the Pizza." Almost as bad as that French glory-hole-themed restaurant, "Oui the Peep Hole."

[BobB]

What restaurant? "Oui the Peep Hole"is a comedy act written by this guy five years ago: http://davidspiecher.com/id1.html

[sd4life]

I hate it when restaurants change their names to...CLOSED. lol

[The 1st and only KSyrahSyrah]

The dumbest restaurant name I ever heard when I moved here was.......

MOOSEWOOD! It seems to have done alright, though, don't you think?

[vanierstudent]

Big in Japan in montreal. Who doesn't like to eat in a restaurant which is named after a dick joke?

[cosmogrrl]

In SF's chinatown there's a restaurant called Chef Hung's. And a multitude of tapioca tea shops called Quickly.

Most pretentious name award goes to RN74.

[KaimukiMan]

i don't get it.

[hye]

RN74 or N74 is a highway in France.

[gmm]

There's a fairly new sushi restaurant in Coeur D'Alene, Idaho named "Raw Dead Fish." I love sushi, but yuck. Not clever.

[BobB]

I don't know, I kind of like the "in your face" attitude of that. Especially given that it's in Idaho!

[cuccubear]

I like the name too.

I once worked with a much older lady who was somewhat old fashioned. When she asked me what I had had for dinner on night’s that I’d had fried chicken, I always told her that “I had an old dead bird for dinner.” She’d screw up her face and say “Oh Jee-um!” (That’s “Jim” with a southern accent). Always made us laugh.

[tracylee]

My Dad will frequently refer to dinner as an old dead bird. He's been doing it all my life, so it never turned me off from his grilled chicken.

[weewah]

"Dad will frequently refer to dinner as an old dead bird"

That is too funny. My Dad calls it "ole dead chicken" and he will not eat chicken if there's anything else available except perhaps wings, which he likes okay.

[tracylee]

Oh, Dad loves to bake, barbecue, rotisserie chicken any time. I don't think I've ever seen him order it out, though. Usually it's some kind of halibut dish.

[Vexorg]

In our family, the term "Dead Chicken" always refers to supermarket rotisserie chickens.

[gmm]

Haven't tried it, but there's a restaurant in Seattle called "Jack's Tapas Cafe, Mainly Chinese".

[LabRat]

There's a new place in Chicago that's named "The Money Shot".

www.themoneyshotchicago.com

The local food boards are having a blast making fun of the name.

[weewah]

I would NEVER eat there.

[moltmonster]

Beefy Beef Noodles in Vancouver. The small print under the name says "Salty Peppery Chicken". I haven't been and wonder what they serve??

[buttertart]

At least it's not a conundrum like the place in Boston.

[jumpingmonk]

I'm not sure about it, but I think I saw a place on Allen st. called the Paradox Cafe. I wonder does that mean I can only go there if I can't go there.

[buttertart]

Perfect restaurant for Steven Wright.

[grayelf]

Somebody probably mentioned this already but Vancouver has a restaurant called Enigma. Eesh.

[buttertart]

Yuk. Hope they refrain from playing the eponymous music...

[alkapal]

"enigma:" -- for a second i thought i was reading "enema!"

[grayelf]

My brother and SIL would probably agree that was an appropriate name for it. Their old apartment backed onto the same lane and they were VERY loud putting out garbage etc at all hours of the morning in a largely residential block :-(.

[monkeyrotica]

There really should be a restaurant called, "The Sanitary Napkin." It'd put all those Thai pun restaurants to shame.

[Parigi]

Sounds like a real winner !

[purple bot]

"Thai-tation" in Boston, Fenway area...huh?

[lil magill]

there used to be a place in one of the carolina's -- north, i believe -- called Sam and Ella's. Then there was Julia's Cheeser in my hometown for a while. just a cheese shop... but I thought that was pretty catchy.

[tatamagouche]

Why, oh, why would anyone name a place Sam and Ella's? That's mind-boggling. Even if those were their actual names, what were they thinking?!

[KaimukiMan]

ok, that one I had to google......
wouldn't Sal-N-Ella at least have been closer?

(for those as dense as me.... salmonella)

People do the strangest things when they are drunk.... I used to work for an architectural firm called Trans-Oceanic-Architectural-Design, one of the bosses used to love to answer the phone using the acronym.

[alkapal]

ribbit! <hiccough> "may i help you?" http://barista.media2.org/wp-content/CANE-TOAD.jpg

and if ya drink too much, you might see like this one: http://i535.photobucket.com/albums/ee...

[Dinsdale45]

There was a fantastic little eclectic restaurant in Salem NH back in the late 90s with the unfortunate name of "Metastasis". The owners wanted to covey a "change of position, state, or form", but most people associate the word with the spread of a cancerous tumor. The chef still runs a bistro in Manchester, without that name.

[tatamagouche]

Oh, dear. There've been so many of those, all failures, in the Boston area—Apocrypha, Conundrum, etc. While yours is even worse, it goes to show that, like a book title, a name should convey at least a hint re the dining experience.

[BobB]

Not to mention the unfortunate Typhoon, which actually had to shut down when business dropped off precipitously after the eponymous event in Indonesia a few years ago.

[buttertart]

Conundrum is especially bad - everyone would be left wondering what they served there.

[tatamagouche]

The sad part was it was a decent restaurant, run by nice people.

[buttertart]

That is too bad. Why ever did they pick such an odd name?

[BobB]

Because it's an anagram of "U drunc, mon!" ;-)

[small h]

Ah, so it's a Jamaican restaurant.

[buttertart]

Your mind works in interesting ways, indeed.

[tatamagouche]

I think they might've been looking for a synonym of, like, "Intrigue." Going for romance/mystery but ending up with head-scratcher.

[buttertart]

Quite possibly. The dangers of the thesaurus!

[BobB]

So I've been told. ;-)

[neh]

I used to live near 78th and 1st by a place called East Side Bagel & Appetizing. Not necessarily dumb, just pretty funny.

[MMRuth]

I thought "appetizing" was a descriptive word for the kind of establishment that sells smoked fish etc. Like "Deli", for meats.

[rockycat]

Yes, pretty common once upon a time in NY. As in, "What's for breakfast Sunday?" "Appetizing, what else?" Or "I need to stop at the appetizing store. We're out of whitefish and schmaltz herring."

To me this speaks more of the demise of a hallowed institution than anything else.

[MMRuth]

I've never heard of schmaltz herring - sounds like a great combination.

[rockycat]

Shmaltz herring doesn't actually have chicken fat in it although a non-kosher version of it may have at some point. It's a fine point of kosher laws but, although fish, being pareve, and meat may be served at the same meal, they cannot be on the table at the same time nor used in the same dish. I've never really understood it but that's how it is.

"Schmaltz herring is whole herring with insides intact but the head off. Heavily in salt, its brine also has brown sugar added to it. This can be used by people who want to make their own pickled herring or the salt can be soaked out and the fish cooked. Milker herring is basically the same but only the male fish are used, prized for their milk."

[jumpingmonk]

Given that it is male herring we are talking about, are you sure that you don't mean "milt" not "milk"?

[rockycat]

I don't mean much of anything. I copied that paragraph whole from fish vendor's website. You could very well be right. My knowledge of all things ichthyological is miniscule.

[jumpingmonk]

I'm pretty sure I am, since, of course fish don't produce milk especially male ones. Most male fish however produce "milt", i.e. sperm, just as most female fish produce eggs or "roe"

[Claire]

Rhythm 'n Booze
For Goodness Steaks
Both unfortunate names.

[Naco]

I once rode past a seafood restaurant in South Carolina called Toomer's Seafood. Pronounce it out loud.

I often dream of opening my own barbecue joint and calling it The Swine Flue.

[jumpingmonk]

I may have mentioned it earlier, but give the profusion of low end sushi bars around me, many of whome seem to get thier names by picking random Japanese words that will seem familar to Westerners (wther they have anything to do with food or not) I full expect, any day now to see a sushi place called "Hara Kiri", "Hari Kari", or "Seppuku"

[porker]

Mr Moto? Yushida Maru?

[jumpingmonk]

The scary thing is, a lot of people would proably LIKE a sushi bar called "Mr. Moto", they'd think it was nostalgic. I'd bring up the name "kamikaze" but I'm failry sure that I actually have seen a sushi bar named that (hopefully they were referring to the wind that blew Kublai Khans navy away from Japan) Soetimes I wonder if they are all mistakes or is some of the proprieters really do have something agaisnt their clientele. I keep having images of an old Chas Addams cartoon of a (western) lady in a Manhattan Chinese resturant (circa 1940's or 50's) speaing to the waiter the caption was "You wished to speak to the proprietor?". The joke is that the proprietor is in the cartoon as well, and its very obviosly Fu Manchu, in all his evil glory.

Oh and, as an aside, a friend of mine swears that, because he didn't understand the word (He though it meant something like "artistic") a freind of his named his Japanese resturant the Cafe Hentai.

[monkeyrotica]

They better have a decent floorshow at Cafe Hentai or I only tip 5 percent.

[Uncle Yabai]

LOL!

[hye]

There are two locations of Hurry Curry (they serve Japanese-style curry) in Los Angeles.

[alkapal]

naco, i'd go to the swine flue. i like baby backs, thank you! well....actually pork ribs in general. and pulled pork -- e. carolina style. good tater salad and slaw....

oh, when did you say you were opening? i'm getting hungry. can i have a coke while i wait for a table?

[vorpal]

Here in Ottawa, we have an amazing bakery called Art-Is-In, and a lovely gourmet foods shop called Thyme & Again. Both are exquisite, but the names make me cringe a little.

[burlgurl]

Funky Tuna in Mississauga creeps me out a bit..

[atomic_somebody]

Flip, Toss and Thai always makes me smile!

[yakitat jack]

Sign on old diner outside of OK. City, OK Jack-Eats-Helen.

[penang_rojak]

No Sign Board Restaurant in Singapore!

[jumpingmonk]

This one requires a bit of insider knowledge, but I cringe a little inside when I see any (usually Asian) resturant that calls itself something like "Lotus Noir". If you want to know why, do a webseach (especially in literature) on "Black Lotus"

[LisaPA]

There's a lunch place in downtown Philly called Pandora's Box. Why would I want to eat there?

[EWSflash]

There's a restaurant in Phoenix called Aunt Chilada's. Won't go there, nohow. No way. Love the enchiladas too much to go to a bastardized name restaurant.

[stephanieh]

Me So Hungry in Austin, TX
http://mesohungry.biz/AboutUs.html

[CDjockey]

the Midas Burger, in Arab AL. Their specialty is fried boneless chicken breasts, in buckets and on sandwiches. Arab got it's name as a result of a Postal Service typo.

[kattyeyes]

Snack-It Jamaican Restaurant. I just noticed it on my way out of work today. Big neon "Snack-It" sign. What the hell kind of name is that for a restaurant?
http://www.menupix.com/hartford/resta...

Sounds like whoever named it was close to "F*ck-It" in terms of creativity and settled on "Snack-It" instead.

-----
VegiTerranean
Northside Lofts, Akron, OH 44308

[jumpingmonk]

Got another one in Manhattan, Foo King 694 10th ave (Btwn 48-49) its on my route in about 3 weeks will let you know how it is

[EWSflash]

There used to be a place in Tucson called "Cluck-U Chicken".
Why?
Because it's near the university, they said.
Never went there anyway. Cluck-U too.

[kattyeyes]

HA HA HA, what a weird coincidence you'd mention this when you did. We were walking in and around The Village yesterday and I spotted Pluck U. It was so bizarre I had to take a photo.

-----
Pluck U
230 Thompson St, New York, NY 10012

[billieboy]

There was or maybe still is a resto in Hamilton, Ontario called "The Pheasant Plucker"

[kattyeyes]

I wonder if they ever get tongue-tied when they answer the phone...if you start that off with "Pleasant" instead of "Pheasant," you're heading for trouble!

Meanwhile, a cheesy tourist photo of this stupid restaurant name!

[alkapal]

there are "cluck-u" chicken places in maryland, as well as other nearby states. http://www.cluckuchicken.com/location...

[monkeyrotica]

The Cluck U on H Street NE had the BEST fried chicken gizzards and livers. And not a hint of abusiveness, in spite of the name.

I wish I could say the same about "Fork U."

[upsidedownorchid]

Filthy Mcnasty's.

A pub in Edmonton.
Apparently they actually have decent food.

[tatamagouche]

Wow, that's bold.

[cuccubear]

Right down the road from me is “Bob-a-rea’s”. Good place for a great pizza or breakfast, but the name conjures images of – well, you get the point.

Some of the old local pub/bars were: The Mystic Den, The Broken Spoke and the Elbow Room.

Back in the 70’s there was “The Generation Gap”.

[tatamagouche]

Old post, I know, but...I actually don't get the point? What am I missing?

[jumpingmonk]

try replacing "bob" with "die"

[cuccubear]

That's it... :-\

[tatamagouche]

Aha. My brain failed me on that one. What was the point of the name supposed to be, do you know?

[cuccubear]

Probably Bob-a-Rea rhymes with Pizzaria, that kind of thing.

Hard to deny the others rhymes when you're a kid, and then the nickname sticks and all the kids start saying it. :-)

[Rabbit]

A book name... surely meant to be cute, but gone quite horribly wrong:
"Cooking with Pooh"

[Sampaguita]

Oh, that's so funny! I love simplicity.

[Faraway11]

There is a chinese place in Chico, CA called "Flavor Falls" I've never been.

[jumpingmonk]

once again in manhattan, on 2nd avenue in the 30's is a Chinese Place called simply "Profit" . Neither I (nor anyone else I know who has eaten there, has ever profited by the experiance, so I sometimes wonder is there just being honest about why they opened the place....

[BobB]

Also in Manhattan: Thai Me Up, on E. 14th.

[jumpingmonk]

oh, yeah the sandwitch place Also a while ago (five or so years) the was a Chinese place on 2nd and about 46 on the same block with the west side of Dag plaza (it's now a turkish place called alladins palace or something like that) called Hsin Yu, which already sounded a little suspicios to me (as if the place was a sort of culinary purgatory) This place closed before the I got into the habit of actually eating at Chinese places on my walking routes so I never actually tasted the food there (then again as it was closed by the health deparment so that may be a good thing) but I did have one of thier menu's once and rememembered two major typos one was "lobster and style" (which was just funny) but the other one really set alarm bells off; one of the Chefs Specials was called "Three Muskiest in Garlic sauce" with no further explination (I assume someone was trying to translate some Chinese term that meant "fragrant" or "aromatic" and really screwed it up.) To my mind my colgone and aftershave shoud be "musky" not my food (though I do understande in in the middle ages there were dishes cooked for kings that invoved things like musk, camphor, and ambergris)

[Sampaguita]

Pho' King in San Diego
(prounounced: "fuh")

[sd4life]

Fix Me A Plate Cafe, San Diego. Funny name...great Southern style food.

[Gary]

Two obvious clunkers from the Toronto area:

- Marc Thuet's high-end restaurant was renamed "Bite Me!" for about a year before he apparently came down from his acid trip and renamed it again. Good call.

- There's a seafood restaurant in Mississauga called "The Funky Tuna". Dunno about you, but if my fish is funky I toss it out, I don't eat it.

[alkapal]

gary, they should've named it "the tuna watusi" -- or "tuna tango" -- because "funky" goes with "chicken." ;-).

[paper_bag_princess]

Bite Me is now called Conviction since he is employing ex convicts for a reality show....much worse imo.

[Snackish]

Worst ever: "Something's Fishy" on Ventura Blvd in the San Fernando Valley.
"Chili My Soul" is also down there...what is that even supposed to mean? A pun that I don't get?

And it took me forever to eat at "Thai-Rriffic" in San Luis Obispo because the name was so stupid, but once I ate there, I liked the food and went back repeatedly.

[tatamagouche]

Now I'm going to be thinking about what Chili My Soul's supposed to be a play on all day.

[kattyeyes]

Filet of Sole, maybe? It's all I can think of and agree it's a dumb name. Like my soul needs seasoning? I think not.

"Thai-Rriffic" is kinda funny--glad the food is tasty. We have "Typhoon" in my hometown--and borrowing from those Weight Watchers cards, "This snack not for me."

[BarmyFotheringayPhipps]

There's a coffee shop in Union Square in Somerville, MA that I refuse to go to because the owners thought it would be a good idea to call it "Bloc 11."

Um...you mean like the Bloc 11 that was the part of Auschwitz where all of the most horrific abuses of the prisoners took place? Because that's JUST the mental imagery I want while I'm enjoying my morning croissant!

[ginael]

That's a horrible association for restaurant Bloc 11. I wonder how the owner(s) would explain the meaning behind this name. The spelling of "bloc" leads one to assume an Eastern European allusion.

[Reignking]

Chez Fish, outside of Charleston SC on the way to Kiawah (although I've heard it is good)
Food 101, Atlanta -- sounds like a cooking school
Gyro & Teriyaki, Atlanta -- weird combo, decent take-out/delivery food
Abattoir, Atlanta -- French for slaughterhouse. I'm fine with it, but I know a lot of people that hate it. The recently-refurbished building was an Abbattoir decades ago.
Taco Mac, Atlanta -- sports bar that was in a old taco restaurant. Very confusing.
My Friend's Place -- I think it is a deli, based here in Atlanta, but the name is so uninspiring that I expect the food is -- so I've never been.

[kattyeyes]

We used to have a "My Brother's Place" in Cromwell, CT which was confusing because my uncle actually had a restaurant and my mom would refer to it as "my brother's place" with some regularity. ;)

[kubasd]

there's a "my brother's place" in dc. I met a guy and he said he bartended down town, and I said "where?" and he said "my brother's place" and I said "what's it called?" insert confusion here..

[tatamagouche]

There's also a My Brother's Bar in Denver—but no one confuses that, cause it's got an illustrious history as a Beat hangout. Kerouac was a regular.

[tatamagouche]

Abattoir?! That's awful! Are their servers dressed like Leatherface (but, you know, with a beret on top)?

[alkapal]

>>"with a beret on top"<<

priceless, tata!

[rockycat]

New restaurant that just opened in Raleigh, NC. Gravy. That's it, just "Gravy." And even though I'm from Brooklyn, am I supposed to guess that a restaurant in the South named "Gravy" serves cutesy-poo so-called Italian-American style food rather than homestyle Southern cooking? Other than the fact that the name is fairly unappealing, I wonder how many customers will wander in and then stomp out after discovering that biscuits and sausage gravy are nowhere to be found on the menu?

[alkapal]

it's in raleigh, calls itself "gravy" and doesn't serve southern food?

what WERE they thinking?

[alkapal]

someone upthread just mentioned this boston steakhouse "bokx 109"

you've gotta see their website -- esp. the photo collage in the intro.
suggestive (see the gal at the top lying on her back, mouth wide open, about to swallow a monster old-fashioned microphone)? hmmmmm.
http://www.bokx109.com/

they actually call themselves "swanky." i kid you not!!! they even are proud of their self-proclaimed "swankitude."

no....i'm not kidding, i promise.

[kattyeyes]

I think that gal is attempting to "taste the energy and beauty" of that microphone..."where the best in style and substance come together to create a swanky, high-energy dining experience. We call it swankitude." What do YOU call it? If it's in Boston, why do they have a picture of the Chrysler building? I guess 'cause it's so swanky. UGH. I attempted to look at their menu and was blasted by "Ain't That a Kick in the Head"--ironic, huh?

Edit: I think we've surpassed dumb restaurant names and moved on to dumb website concepts. New thread?

[alkapal]

you're crackin' me up, sister katty! {;^D)

[monkeyrotica]

Ugh. They even spell "Snacks" "Snakx."

That website is worse than Hitler.

Or, at least, Hitler's Restaurant.

http://sweetness-light.com/archive/hi...

[jumpingmonk]

I wonder if this place is the one that mispelled "Nasi Goreng" as "Nazi Goering" No wait, that was an Indonesain place

[fruti]

Not a restaurant but film supply in SF called Adolph Gasser. I'd be changing my name(s) pronto.

[NellyNel]

You're right!
It was worth having a look! Pretty hilarious!

But I have to say the menu sounded good! (maybe I'm just really hungry right now!)

[alkapal]

along the lines of perceived swankitude, this "new world specialty food company" must have been inspired by bokx 109's website: http://www.ranchogordo.com/
http://www.ranchogordo.com/Merchant2/...
she must be "tasting the energy and the beauty" of mexican oregano!

[kattyeyes]

HA HA--exactly! But I think she has some of that Mexican oregano stuck in her teeth and is trying to extricate it. Oh, to have one's 15 minutes of shame immortalized on not just one label, but the entire company line of Rancho Gordo!

[Scargod]

Reaching for the treat, just out of reach (no hands allowed).

[Atahualpa]

Recently deceased (http://tinyurl.com/d6tvg8) Toronto place: Cluck, Grunt and Low.

[fickle]

"Tapas by Personal Touch" just didn't work for me. I was turned off by the name so I never tried the restaurant despite some good reviews. It ended up closing and sometimes I wonder if it's name had something to do with it's fate. The place looked absolutely presentable, white linen tablecloths, up and coming neighbourhood in Toronto but that sign, with "personal touch" in some swirly font just didn't appeal. Now in it's place a new restaurant has opened up called "Room Service" fine dining Caribbean cuisine. Maybe it's me but I'm thinking this name is going to bring down this restaurant as well!

[alkapal]

"by personal touch"? lol! that sounds like it might've harbored some kind of massage parlor in the backroom! ;-).

and "room service" -- yeah, i certainly get "caribbean" from *that*!

[JanPrimus]

There was not a massage parlor out back or it would have had a "Happy Ending".

[alkapal]

<oooooh, that's some dangerous territory there, my friend who looks like darth vader.> ("luuuuuke, you ate my tortillaaaaaaa!")

[soniabegonia]

LA Food Show - whaaat? is this a convention or a restaurant!?

also, some Asian names just don't transliterate well...
Soot Bull Jeep
Young Ho
Otafuku

[ekammin]

A Toronto restaurant whose owners thought that an Italian name would be nice and picturesque.

So the named the place ":Fiasco".

[tatamagouche]

You're kidding. I assume it failed?

[grayelf]

ekammin, we had a Fiasco in Vancouver attached to of all things a clothing store. Store still there, resto not so much.

[beachmouse]

I saw a sign for a new pizza/pasta restaurant today: Sauce.

I immediately thought of this thread.

[kattyeyes]

We have one in CT, too. So it's very original as well as a dumb restaurant name!

Another one that loses points for cleverness quickly is not having a name. Several years ago in Hartford, we had the bar with no name. But "Bar With No Name" became the name. After all, how would you be listed in the phone book or promote your nameless restaurant otherwise. Just silly. And extra negative points for lack of originality as I know it was done elsewhere. Rant, rant, rant. On a positive note, we had lots of fun there during the Swing revival of the late 90s when we were into dancing.

-----
Sauce Restaurant
124 Hebron Avenue, Glastonbury, CT 06033

[BobB]

Bar With No Name reminds me of a UK chain of bars called Bar None. The clever bit is how they play off the name in labeling the restroom doors. Instead of Men and Women, they're labeled | and O.

[tatamagouche]

Yeah, there's a No Name in Boston, and there used to be Bar Code without an actual name, just a bar code, etc.—annoying...

[kattyeyes]

Again, great fun to find in the phone book (or online), I'm sure. Dumb! I'm looking for |||||||| ||| ||||||||...do you have that listing?

[alkapal]

hey, those "information" operators can't even get real names or numbers right! how hard is it, for example, to tell a caller the number for the "u.s. district court for the district of columbia" IN the district of columbia? apparently, it was very hard, 'cause they told me the wrong number.

[nimeye]

Okay, so they're bars, but when talking about stupid names I think of these two in Omaha: I Don't Care Lounge, and 120 Blondes (located near 120th and Blondo).

Also, what's the deal with Applebees? There's no apples, and no bees! (Sorry, channeling Seinfeld here)

[alkapal]

>>>>Also, what's the deal with Applebees? There's no apples, and no bees! (Sorry, channeling Seinfeld here)<<<<

...or you're channeling linda richman http://oybay.files.wordpress.com/2006... , who would then add: "DISCUSS!"

[nimeye]

God, I completely forgot about those skits!

[megmosa]

"It's Greek to Me."

Seems there is a proliferation of restaurants with this name. But I think it's a stupid name.

What is it supposed to mean?

"I don't understand this food at all!"

or

"It's not REALLY Greek food, but heck, I can't tell the difference!"

[tuttebene]

Ikki Sushi in Toronto.

[grayelf]

There's an Iki Sushi in Vancouver, too, tuttebene. Sigh.

[salsailsa]

"Toss it up" in Ottawa- a custom salad place.

[kattyeyes]

Better "Up" than "Off!" :)

[salsailsa]

Maybe that 's a name for their second location.

[ginael]

"My Big Fat Greek Restaurant". Not only do I refuse to go in there based on the fact it is based on an overrated movie, but the word "fat" is not exactly enticing.

Apologies if someone already mentioned this. Too lazy to read all the posts.

[switters]

here in the colombia heights neighborhood of DC, which has a large hispanic population, there is a chinese restaurant named o'tasty's. it might not be a bad name, but i love the juxtaposition of culinary and cultural confusion.

[monkeyrotica]

There used to be a Chinese carryout in Georgetown called McWang's.

[Smorgasbord]

There's a place in Toronto called "New Ho King"... I always wonder if only young pimps eat there [groan].

[KevinB]

And of course, Toronto boasts (cringes?) at the interesting name and disappointing food from the chain "Ho Lee Chow".

[jeni1002]

Not dumb, but strange:
Pancho McGillucuddy's (Williams, AZ) - Irish - Mexican cuisine.

DH still reminds me what a cop-out I was for not trying it.

[nkeane]

ahhh, come on!? who doesnt love corned beef and cabbage empanadas? or mutton chimichangas? what about Bushmills and pinto beans? man, you could play this game all day.......

[Bill Hunt]

Maybe because of the Irish inclusion in some of Mexican history, or maybe for the "shock factor," there are seveal similarly named restaurants. I have yet to find one that did good Mexican, whether Tex-Mex, Sororan or Bajan. Some migh actually have historical ties, but I'd guess that most do not.

Hunt

[monkeyrotica]

Are they trying to be a Carlos O'Kelly's knockoff?

[cycloneillini]

I just posted a few minutes ago about Carlos O'Kelly's. We called it Carlos O'Smelly's!

[JanPrimus]

Mercury Fish and Chips
Kitty's Restaurant (Chinese Food)

[billieboy]

Many, many years ago there used to be a Chinese resto on Queen St. E. In Toronto. Don't remember the real name.
They had a neon sign that said "Good Food", but a lot of the letters were burned out and all that was left was GOOF...Everybody I knew just called the place that.
Fond memories.

[dinin and dishin]

I remember the GOOF. Good times.
There was a Chinese restaurant I used to frequent in East VAncouver called:
Wong Kee. I loved there wonky wonton soup. I often wonder if these Asian places really get the play on their names or if it is accidental.

[nkeane]

well Thai restaurants DEFINATELY get the pun! a place called Hung Far Low, has to by now, get it (its been there for decades).

[tracylee]

Yup, been there, drank there back in college.

[Bill Hunt]

In the Valley of the Sun, there is/were several Chinese-themed restaurants, Long Wong's.

Reminds me of the restaurant (I think, but maybe a character) in "Sweet Sixteen," Long Duck Dong... As I speak no Chinese dialects, I have no clue how that translates in English.

Hunt

[PattiCakes]

There used to be a bar in my neighborhood called The Slick Duck. It's now gone, but the name lives on in the form of a Mummer's New Year's group (ya gotta be from Philly to unnerstand).

Western PA has a chain of restaurants, similar to Bob's Big Boy, called Eat 'n Park. I could never figure that one out since you really need to park before you eat.......

A bizarre name usually has no effect on whether I will eat at the place or not since I am an equal opportunity foodaholic. I'm not fond of places with names that do not roll easily off the tongue, however -- Ruth's Chris comes to mind.

[alkapal]

somehow, in my twisted little brain, i read "The Slick Duck" with another vowel instead....and it made me think of a can of "spotted dick" http://www.englishteastore.com/cak004.html i saw in the "english" foods section of publix supermarket the other day. ;-). i'm curious why we haven't seen any "spotted dick" restaurants..... on the other hand, who wants a spotted dick?

speaking of "ducks", there is the "mucky duck" on captiva in sw florida.
http://www.muckyduck.com/history.htm -- not known so much for the food......but the view is nice.....

happy new year!

[BarmyFotheringayPhipps]

Actually, there's a pub on Bloor Street in downtown Toronto called the Spotted Dick. I've never eaten there, so I don't know if they serve the titular dessert.

[KevinB]

Gone now, I'm afraid; the whole block is being turned into a giant condo tower. Perfect timing, as condo prices in Toronto are dropping.

[BarmyFotheringayPhipps]

Since this thread has been reactivated, I thought I'd mention that I was in downtown Toronto over Labor Day weekend and it seems like you've been misinformed. The Spotted Dick is still there -- it's the next block over that's been razed.

[Sampaguita]

I'm wondering....with a Chowhound name like yours....thought about opening a restaurant? Pronunciation pwease? (Love ur post by the way....)

[Sam Fujisaka]

"Barmy Fungy Phipps"

[BobB]

From P.G. Wodehouse, dontcha know.

[tatamagouche]

I never understood the possessive in Ruth's Chris either. Does anyone?

[pemma]

Yes, I believe she bought a restaraunt called Chris steak house and changed it to Ruth's Chris. Stupid, yes.

[Bill Hunt]

Yes, that is an odd one. Mrs. Ruth purchased "Chris Steakhouse," in New Orleans, and then added her name to the restaurant, hence Ruth Chris Steakhouse (or Ruth's Chris Steakhouse). When Paul Fleming took it into franchise, the name went with it.

Even knowing the history, it still does not roll of my tongue.

Hunt

[salsailsa]

Wow. That cleared up a big mystery for me. It was one of those things I was afraid to ask.

[tracylee]

Here in Oregon:
Hung Far Low - Portland
Pig'n Pancake - Lincoln City
Dog House Restaurant - Eugene
Samurai Duck - Eugene
Jail - Eugene
China Faith - Salem
Capitol Dog - Salem
Spud Brothers Pizza - Salem

[nkeane]

adding to the P-town names:
Wine Down( a wine bar)
Thai noon
Appe-thai-zing
Tapalaya(a soul food tapas place)

[mark]

recently reopened at a new location in my town is "scratch", as in "made from..."

i get it, but it's still not a good name (the website is even worse, scratchasheville.com - sounds like a link to cdc/health dept site).

place used to be called 28806 deli/bakery/catering. not imaginative, but at least you knew what it was. food was good, so the name alone won't make me shun it..

[alkapal]

"scratchasheville.com" alone cracked me up!!!!

it DOES sound like the health inspector should be called if this is a restaurant. i mean, is this what the cooks do?????

[dinin and dishin]

Puke Pub - New Zealand. (actually pronounced to rhyme with cookie).
They actually serve road kill and specialize in Possum (which were imported and are now taking over with no predators).

The menu includes:
Roadkill of the day - You kill 'em we grill 'em
Guess that mess (possum straight from the highway to you)
Tourist Sandwich (all sorts of foreign filling)
Volved Venison (Tenderized Swedish style)
Headlight Delight (fresh from the roadside)
Sandfly steaks (human's revenge)
Gag 'n' Bag (the daily special - anything dead on bread)

You can read more here.
http://www.pollyevans.com/articles/20...

Yes it really exists and no, we didn't eat there.

[Anonimo]

Years ago (in the 70s) there was at least one "Squat and Gobble" in the Topeka, KS area. There was also a "Chet's Chat 'n Chew".
The tiny town of Shirley, AR had "The Last Supper Cafe", where the owner would get up and preach during your meal. We didn't even make it to a "first supper."

[kelvin8r]

"Taste of Greece". Oceanside NY.

Just the thought of it gets my gag reflex up and running.

[lolabella]

In Toronto (Parliament & Wellesley I think?) the Tender Trap restaurant...eeewwwww....

[food kitten]

In New Brunswick, NJ there used to be TWO "Pick'n Chick'n"s a couple blocks from each other - each claiming to be the original.
Now there is just one...but I still won't go into it...yuck!

[soypower]

Foody Goody Chinese Buffet in Renton, WA.

[salsailsa]

There are three of those in Winnipeg and I have heard foodie not so goodie!

[KTBearW]

Tips for Tops'n in Provincetown, MA

[MSPD]

I just stumbled on this one as well.

Mine are more general:

- Anything with exclamation marks like MSP's yum! and snap! and enjoy! and relax! I say vomit!
- Along those lines, things like yummy (also in MSP) and good (NYC)
- I am highly suspicious of any restaurant with "Grill" in the name. "Bar and Grill" is even worse. Anything with "Grille" is almost certainly a crummy restaurant. There are a few exceptions, but it's about 98%.
- Anything with an "x" or "xx" at the end, or in the middle. Taxxi, Marxx, Marx. And we have a place in MSP called Restaurant Max. That just sounds like a cheap hotel restaurant. It's totally unfair, but I just can't get enthusiastic about trying a place called Restaurant Max. Max, to me, instantly evokes Max Klinger from M*A*S*H* or Valley Girl slang from the 80s "...to the max!" Same with Marx Wine Bar. Have I mentioned, Wine Bar is generally attached to a lame place too?
- Like "Grill", anything with "Bistro" oozes "we lack creativity".

[pushslice]

in Seattle there used to be a place that went awry of your 'Bar and Grill' observation. It was called King St. Bar and *Oven*. it sounds like they *tried* to avert the B&G cliche, but made it worse by picking an awkward sounding name.
oh, and come to think about it, the name was a FAIL on more than one front as it also employs the unoriginal name-of-street restaurant naming scheme.
IIRC the only reason it survived as long as it did was that it was located in front of the Kingdome and could pretty much guarantee solid patronage on game days.

[tatamagouche]

Oh, yeah, I always flip out when I see stuff like that. Here in Denver there's a "Jordan's Bistro & Pub." I once did a blogpost railing on the name.

http://www.denveater.com/denveater/20...

As for "xx," in Boston there's a steakhouse called BOKX 109. Ridiculous.

[Vexorg]

Actually, the place is still around. I work a couple of blocks away from it (haven't been there though, and probably don't care to.)

[TroyTempest]

There was a Yummy Chow Chinese buffet in Houston about 20 years ago, it was not, btw.

You struck a nerve with the mention of Grille with an E on the end. Its like look at us, we are so fancy. I always thought that was stupid.
Likeways, anything with the word company in it sound pretentious as hell, especially the myriad of blahblah Land and Cattle companies out there. Look I don't want to buy Land or Cattle. I want a steak, jeez.

[FrankieSandals]

I still go, but I hate the name "Blunch." It's a great sandwich and coffee shop in Boston that serves breakfast sandwiches all day, thus the name. Hate the name, love the sandwiches.

[BaltoPhilFood]

eww "blunch" sounds like onomontopeia...sound it would make coming back up, yuck.

[fresnohotspot]

The Bull Shed in Waipouli, Kauai, and Bar Acuda in Hanalei. I still recommend the latter to friends.

[Father Kitchen]

Here in D.C. we have Full Yum.

[porker]

I just stumbled across this entertaining thread yesterday.
After reading through, I thought I'd add montreal's Mysore (apparently coney trumped me in Detroit). OK, perhaps a once regal, far-east city, but I always think the chef is talking about HIS sore, open and oozing a yellowish liquid...
But the wife maintains I have the pronounciation all wrong, its actually 'misery'.

Another montreal resto, Hwang Kum. OK, in korean, this might sound good, but in street gutter english, I find it...ahhhh...nevermind. There's also a Chez Hwang (from the french, 'At Hwang's')...see above.
Along the pho lines; Good Pho Me!
A swish steak house, La Queue de Cheval sounds pretty suave in french...you can translate it to 'At the Horse's a$$'
There is a cheapo chinese near my place called Sun-K. They re-did their sign awhile back and the dash isn't quite visible, its now "Sunk"
and a pun in Vermont, The Pour House.

My folks went to a wedding just south of Cornwall Ontario years ago. There was a simple ceremony followed by a reception at an establishment owned by one Mr. Shovett. It was a resto/hotel called, what else, The Shovett Inn.

[Sam Fujisaka]

"Shovett Inn" coming from you, porker, is pretty risque.

[grayelf]

Porker, we now have an unrelated Pourhouse in Vancouver.

But the one that's got my goat (groan) is the new Judas Goat here. Ugh.

[blisstone]

Actually La Queue de Cheval would translate either as The Horse's Tail or The Horse's Dick if you read it as slang. I believe the former was intended.

[BaltoPhilFood]

Duckworth's Cheessteakery and Quaker Steak and Lube in Charlotte and next door to each other. Thai One On in Towson, MD to add to the list of puns. There are a couple bars/restos in baltimore about 2-3 blocks from each other- owned by friends- named Don't Know and No Idea. I also remember a No Idea in NYC.

[Caitlin McGrath]

Yes, the banner sign on No Idea in NYC explains, as it says in small print above the bar's name, Where were you last night?

[coney with everything]

There's an Indian resto in the Detroit area named "Mysore Woodlands". As the newspaper review said, "unfortunately named", but the food was well received.

[yamalam]

The Feed Bag - Mesa, AZ

Any place in the suburbs with "Urban" in its title, especially if a colon is involved. The punctuation kind that is, e.g. Saute: An Urban Bistro.

And I don't think anyone mentioned Pink Taco.

[Jeri L]

I used to see a sign on I-5 for Hawks Prairie Pizza, which I thought sounded like a euphamism for road kill.

[Tee]

El Titanic - Mexican restaurant- Shelby, NC.
Not exactly confidence inspiring.....

[gmm]

In the greater Seattle area:
Thai One On
What the Pho

Ugh...

[irisav]

I know this is meant to be about dumb resto' names but I just have to get one out there that I love.

Silly Yaks - it's a cafe that specialises in producing tasty food for celiacs. I said it earlier I love a good pun!

[uppitycupcake]

Here in Sydney we have ThaiTanic, Thai Me Up and Thairiffic. Also Pink Peppercorn (Laotian resto in the gay club district), the inventively named PAD THAI FIVE DOLLAR (guess what they sell?) and the usual assortments of Wok On Ins, Wok and Rolls etc. My personal favourite though is the sushi place at the Sydney Uni food court: Miso Honi. I'm not joking, and I feel deep sympathy for whichever staff member has to answer the phones!

[KevinB]

Two more from Toronto:

Lick'n Chicken (the joke is its vegan, and has a rubber chicken hanging by the neck with a sign saying "Sorry, no chicken").

And there's a Chinese place in the Beaches which has a sign out front that's supposed to say "Good Food". However, half the letters burned out, and they have not been replaced in over 20 years. It is universally known as "The GooF".

[Al_Pal]

It's not necessarily a bad name for a restaurant. We have one down the street from us...this little Mexican Grill. Pretty nice place, actually. But it's called La Fonda. And I can't help but think of Napoleon Dynamite every time I walk by.

[nkeane]

any of the stoooopid Thai puns.....Beau Thai, appe-thai-zing, Thai-phoon......cringe inducing.

also, mash ups of food items. Gumbolaya, Pota-to-go(a baked potato food cart. good spuds, ridiculous name, but it is a cart....they almost get a pass!)

[monkeyrotica]

I keep expecting to see a restaurant called Thai My Pecker to My Leg. I should probably register the name. That, and Seamus O'Chimichangas.

[cycloneillini]

That reminds me of Carlos O'Kelly's which we used to call Carlos O'Smelly's. It's at least a midwestern chain. Not sure if they've expanded further.

[vorpal]

Yup... the bad Thai puns get my votes... you beat me to posting them.

I always joke that to take it to the extreme, should I ever open a Thai restaurant (a real possibility), I would name it "Thai-po" and the whole menu would consist of really bad Engrish.

[cuccubear]

You open Thai-po and I’ll open Thai-pay B -

How's that for cringe-worthy? lol

[vorpal]

LOL! Brilliant!

[BobB]

Of course, only a Thai-pay personality would actually get up and do it instead of just talking about it...

[KaimukiMan]

the new one here is "To Thai For"
(the food is pretty good)

[jumpingmonk]

I get the feeling that somewhere, in Australia there a place called "Thai me Kangroo Down"

[rockycat]

*snerK*

[foodiesnorth]

I LOVE the name of a restaurant in Edmonton Alberta Canada (my home town) that had the best vietnamese food. It was called Le Charles Mansion. A very, very wierd (surreal?) place with mismatched plates and glasses...one sometimes two employees/owners. You went in, told the chef/washer/everything person what spic elevel you wanted and she brought food until you told her to stop. The food was all fabulous and cheap cheap cheap.

[kpaumer]

How about the Blow-Fly Inn, Gulfport MS, every meal comes with a little plastic fly on top.

[Divamac]

Don't know if they're still around, but there was a small chain off stromboli shops in NJ called Stuff Yer Face. I didn't see a problem with the name in college, but now...

Some will know this as the place Mario Batalli worked in college. He was in the North Brunswick location while I frequented the location in South Orange, thankyouverymuch.

ETA: Still around: http://www.stuffyerface.com/

[small h]

There's a whole section of Heat in which Batali reminisces about his time there. I went to the one near Long Branch boardwalk all the time. The food was really good, but yeah, the name is stupid.

[Caitlin McGrath]

There was a soup/sandwich shop in Berkeley, CA, called the Stuffed Inn.

Bakeries called Toots Sweets and Just Desserts.

Toots Sweets supplied the desserts served at the Edible Complex. That's been closed for many years; now in that location is an outpost of a local mini-chain, Crepevine.

Restaurants love those punny names.

[MC Slim JB]

My Hall of Shame for Greater Boston includes these clunkers:

INQ, a bad restaurant with a stupid name, though not as bad or as stupid as its successor, Luigi and Roscoe's @ INQ (now mercifully closed, too, though supplanted by the almost-as-stupid Cafeteria)

Apocrypha (now expunged from the canon of still-operating restaurants)

Prose (don't expect lyricism on the plate)

Blunch (was that breakfast or lunch that I just heaved?)

BOKX 109 (I know, honey, let's go to that "Vegas-style steakhouse" named after a slaughterhouse term for a carcass container)

Chung King Rick's Cafe (of all the canned-Chinese-food joints in all the towns in all the world, she walks into mine)

No Name Restaurant (the retirees on cut-rate package tours dining here by the busload probably don't appreciate the paradox)

T.J. Scallywaggle's (winner, Cognitive Dissonance Division: sounds like a casual-dining chain that serves Steak Quesadilla Towers and Shrimp Poppers, is actually a vegan pizzeria)

[nsenada]

Let's not forget Boloco, which I can't help but pronouce "bollock-o."

[tatamagouche]

I knew you were going to list Luigi & Roscoe's @ INQ and BOKX 109 the second I saw this heading!! Hahahaha....

I still hate Mooo.... (complete with ellipses, as I recall) for an upscale steakhouse too.

[phoenikia]

The Chat 'n' Chew in Assiniboia, Sask. Unfortunate name, but I still eat there.

[Lucia]

There's one in NYC too.

[Catskillgirl]

There's a small place in Stone Ridge NY called the "Nibble Nook". Never been there, never plan to go - the name just irks me. LOL!

[LA Buckeye Fan]

I know this isn't as clever as the other posts. But there is a breakfast place in my town that has really good, creative breakfast offerings. They start each breakfast with a complimentary crepe with lingonberry jam. I avoided going to it for years because it's called "Eggs n things". I figured if they didn't know what else they were serving, I wanted no part of it.

[KaimukiMan]

an Eggs N Things has been a late night/early morning favorite in Honolulu since the mid '70's. Rumor is they are finally closing their doors at the end of August, but its not the first talk of their demise, so we shall see. They are known for their 3 egg omelette (portugese sausage, maui onion, and cheese my fav) and for their pancakes. I never found anything too unusual about the name, thats what they served... eggs n things.

[dd992emo]

Aaaarrrrgggghhhh! They can't close! Where will Mrs dd get her macadamia nut pancakes and warm coconut syrup next summer???

[KaimukiMan]

next spring go on the Elsewhere In America board, will let you know what's going on.

[weezycom]

Alexandria, Va has a restaurant called Vaso's Kitchen -- not a bad name, but under the name on the sign out front it says "A little piece of Greece."

And it's additionally burdened (by the local historical society) by having to keep a '50s neon sign of a dancing pig in a chef's toque & apron that says Dixie Bar-B-Q on top of the building.

It's supposed to be good, but I can't quite bring myself to actually go in.

http://i.pbase.com/t6/33/82133/4/8615...

[alkapal]

weezy, that server link is forbidden when i click on it.

[phoenikia]

Supermodel Pizza in Toronto. Underneath the restaurant's name, it says something like "Our crust is as thin as supermodels".

[Firegoat]

I would totally eat there. That makes me smile.

[phoenikia]

It makes me smile, too. I've never seen a customer inside the place so I wonder how they have managed to stay in business.

The other funny thing about Supermodel Pizza is that there's a picture of an infant's head on the sign- sort of reminds me of the dancing babies on Allie McBeal.

[Vetter]

Really? I find the very idea of supermodels off-putting! I'd skip that one. No reason to glamorize starving women in this culture.

[Firegoat]

Blimpie's - a chain of sandwich shops, have them in Tulsa.
Also "Porky's" a Tulsa diner. With a pig on the front.

[LabRat]

A new ice cream shop just opened up in Chicago. The idea is that you pick your base, sweetener, flavorings and add-ins, then the staff uses liquid nitrogen to flash-freeze the ice cream in a mixer a la Richard Blaise on Top Chef. The shop is called iCream.

[alkapal]

oh, is the pun that "i" devise the (ice) cream?

[LabRat]

My guess is that it's a play on iPod, since it's a hi-tech way to make ice cream. But who knows what pun lurks in the hearts of men?

[phoenikia]

Ka ka Lucky.in Toronto
Crabby Joe's in London, On
Szechuan Aroma in NY
Cluck U in NY

[monkeyrotica]

We've got Cluck U's here in DC. One of the few places where you can get fried chicken livers and gizzards.

[Barbara76137]

About 15 years ago flew into New Jersey and by the time we all got checked into our hotel the only place we could get food delivered was from Cluck U!! Ah, being "on tour" is so glamourous.....NOT!!!

[cycloneillini]

We have one called Crabby Daddy's. I wonder if Daddy's name is Joe.

[SweetPhyl]

Dirty Dick's Crab House and Awful Arthur's...both on the OBX of NC

[mogo]

There's a chain of pubs here in Ontario called Philthy McNasty's. I just can't bring myself to go into a place called "philthy" and "nasty".

[BaltoPhilFood]

There is/was a place in Charlotte called Tipsy McStumble's, I think yours wins!

[southernitalian]

Charlotte, NC? If it was still here, I'd be a regular!

[salsailsa]

yeah, I can't bring myself to go to Philthy's either.

[monkeyrotica]

On the way into Rehoboth, DE on Route 1:

Crabby Dick's.

http://www.crabby-dicks.com/home.htm

[monkeyrotica]

Confusious Chinese Cuisine. I have no idea what I would get there and neither do they.

[tvdxer]

Minimalist, overly-simple names really annoy me because of their pretentious sound. "Daniel" comes to mind.

[Steve Green]

"Donut Field" in Mountain View, CA, sounds like some sort of mistranslation. I'm not sure what to think of "Restaurant Zur Puke" somewhere in Germany.

[monkeyrotica]

God yes. DC is full of these places: Rice, Creme, Zola, Proof, Hook, Central, Oya, Matchbox, Indebleu, Dino, Ceiba, Corduroy.

I keep expecting to see restaurant open called Pants, or Feet, or Eat.

[FlaHopper]

Eat Bar in Clarendon.

[soupkitten]

"matchbox" may be pretentious in dc--in msp, it's a completely appropriately named weensy coffee-shop in northeast-- very "power to the workers." i think the place is maybe 120 sq feet total, seating for 8. also locally, i do like "snap" and "pop"-- for names-- not food, owned by the same folks. i don't hear that "crackle" is forthcoming, though. :)

[southernitalian]

I was watching a rerun of 30 Rock last night. Tina Fey was standing outside a pretentious club called "Duvet". it cracked me up!

[dcdavis]

I was told there used to be a french restaurant in NYC called Chez Stadium. I hate bad puns!

[grayelf]

Reminds me of a place in Kingston ON that was all the rage in the early 90s: Chez Piggy. I never did go...

[mrbozo]

Used to be good but grew fat on its laurels.

[grayelf]

There's a pun in there somewhere... thanks for the update, mrb.

[Mila]

Used to be owned by Zal Yanovsky, member of Lovin' Spoonful, now gone. He was quite a personality with a quirky sense of humour ( and temper ) who no doubt was the originator of the name.

[cuccubear]

FWIW, I just found the Chez Piggy cookbook at a book sale. Had never heard of the place, but it looked interesting.

[TroyTempest]

And what would be an example of a good pun?
I actually think that's pretty good.

[jodymaryk]

Stiffy's in Renton, WA. Never made it in there before it closed so can't tell you a thing about it! I think it was only open six months or so.

[WTBD]

Noodle Foodle
(London, England)

[NYJewboy]

You cant beat the chinese for deadpan flat ridiculous names. There was a place here in NYC called 'Good Taste'. I also remember a place years ago called 'Kings food'. These are not funny, but they typify a coomon approach.

[mrbozo]

Happy Seven.

[Barbara76137]

Chow's Kosherama in Burbank, CA

[DockPotato]

Does anyone recall a tavern at Coxwell and Danforth originally called the "The Coxwell Tavern" sometime when beer was legal again in Toronto?

At the time the area was doubtful and authorities mandated another name.

[lynnlato]

All My Chicken, Harrisburg PA. It always cracked me up. They had damned good fried chicken late night.

[kpaumer]

Lynnlato, Thanks for the memory, it was right around by my house! and they did have "damed good fried chicken late night"

[mrbozo]

More from Toronto: New Ho King, Disgraceland.

[alkapal]

reminds me of a very good bbq sauce i get at publix in florida: "pat's ho-made bbq sauce."

[mrbozo]

New Ho King is open 'til 4AM and delivers. Can't beat that. Denny Crane.

[kattyeyes]

STOP IT! LOL! Are there pictures of the hos on the jar?!!! :)

[alkapal]

no hos on the bottle. looks very ho-made though with the font used on the bottle. http://www.flickr.com/photos/cocoabeachjoe/2915511353/

i see pat's made it into the flickr group "unfortunate names" http://www.flickr.com/groups/993003@N21/

[emerilcantcook]

Captain Cock in Bodrum, Turkey (I am hoping that it was an honest mispelling):

Attached is the picture of their sign

[moh]

If I passed by this resto, I could not resist going in and seeing what was on the menu!

[lagatta]

I'd assume they served chicken. Outside North America, the penile use of "cock" has not made rooster displace it as a term for a male fowl.

One that always gets me here is "Restaurant Gandhi" (Indian, obviously). Still, strange to name a restaurant after a person famed for such non-violent resistance tactics as prolonged hunger strikes.

[mrbozo]

Is the menu at least vegetarian?

[vorpal]

Gandhi in Montreal is not vegetarian, but they do have absolutely fabulous Indian food. We stopped there on a whim without doing any research while visiting old Montreal (and we're somewhat Indian snobs), and we were absolutely delighted!

[emerilcantcook]

This is a non-English speaking country we are talking about, so I doubt that it referred to the fowl. My guess was that someone who doesn't speak the language misspelled Captain Cook (there are a million examples of Turkinglish signage masterpieces). The menu, if I remember correctly, was traditional Turkish fast-fare: soups, flatbreads, grills, salads; chicken might have been present, but wasn't the centerpiece.

[lynnlato]

They had a Big Pecker's Bar & Grill in Ocean City, MD.

[alkapal]

i laughed at big peckers, so i looked it up. somehow, the big chicken surprised me ;-)
http://www.big-peckers.com/

[moh]

Oh my, Alkapal! That is a funny site! "home of the bodacious burger", not to mention the Bad Ass Cafe... And who can forget to stop off at "Hooties Clothes Bar" (hmm, sounds awfully familiar)

No way I'm ordering their "crab cakes"! Eeek!

[lynnlato]

Ha! Wow, alkapal, thanks for the trip down memory lane. This was a popular place back when I was in my early 20's. Everyone had the t-shirt. Which, i notice, has not changed in 15 years. Yea, another popular watering hole in OC MD was The Brass Balls Saloon. Yea, it was more of a drinking place (i.e. rum runners) than a resto back then (and probably still).

[alkapal]

when i go to oc, i'll check out the happy hour. $2 heineken? yeah buddy!

[kattyeyes]

My sista alkapal, aren't you somewhere in the vicinity of Crabby Dick's? I thank you for directing me here to have fun (however late) with you all. A friend bought me some souvenir from Crabby Dick's and, ya know, I just didn't feel like keeping it around!!!
http://www.crabby-dicks.com/home.htm

-----
Crabby Dick's
30 Clinton St, Delaware City, DE 19706

[alkapal]

no, i'm in northern virginia. no crabby dicks around here -- except for the ones on capitol hill.

[kattyeyes]

HA HA, so still plentiful, I'm sure. ;)

[jodymaryk]

Tony's teriyaki and Pho' Huh?

[carollins83]

Fresno has got this chain of pho places... Pho 99, Pho 99 Two, Pho 49, Pho 49 two, etc. It has gone so far to have Pho 99 on first and Pho 99 on First and McKinley.

[mnosyne]

A friend just told me about his visit to the Organ Stop Pizzeria in Mesa, Arizona, where the owner has a full size theater Wurlitzer which he plays, along with a huge one-man band setup. Oh, and pizza.

[adamshoe]

Oakland, CA here. We've got a couple winners just within a few blocks of home.
"pick and bite" chinese buffet; sounds like what to do with a nasty scab!!
"King Dong" sounds like an asian porn flick.
"Hot and Chunky" burgers...used to be called Hot & Hunky bcuz they were in The Castro, but must've been sued over the name so they changed it to Hot and Chunky. Yecch; sounds like a descriptor for puke!!!
"Four Star Pizza, Tacos and Chinese-American Food" 4 Star, indeed, according to whom? Loving this thread....

[mrbozo]

Ding Dong Pastry. Wise Guys Bar & Grill. Toronto.

[Gio]

I have often wondered just what exactly a Fuddrucker is.....

[BobB]

I suspect they'd like you to think it's a sort of Spoonerism. (Or should that be Knife & Forkerism?)

[Bryn]

I loved that restaurant as a child. It was one of the few places you could get mayo on your burger.

[weewah]

Huh??? I always get mayo on my burger!

[monkeyrotica]

I steer clear from any place with "Pump Room" in the title. I keep thinking of stomach pumps, sump pumps, shoes, etc.

[RGC1982]

The Filling Station in Ocean City, MD. Food was fine, the the image of a bunch of yahoos stuffing their faces with the table manners of hogs prevented me from going there for years.

[FoiGras]

There used to be a place in (if I recall/remember) the Coral Gables, Fl area called Whiffenpoof. FoiGras

[rockycat]

Run by a former Yalie, no doubt?

[buspirone]

Actually I will go to, and highly recommend Fiasco in Halifax, but the name does make one look twice.

[mukalu]

Yuki Sushi in Owings Mills, MD. One of my friends refuses to go to somewhere named "Yucky", but it has my favorite chirashi sushi.

[Blueicus]

What if you pronounced it "Yoo-ky"?

[mukalu]

I think that is how it is supposed to be pronounced, my friend was just being funny :)

[Rene Erm]

I recall 20 or 30 years ago in California seeing a joint called the Scarf and Barf.

[dmjordan]

Chef Jeff's Imagine--that doesn't even make sense!

[monkeyrotica]

Don't think it's possible for a restaurant to be worse than Hitler's.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article...

[BobB]

Right you are! "Hitler's Cross" with a swastika logo? We have a winner!

[monkeyrotica]

There's also Pho King. I don't WANT to know what they've done to the food.

http://www.hewnandhammered.com/photos...

[kattyeyes]

Our favorite server at Pho Mai in Middletown, CT shared with us there's a What the Pho restaurant in Georgia. Gotta say it's darned clever. And it's certainly helpful in getting across the correct pronunciation of "pho!"

-----
What the Pho Restaurant
2442 Pleasant Hill Rd, Duluth, GA 30096

[salsailsa]

LOL!

[Barbara76137]

A place around the corner from my house has gone through a bunch of names and the latest is "Pho King Way".

[buttertart]

Sister restaurants "No Pho King Way" and on the other side just "Way"?

[Barbara76137]

not so many restaurants here.

[alkapal]

i just saw this miss tartaletta. i LOVE it!

[buttertart]

;-)

[Gio]

I was so surprised to see that logo! OTOH the reference in India is diffferent than here in the U.S. and elsewhere. But still.......

[weewah]

That website is no longer showing the article on Hitler's Cross restaurant, here's another one: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/5275866.stm

[maddogg280]

Sip 'n Bite, Baltimore, MD

[Scargod]

The Duck Inn is a real place in Lake Dallas, Texas. There was a saying (since they served "all you can eat" catfish), "Duck in, waddle out!"

[Father Kitchen]

Stanwood, Washington, has a Duck Inn, a favorite breakfast place for duck hunters and a lot of other folks. Small, good food, nice folks, and great duck murals.

[Gio]

I was thinking of Roadkill Cafe....
Some of my friends from South Cakalaki thought it was better than the Ritz. Of course I've nevah been.

[dd992emo]

There is also a Roadkill Cafe in the thriving metropolis that is Elberta, AL...

[Gio]

dd:
There used to be a RC in southern NH near the coast a few years ago. DH would not stop to check it out.. But I think they really just served burgers and such. It's been closed for a while.

[jodymaryk]

Also on Hwy 20 by Winthrop, Wa in eastern Washington.

[Scargod]

Bulldog Burrito, New Haven.

[garlicandwingnut]

Ho Lee Chow
For Crusts Sakes
The Hoar House
The Last supper
I Feel Like Crepe
Hot Buns
Blazing Salads
Hawg Heaven
Garden of Eat'n

[Passadumkeg]

There used to be a restaurant in Canaan, Me., named The Outhouse! No kiddin'. One entered the building through a wooden outhouse, complete w/ crescent moon on the door. I never went and not surprisingly, it didn't last long. I wonder if the food was shi**y?

[Scargod]

It didn't last long because when you asked for anything they just replied, "eat s**t" and they used Sear's catalogs for napkins!

[Passadumkeg]

He's back! Just got from thwe North Atlantic Blues Festival. Great stuff That Texs Lady of Gospel & Blues, Ruthy fosater was our fave. Elvin Bishop wasn't shabby either.
How about Uno Pizza? It ain't Uno w/ me!
If well endowed women work at Hooters, where do one legged ones work?
IHOP

[Scargod]

What do you call a flaming candy bar and bananas? Ruthie Foster!
I think your comments about Uno pizza was not PC. I like big, juicy pizzas!

[Passadumkeg]

And how do you like your coffee? What do you call a Texan mixed w/ Scotch?

[Scargod]

Scargod!

[lagatta]

Yeah, pizza is a feminine noun. UNA Pizza.

[mrbozo]

Yes, but what about pepperoni?

[Johnny Pastrami]

Los Angeles is Land of the Bad Restaurants with Stupid Names:

Ketchup
Grub
Toast
Cut (actually good food)
Charcoal
Krust (nice touch with the spelling, jerk!)
Piknic (do we see a one word trend?)
Flying Leap Cafe
Main Course
Out To Lunch
Oinkster (also good)
Meltdown
Eat Well
Earth Wind & Flour
Spin Rotisserie
Wacky Wok
Lettuce Wok & Roll
Rok The Wok
Wok & Roll
Wok On The Run
Wok'n Sushi
Wok This Way (the Woks should have it's own thread)
Giggles 'N' Hugs
The Munch Box
It's a Wrap
Souper Salad
Pickup Stix
Pomona Valley Mining Co.
Steer N' Stein (Palmdale)
Applebee's

[Glencora]

Giggles 'N' Hugs is awful. What kind of food does it serve?

[mnosyne]

It seems to be a place where children can take their parents for a meal.

[Scargod]

Big Wang, The Munch Box, O'Boobigan's and Hooter's should all have to be in the red light district!

[stephanieh]

Johnny, what a list! Very funny! I have to admit I laughed out loud at Earth Wind & Flour. I believe I'd go there if I lived nearby, just to reward their cleverness.

We have a place in Austin called Nutty Brown Cafe. The food is actually good there, but the name conjures a nasty mental picture for me.

[irisav]

'Wok this Way' always brings a smile to my face - me? I love a pun - as long as I don't have to eat from it.

Canton D'Lite (doesn't inspire confidence but is actually really good)

[decolady]

Ketchup opened another location in Huntsville, AL. The food and service were so bad they had to close.

[mollyomormon]

I have to add Kreation Kafe and Cafe W as (sic) to the list.

[carollins83]

Pickup Stix is actually really good. Have a few in Fresno/Clovis. An import for No. Cal tho is 'Pita Pit'.

[jumpingmonk]

There's a Pickup Stix in NYC as well

[moh]

New Big Wang Restaurant in NYC! Funny name!

[kattyeyes]

Our local Asian market in West Hartford, CT is A Dong. I took two of my friends there a couple of months back and one took a picture of the sign he was so amused.

Not a restaurant, but in the same vein, the Perfection Screw company on of all places Route 69 (!) in CT. We always giggled about that driving by in high school. YEEEHAAAAAA!

-----
A Dong Grocery
160 Shield St West, Hartford, CT

[jumpingmonk]

Not to deflate the joke, but are you sure you don't mean New Big WONG. I dont know of any New Big Wanf in NYC (though I suppose it could have closed since you were there).

Speaking of NBW, given how many branches of the original Wing Wong have opened in NYC's Chinatown (NBW, New Wing Wong, Fu Wong, New Wong King, Hong wong, Hoy Wong, Tan Wong, Wing Wong Inc.) I've often though they should all be given new location on a street of their own and that street could be called Wong Way.

Oh and I'm not sure if it was meant to be a joke but there's a Chinese takeout in Yonkers called The Lion King.

to finish up I could of sworn when I was on the bus last week in NYC I saw a places called "Hu's on First" (maybe they sell baseball cards)

[moh]

Jumpingmonk, it was definitely New Big Wang. We took a picture of the sign, but sorry, I couldn't find the picture to post. We had a good laugh.

I just googled it, apparently it is now called something else, but there is still a goggle map for this place.

[jumpingmonk]

Oh, how could I have been so STUPID, I was THERE back when I was New Big Wang (I reconized it the monet I went online and saw the street sign), I even Still have old MENUS with the name somewhere in my room (as an effort to reduce waste/spending, when a resturaunt I have gone too chages ownership/name/menu, any old obsolte paper takeout menus I have get put in a big bag and, when needed get used as wrapping paper when I need to send a package) . Guess my mind went straight to the new name (plus when I was looking it up I went to menupages, which never listed EITHER place) My apologies.

[moh]

OMG! I would laugh hysterically if I received a gift wrapped with New Big Wang menus! That is stag night material!

[mnosyne]

La Poubelle (the Garbage Can), Los Angeles. Yuck!

[soupkitten]

la cucaracha (the cockroach) st. paul

[weewah]

I've been to La Cucaracha in Phoenix. Thay did a brisk trade in t shirts.

[Neely_Ohara]

Is that place still there? Many, many moons ago, I lived right around the corner from La Poubelle, and couldn't bring myself to go there for that exact reason! The name was such a turnoff!

[small h]

I'm sure this will get deleted post haste, but I wanted to give a shout out to your user name. VotD!

[cuccubear]

Was that who I heard screaming in the streets last night? (Must have just come from La Poubelle...lol)

[chow_gal]

Todd English's family-style failure in NYC: English is Italian

[Spends Rent on Food]

Agreed, we ate there once, and after the miniscule portions a member of our party proclaimed: "English is not italian, English is too cheap to serve us a full meal."

[alkapal]

"English is not italian, English is too cheap to serve us a full meal."
______
su-perb quote!

[soxchik]

All in the Boston area:

Strip T's
Wrapro
Snappy Sushi

[coastie]

Ronnie's sushi - (actually good sushi)
But - I don't associate the name Ronnie with Sushi , Not like, Luigi's pizza......makes sense - the name is trying to tell you an Italian owns the place ......who is Ronnie and why does he make sushi?
I'd still eat there because I know it has a good rep - But I sure wouldn't pick it if I didn't know

[kattyeyes]

Luigi's Sushi would be a whole lot scarier...or maybe fusion, ya never know. ;) Kinda like that "Mambo Italiano" song: "Try the enchilada with the fisha baccala!"

[nofunlatte]

Well, I have yet to eat at Almighty Lord's (which offers fare like King David's Chicken Nuggets, or something like that). Frankly, though, I may have to drop in sometime!

While I don't really like stupid names, they won't keep me from a restaurant, unlike the words "All You Can Eat" and "Buffet".

[Anonimo]

Nix to any restaurant with "Golden" or "Gold" in the name, except for Asian places.
Just my little quirk.

[BobB]

Not that I'd particularly avoid it, but on the topic of cutesy names, one would have to include C.O. Jones Mexican restaurant in New Haven.

[dd992emo]

I could never bring myself to stop at "Squat and Gobble" off I-95 in South Carolina...

[alkapal]

i wanted to stop there JUST to take a photo of the place!!!

[lrostron]

There's a Squat and Gobble in San Francisco in the West Portal area as well, love it!

[alkapal]

wow, in san francisco? how cosmopolitan!

[ChowFun_derek]

In addition to San Francisco's mini chain 'Squat and Gobble", there's "Good Frickin Chicken", and "Phuket" American pronunciation, it is a Thai restaurant, and if one doesn't know the proper pronunciation..........!

[alkapal]

derek, what is the squat and gobble concept? what foods do they serve?
(to me, the concept sounds like it should be gobble and squat. eeew. oh, no she dih-n't say that!)

[ChowFun_derek]

They have breakfasts, crepes, salads....pleasant people, they bring water for your dog, if you're sitting in the outdoor section!
They are located in a number of neighborhoods here in San Francisco....

[alkapal]

oh, that is interesting. i wonder if it is connected with the one off of i-95 in georgia. the road sign advertising it did not look like the georgia resto would be related to the places there in sanfran that you describe.

[kattyeyes]

I used to have Phuket printed out three times and taped to my monitor at work (before I realized that's not how it was pronounced). It was an innocent form of stress release. ;)

[KaimukiMan]

Isn't it amazing what we get used to. Phuket is a very popular resort city in Thailand (that was devastated by the tsunami a few years ago). At the same time what could possibly give more pause than the name of the Thai Capital, Bangkok.

[cuccubear]

Sounds like a Guy Fieri kind of place, and it's just "in-your-face" offbeat enough to intrigue me.

[pikawicca]

The word "squat" should never appear in the name of a restaurant. I don't think that anyone will debate this.

[Scargod]

I always considered it slightly derogatory that they called an all you can eat catfish restaurant, in Lake Dallas, Texas, the "Duck Inn". We would say, "you duck in and waddle out". Lots of overweight people ate their weight in fried foods, especially catfish!

[DarthEater]

I don't care about the name as long as the food is good.

[JBethell]

There's a chinese take-out in Clearwater, FL called Wok Out...I like the name personally...

[rudysmom]

just saw this newly opened one in today's paper..."Sam Buca's." probably won't rush to check it out.

"Wok on the Wild Side"--haven't been, but that one makes me smile.

[CindyJ]

There's a new bistro in my neighborhood that JUST opened, and for the life of me I cannot read the name of the place on the outside sign. Here's what I know: the name may have 4 letters, or maybe 5. The first letter might be an "F", or it might be an "E". The second letter is definitely an "L". The third letter... I don't know. There's something where the third letter should be that looks like a flame, but maybe it's supposed to be a letter. The fourth letter is a "G". The last letter is an "A". Elga? Flga? Fl_ga? El_ga? None of it makes any sense to me.

[CindyJ]

Not exactly a restaurant, but I always thought the name "Krispy Kreme" was really weird. Cream can be a lot of things, but if it's crispy, something baaaaaad happened to it!

[Ted in Central NJ]

In a stripmall in Princeton, NJ, a Chinese restaurant opened up during the winter, and the name on their sign was "Wild Oily". My theory at the time was that the name was SUPPOSED to be Wild Lily, but the name on the sign kept me from wanting to patronize the place or even to inquire about the name.

Well, guess what? After many months, the sign was finally changed to "Wild Lily", but I just can't get the image of overly oily food out of my mind, and as a result, I still don't want to try their food.

[LaLa]

we have a place named Beefy King...yuck

[AlyKen]

Lala are you in Orlando? There is one there that is an old favorite and been there for decades.

[Ted in Central NJ]

Update on "Wild Oily/Wild Lily", located in a Princeton, NJ strip mall:

Now, it is named "Tiger Noodles".

Yes, I know that the Princeton football team is called The Tigers, hence the new choice of name. However, I think that the name sounds like something that an ill tiger would excrete on the floor of its cage.

[Catskillgirl]

Picky picky picky. LOL! Yes, Tiger Noodles is not a huge improvement over Wild Oily!

I have to wonder if the sign makers are snickering as they knowingly take advantage of restaurant owners with limited English.

[alkapal]

the sign makers -- if i had to guess -- painted exactly what was given to them....

[Catskillgirl]

Yes, but would it kill them to point out what are obviously glaring errors in translation???

[alkapal]

maybe the signmakers are also language-challenged.
and with weird names all the time, who's to say "wild oily" is not the name?
maybe that's paula deen's new resto! '=)

[Catskillgirl]

Naw, her new resto is called "Ridiculous Amounts of Butter". Memorable, isn't it?

:-)

[small h]

Wok & Roll, because it's a stupid pun. However, I have no problem going to A Salt and Battery, because it's a smart pun.

[amyvc]

small h, I probably don't live near you but I agree!

[Lizard]

I was recently at the Gare du Midi in Bruxelles where I saw a restaurant called 'Wok Away' so I did.
A poor choice of name in at least two ways.

[tatamagouche]

Oh, how sad.

[small h]

Dammit, I thought I'd come up with an awesome restaurant name, but Wok This Way has already been mentioned. And Wok On By has the same issues as Wok Away.

[jumpingmonk]

Me and a friend once saw a place called the Wok Anne Chu-Gumm. He said "Sorry, can't do that"

I also recall a 24 hr place in Australia called Wok around the Clock.

Then of course the was the Bao house, their buns look really good, but they always seem a little cold.........

[small h]

<Then of course the was the Bao house, their buns look really good, but they always seem a little cold.........>

But I bet they hold together well and still appear fresh even after a few decades.

[jumpingmonk]

you bet!

Oh almost forgot my pair of Chinese noodle joints Lotsa Fun and Ain't we Having Some Fun Now?

Oh and the al fresco branch Fun in the Sun

On the flipside there are a few places I'm GLAD don't mix lagauges like this. As a fellow NYC chinatown visiter you undersand when I say that Yummy Noodles is better off as Yummy Noodles, Yummy Fun just sounds too disturbing, doubly so for me (for reasons I can't define the mascot on Yummy Noodles really creeps me out)

[tatamagouche]

Bau House and Wok Ann Chu-Gumm. No way. Brilliant. small h: if I were ever inclined to use an acronym like ROFL, which I'm not, this would be the time.

[melpy]

Not that I have ever been but if Wok and Roll sells both stir fry and sushi I think it's pretty clever. If it only sells wok meal then it's lame.