When restaurant names don't exactly pull you in

[Jenise]

I was just reading about a wine event in Seattle that I got invited to attend, and I was kind of interested until I read the list of food purveyors who would also be hosting the event.

a handful of local food trucks, including Lumpia World, Marination Mobile, Sweet Wheels and Tokyo Dog

Nothing against food trucks, but....

[Robert Reynolds]

There's a Chinese place in Tulsa called Takee Outee. Nope, I have not been tempted to check it out.

[Jeff Grossman/NYC]

There's a Chinese place in Tulsa called Takee Outee. Nope, I have not been tempted to check it out.

Maybe they serve congee?

[Carrie L.]

Funny you mention that. We just saw a place in Pinehurst called Wedgies. We finally learned it was a pizza place, but both observed that it wasn't a name that would pull you in or clue you in.

[Robert Reynolds]

Just saw in today's paper that a local restaurant shut its doors last week - Action Erection Beer & BBQ. No, I'd never heard of that place, nor would that name draw me in.

[Jenise]

Just saw in today's paper that a local restaurant shut its doors last week - Action Erection Beer & BBQ. No, I'd never heard of that place, nor would that name draw me in.

DitTO on that! But I actually like Takee Outee. Unlike Lumpia World, it suggests a tongue-in-cheek kind of sophistication that might make me think it has something on the ball.

[wnissen]

Maybe you would have enjoyed Chairman Bao. Cutesy name, but holy picked Daikon, Batman!

Our local sushi joint is "Man Puku." I think it's pronounced "Poo-Koo," so really both ways are bad.

Also, outside of L.A., I have personally seen a storefront whose permanent sign read "Convenience Sore." Oh my.

[Karen/NoCA]

A Thai opened in Redding at an upscale strip mall area. I did a double take one day when I saw the name, "Phuket" I've never had a desire to go there,

[Bill Spohn]

A Thai opened in Redding at an upscale strip mall area. I did a double take one day when I saw the name, "Phuket" I've never had a desire to go there,

So you just said"Ph...." no, that's just too easy. Many Vancouverites holiday in Phuket so the name would resonate with them. Didn't know if you were aware that it was a well known resort area.

Some of the notorious oddball names:

Portland:









In Mass.



And last but far from least in London England:

[Karen/NoCA]

So you just said"Ph...." no, that's just too easy. Many Vancouverites holiday in Phuket so the name would resonate with them. Didn't know if you were aware that it was a well known resort area.

I found out after I came home and researched it, that same day. It is actually a chain of restaurants. My husband just informed me that we have eaten there. I remember now, it was in the middle of winter, pouring down rain, very cold. We were at the locally owned grocery store in that complex and saw the restaurant. We ran over and had lunch. It was very clean, and I can't reccall the food at all. It has been there for a few years, so it must be good, and probably a place where a lot of locals go, because it is off the beaten path.

[Lou Kessler]

A Thai opened in Redding at an upscale strip mall area. I did a double take one day when I saw the name, "Phuket" I've never had a desire to go there,

Vacation area with some beautiful beaches in Thailand. I know about the area for years but if one didn't I could see why you reacted.

[Mike Filigenzi]

Here in Sac, we have the Pho King and (for those who want a threesome, I suppose), the Pho King 2.

[Matilda L]

Down in these parts, people are encouraged to pronounce Phuket as "Pew-ket" but I believe the people who live there pronounce it just the way it looks.

[Randy P]

Here in Tucson we have a restaurant named Cock Asian. -RP

[Mark Lipton]

Down in these parts, people are encouraged to pronounce Phuket as "Pew-ket" but I believe the people who live there pronounce it just the way it looks.

My Thai acquaintances pronounce it "poo-KET," but I don't know if that's the universal pronunciation.

Mark Lipton

[Max Hauser]

Here in Sac, we have the Pho King ...

Yes and so does Los Angeles and I think other places too, and some other name variations along those lines.

Moreover, some readers far from large ethnic-Vietnamese populations (such as exist in parts of California including mine) may not fully realize the issue here:

The word is not, in fact, "Pho" but "Phở" (if you're lucky, your software displays the Vietnamese modified vowel there) and its proper, classic, pronunciation is (give or take Vietnamese regional nuances) roughly "fuh" (per NYC "fuhgeddaboudit!"). (Food-history note: Some Vietnamese experts hold that the word adapts the French feu, fire, and that the national beef-soup dish itself derived from the classic French pot-au-feu, which was indeed introduced, along with cattle raising, during French colonial influence on Vietnam preceding Phở's popularization. Vietnamese pronunciation of Phở does resemble French feu.) In my region (silicon valley), almost everyone, gringos included, pronounces it "fuh" unless they're new to the soup, and don't realize that the P-H-O spelling is an anglicized corruption.

So it'd be interesting to chat with one of the owners who elected to dub their restaurants with names that phoneticize like "fuh-king." None of which is even remotely as important to fans of this soup as is the quality of the broth -- which is easy but slow to make well (I've done it -- like pot-au-feu except for seasonings), but routinely shortcutted in restaurants with commercial soup bases and MSG, to the constant vocal exasperation of émigré Vietnamese gastronomes.

[Shaji M]

Here in Sac, we have the Pho King and (for those who want a threesome, I suppose), the Pho King 2.

I guess Vietnamese food can be good or it can be Pho King good!!

[Bill Spohn]

Here in Sac, we have the Pho King and (for those who want a threesome, I suppose), the Pho King 2.

I guess Vietnamese food can be good or it can be Pho King good!!

[Jason Hagen]

Tujunga had The Poo Ping Palace.

Not because of the name but we like

[Covert]

I told this story at the time it happened. A local radio personality had started down the slippery road to a so-called nervous breakdown. He did live commercials during which he would call the owner of a restaurant on the phone and talk about its wonderful features. He called Red's Restaurant once, and the owner got called away for a few moments during the commercial. The personality went off on a tangent about how words are just words and said the food at Red's would be as good if the restaurant were named Red's Butt Hole. When Red came back on the air, the personality told him he had advertised the restaurant as Red's Butt Hole and what did he think of that. The biggest stretch of dead air (pregnant pause) I have ever heard on the radio followed. I laughed so hard I cried.