A list of chain restaurants whose names contain unusual structures, presented in decreasing order of how appealing it would be to eat in such a structure. (White Castle, Waffle House, etc.)
Advertise here with Carbon Ads
This site is made possible by member support. 💞
Big thanks to Arcustech for hosting the site and offering amazing tech support.
When you buy through links on kottke.org, I may earn an affiliate commission. Thanks for supporting the site!
kottke.org. home of fine hypertext products since 1998.
Beloved by 86.47% of the web.
Comments 8
thread
latest
popular
Someone should compile a list of restaurants with misleading names like The French Laundry. In Madison there is a place called Dotty Dumpling's Dowery, it's an upscale burger and fries joint. No dumplings.
They forgot about Cracker Barrel. Not sure I want to eat in a barrel, even if it does have crackers in it.
I'd also be curious if any of you have successfully booked a room at Village Inn or Pizza Inn.
Engine House Pizza Company (referring to a fire station), from when I was growing up in Portland, probably belongs just below Roadhouse.
I'm wondering if Choppke's chopped sandwich restaurant will be a Castle or a Pit? Or something entirely different, like a Realm or a Dimension?
Mudroom
My wife got very into translating the meaning of "Buca di Beppo" after eating there for the first time - she's from New England where casual / fast casual Italian dining doesn't really exist, thanks to family owned Italian restaurants, so eating there with our friends in Texas was an eye opening experience for her.
"Buca" is, as said in the article, roughly equivalent to "hole" or "pit". "Grotto" is a closer translation in some dialects, but "hole" is definitely the funniest option.
"Beppo" is actually a diminutive form of "Giuseppe", which is the Italian form of "Joseph".
So among our friend group, Buca di Beppo was always referred to, with great gusto, as "Joe's Hole!".
Author could have asked Jack about the box.
Hello! In order to comment or fave, you need to be a current kottke.org member. If you'd like to sign up for a membership to support the site and join the conversation, you can explore your options here.
Existing members can sign in here. If you're a former member, you can renew your membership.
Note: If you are a member and tried to log in, it didn't work, and now you're stuck in a neverending login loop of death, try disabling any ad blockers or extensions. Or try logging out and then back in. Still having trouble? Email me!
In order to comment or fave, you need to be a current kottke.org member. Check out your options for renewal.
If you feel like this comment goes against the grain of the community guidelines or is otherwise inappropriate, please let me know and I will take a look at it.
Hello! In order to leave a comment, you need to be a current kottke.org member. If you'd like to sign up for a membership to support the site and join the conversation, you can explore your options here.
Existing members can sign in here. If you're a former member, you can renew your membership.
Note: If you are a member and tried to log in, it didn't work, and now you're stuck in a neverending login loop of death, try disabling any ad blockers or extensions. Or try logging out and then back in. Still having trouble? Email me!