# Turn off restaurant names **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 19, 2018, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/turn-off-restaurant-names/816350 "2018-06-19T01:30:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2018, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/turn-off-restaurant-names/816350/81 "2018-06-20T01:40:51Z")
We had chocolate chip pizza at Larry’s buffet tonight. ---
**Author:** ![4d3fect](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/4d3fect/32/9728_2.png) [@4d3fect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/4d3fect)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2018, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/turn-off-restaurant-names/816350/82 "2018-06-20T02:20:37Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > We had one down my way in the South Bay. Lots of cartoon tigers on the menus and placemats. And pancakes were heavily featured on the breakfast menu. > > It was the very last place where we could get a cup of coffee for five cents. For some reason, I still have one of those wooden nickels stashed down in the garage somewhere. ---
**Author:** ![4d3fect](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/4d3fect/32/9728_2.png) [@4d3fect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/4d3fect)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2018, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/turn-off-restaurant-names/816350/83 "2018-06-20T02:28:47Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > Portland is the home of Hung Far Lo. Here in SLO town we have Mee Heng Low (we always snicker, but we have the minds of 12-year-olds). Noodles are pretty good actually ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2018, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/turn-off-restaurant-names/816350/84 "2018-06-20T02:36:03Z")
> [@DPRK](#): > > One problem with [milk bars](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milk_bar) is that you always wonder whether they serve moloko plus, vellocet, synthemesc, and drencrom, and what sort of clientele they might attract. Heh. Julie Mason of the POTUS channel was apoplectic about a Milk Bar opening across the street from where she lives. Initially her rants were pretty amusing but the shtick got old really fast. Re: Colorado’s Packard Grill–there’s also an establishment in Lake City that doesn’t shy from it’s namesakes’ habit:\* The Packer Saloon and Cannibal Grill\*. ---
**Author:** ![4d3fect](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/4d3fect/32/9728_2.png) [@4d3fect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/4d3fect)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2018, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/turn-off-restaurant-names/816350/85 "2018-06-20T02:36:35Z")
Squat and Gobble at West Portal near CCSF. I’d been trying to avoid it, but my son’s wedding breakfast for the menfolk was there. Unremarkable apart from the disgusting name. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2018, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/turn-off-restaurant-names/816350/86 "2018-06-20T02:52:18Z")
> [@blondebear](#): > > Re: Colorado’s Packard Grill–there’s also an establishment in Lake City that doesn’t shy from it’s namesakes’ habit:\* The Packer Saloon and Cannibal Grill\*. The Mexican section of CU’s Packer Grill is called El Canibal. ---
**Author:** ![HowSoonIsThen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e56c9b/32.png) [@HowSoonIsThen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HowSoonIsThen)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2018, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/turn-off-restaurant-names/816350/87 "2018-06-20T04:43:08Z")
Because I’m not American, I first heard of In N Out Burger in my twenties. I thought that name was disgustingly honest about the nutrional value of fast food. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2018, 8:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/turn-off-restaurant-names/816350/88 "2018-06-20T08:14:24Z")
A lot of Americans never heard of In-N-Out Burger until they were well into adulthood. It’s only in five states (California, Arizona, Utah, Nevada, and Texas), and it’s not evenly spread out over those states. Although I’ve been in California several times for conferences, I’ve never had a chance to eat at one. When I was in California last year for six days, I asked the clerks at the hotel I stayed at if there was one within walking distance. They said that there wasn’t, and this was in the middle of a big city. I just checked online, and it appears that there weren’t any within ten miles of that hotel. ---
**Author:** ![F.U.Shakespeare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aca169/32.png) [@F.U.Shakespeare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/F.U.Shakespeare)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2018, 8:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/turn-off-restaurant-names/816350/89 "2018-06-20T08:49:00Z")
Genghis Khan’s misdeeds occurred far enough in the past to put him in a different light than Hitler, Stalin or Pol Pot. Also, Hitler’s motive of genocide is more odious than old-fashioned conquering, which was more the norm in GK’s day. Publisher Bennett Cerf had a story that he prefaced after-dinner speeches with. Back when the Romans were feeding Christians to lions, a clever Christian came up with a plan. When the hungry lion was released into the Collosseum to devour him, the Christian whispered into the lion’s ear. The raging beast quieted down and slinked away. When the emperor asked the Christian what he’d done, he replied, “I told the lion, ‘You do realize that you’ll be expected to say a few words after dinner?’”. A light-hearted speech to bond with the diners over the common aversion to public speaking, illustrated through the lens of religious genocide. But it happened a long time ago, so no big deal. ---
**Author:** ![Asuka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@Asuka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asuka)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2018, 9:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/turn-off-restaurant-names/816350/90 "2018-06-20T09:49:41Z")
There’s a local pizza place called “Red Barons Pizza”. Not only do I have no idea what a WW1 pilot has to do with pizza, the places logo is incredibly similar to the logo of the Red Baron brand of frozen pizzas. Why would you make the name of your made- from-scratch pizza place the same as a famous brand of terrible frozen pizzas? I literally thought it was the same company branching out to restaurants when I first saw it. ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2018, 10:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/turn-off-restaurant-names/816350/91 "2018-06-20T10:57:40Z")
I’ve certainly seen a samdwich bar in Edinburgh called “Gobble and Go”. And there is or was a Chinese restaurant somewhere in London called Ho Lee Fook. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2018, 11:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/turn-off-restaurant-names/816350/92 "2018-06-20T11:22:42Z")
> [@F.U.Shakespeare](#): > > Genghis Khan’s misdeeds occurred far enough in the past to put him in a different light than Hitler, Stalin or Pol Pot. > > Also, Hitler’s motive of genocide is more odious than old-fashioned conquering, which was more the norm in GK’s day. Plus, one helluva lot of people can now trace their ancestry to Genghis: > **[Family and descendants of Genghis Khan](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Descent_from_Genghis_Khan)** > > The family tree of Genghis Khan is listed below. This family tree only lists prominent members of the Borjigin family and does not reach the present. Genghis Khan appears in the middle of the tree, and Kublai Khan appears at the bottom of the tree. The Borjigin family was the imperial house of the Mongol Empire (and its various successor states), dating back to the 13th and 14th centuries. > Descent from Genghis Khan in East Asia is well documented by Chinese sources. His descent in West Asia an... ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2018, 11:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/turn-off-restaurant-names/816350/93 "2018-06-20T11:23:57Z")
> [@Asuka](#): > > Why would you make the name of your made- from-scratch pizza place the same as a famous brand of terrible frozen pizzas? Good question, but Red Baron is actually a pretty good brand. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2018, 11:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/turn-off-restaurant-names/816350/94 "2018-06-20T11:39:48Z")
> [@PatrickLondon](#): > > And there is or was a Chinese restaurant somewhere in London called Ho Lee Fook. They weren’t sued by Lee Ho Fook’s? (Although whenever I hear that, I mentally switch around the word order, too.) ---
**Author:** ![4d3fect](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/4d3fect/32/9728_2.png) [@4d3fect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/4d3fect)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2018, 12:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/turn-off-restaurant-names/816350/95 "2018-06-20T12:26:45Z")
> [@Ludovic](#): > > They weren’t sued by Lee Ho Fook’s? (Although whenever I hear that, I mentally switch around the word order, too.) AAAooooo! ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2018, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/turn-off-restaurant-names/816350/96 "2018-06-20T12:40:35Z")
> [@Asuka](#): > > There’s a local pizza place called “Red Barons Pizza”. Not only do I have no idea what a WW1 pilot has to do with pizza, the places logo is incredibly similar to the logo of the Red Baron brand of frozen pizzas. Why would you make the name of your made- from-scratch pizza place the same as a famous brand of terrible frozen pizzas? I literally thought it was the same company branching out to restaurants when I first saw it. I’ve never understood why they named a pizza after a German WWI flying ace. When I think of pizza, I definitely don’t think of Germany. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2018, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/turn-off-restaurant-names/816350/97 "2018-06-20T12:47:09Z")
> [@Bijou\_Drains](#): > > a popular beach place is the Sanitary fish market and restaurant > > [http://www.sanitaryfishmarket.com/](http://www.sanitaryfishmarket.com/) When I first heard of that place, my immediate thought was, “Well, that’s setting the bar pretty low.” ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2018, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/turn-off-restaurant-names/816350/98 "2018-06-20T13:14:29Z")
> [@4d3fect](#): > > For some reason, I still have one of those wooden nickels stashed down in the garage somewhere. I vaguely remember those. A google search to see what they look like revealed they are going for .75 in a lot of 40. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2018, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/turn-off-restaurant-names/816350/99 "2018-06-20T13:24:24Z")
Speaking of funny-sounding Eastern names, Rochester used to have the House of Poon, but I never went there, nor would it be a turn-off particularly as long as I knew it was actually a restaurant! ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2018, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/turn-off-restaurant-names/816350/100 "2018-06-20T14:54:41Z")
> [@Ludovic](#): > > Speaking of funny-sounding Eastern names, Rochester used to have the House of Poon, but I never went there, nor would it be a turn-off particularly as long as I knew it was actually a restaurant! “So, what do you recommend?” “Didn’t you read the sign?” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/turn-off-restaurant-names/816350.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/turn-off-restaurant-names/816350.md?page=6)