Is It Naansense to Think That You Can Have Your Pun and Eat It Too?

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It’s Andy here today. Ann is in OurLittleCorner celebrating a “helluva” town.

Naansense Restaurant, Chicago, IL

If you’ve followed my blog you should know by now that there is nothing that I enjoy more than a good pun.  And you also should know that I suffer from what some might consider to be a severe case of CPD (Compulsive Pun Disorder), an affliction that distresses my family to no end – especially when we’re in public.   So you can appreciate how excited I was coming across a 2017 Eater piece with the title, “Name of Groans: The Search for the Most Truly Awful Restaurant Name in America.”

Eater had solicited restaurant names from their readers and grouped the names that were submitted into four categories: Puns, Distressingly Sexual, Crimes Against Language, and Just Really Bad. To my way of thinking, the names in the pun category were far from “awful.” In fact, they were inspirational. Who wouldn’t want to try out a restaurant with a name like : A-Fish-o-na-do or Ciao Thyme or Fonduely Yours or Pork & Mindy’s or Thelonious Monkfish?

Actually I’ve set foot in very few pun-named restaurants. One of those was on a recent visit to New York where we had lunch at Pig and Khao (which has amazing food by the way). “Khao,” which means rice in Thai, is pronounced  something like “cow.” Because the menu includes both pork and beef dishes I’m assuming the owners intended their restaurant name to be a pun; if they didn’t they should have.

Inside Pig and Khao restaurant where we recently dined in New York City (photo by Andy)

Closer to home I can think of a couple more restaurants. Wild Flour, a bakery out toward the Pacific coast, is one my cycling club’s regular coffee stops. I can’t resist their fabulous scones.  Then there’s Tacolicious that has been featured on a number of occasions here at BigLittleMeals.

But these few examples are a mere drop in the pun bucket when it comes to the number of restaurants across the nation (and beyond) which sport puns on their marquees. Clearly it’s time to update and expand the 2017 Eater list of pun-based restaurant names. My blog today is a modest contribution to that end.

After some serious searching I quickly concluded that there are far too many clever names to share in a single blog. So even though I understand that one person’s idea of a good pun can be another person’s idea of a dud, I’m going to put my reputation on the line and list some of the eating establishment names that “pickled” my fancy. To offer some pretense of rigor, I’ve organized my selections into six categories: 1 Famous People, 2 Other Languages, 3 Song Titles, 4 Movies/Books, 5 Musical Bands, and 6 Others Too Good To Leave Out. For each category I am designating my personal favorite, which may or may not be yours.

Famous People

  • Dairy Godmother (Alexandria, VA)
  • Mustard’s Last Stand (Denver, CO)
  • Okra Winfrey (South Africa)
  • Pita Pan (San Francisco, CA)
  • Theloneous Monkfish (Cambridge, MA)

I got a kick out of each of these names but vacillated between Mustard’s Last Stand and Theloneous Monkfish as my favorite. Being a jazz fan tipped the scale in favor of Theloneous Monkfish.

Other Languages

  • Beau Thai (Portland, OR)
  • Ciao Thyme (Bellingham, WA)
  • Taco the Town (London)
  • Tacolicious (San Francisco, CA)
  • Naan Stop (Isla Vista, CA)
  • Naansense (Chicago, IL)
  • Pig and Khao (Lower East Side, New York City)
  • Pasta La Vista (San Francisco, CA)

There were a ton of eating establishments with names falling into this category making it difficult to narrow down. For obvious reasons I did not include names such as “Pho King” (with locations in Oakland, Davis, and San Jose, CA). To appreciate the pun – and to understand why it’s not listed – think about how to pronounce “Pho” (it’s “fuh”). As far as my favorite, I would rank Naansense slightly higher than Pasta La Vista

Songs

  • Franks for the Memories (San Francisco, CA)
  • Grill from Ipanema (Washington, DC)
  • Crepevine (San Francisco, CA)
  • I Dream of Weenie (Nashville, TN)

I loved all of these. I guess my choice has to be I Dream of Weenie because it got my biggest chuckle. Franks for the Memories wasn’t far behind.

BOOKS/MOVIES

  • Aesops Table (St Paul, MN)
  • Bean Me Up (Ocean City, MD)
  • Lard of the Fries (Sidney, Australia)
  • Olive or Twist (Ashville, NC)
  • Pork and Mindy’s (Chicago, IL -recently closed)
  • Planet of the Grapes (Nova Scotia)

The Australian sense of humor won me over for this category – for some reason Lard of the Fries brought a spontaneous laugh. Olive or Twist would have been my choice in terms of creativity.

MUSICAL GROUPS

  • Bread Zeppelin (Dallas and Houston, TX)
  • Grateful Bread (Seattle, WA)
  • Rolling Scones (Nova Scotia)

While I include only three in this category, they are all solid puns. I’m tapping Rolling Scones as my favorite, but the other two are just a hair behind.

Others too good to leave out

  • Lard Have Mercy (Austin, TX)
  • Nimcomsoup (London, England)
  • Pour Judgement (Newport, RI)
  • Prawnbroker (Ft Myers, FL)
  • The Bay Gull Store (Broad Channel, NY)
  • Weener Take All (Buffalo Grovce, IL)
  • Wok in the Park (St Louis Park, MN)

It took some hard soul searching to pare this residual category down to just seven names. Three of these are top contenders for my favorite: Lard Have Mercy, Weener Take All , and Pour Judgement. Because I’ve selected one restaurant name with “Weenie” and another with “Lard,” I will dub Pour Judgement the winner of this category. What a perfect name for a bar and grill!

HAVING YOUR PUN AND EATING IT TOO – A Collage

Let me know if you have your own favorite pun-based restaurant names .

Finally, to cap off today’s blog I’m including a recipe for Ann’s version of chicken larb, a popular dish in Thai and Lao cuisine. We call it Praise the Larb Salad.

Praise the Larb Salad
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Holy Crap

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It’s Ann alone here today. Andy is resting up for his next blog.

I’m a big fan of Josh Marshall’s Talking Points Memo, so I was both a little surprised and very amused when I saw a post that began “Holy Crap.” Maybe because Easter was just a day away he was thinking holy thoughts? I was even more amused when I searched for that expression and found that there is a cereal maker whose products are named Holy Crap . Wow. I didn’t realize “crap” was such an okay word – especially for food! It’s a Canadian company making those products, so maybe Canadians are more comfortable with crap? (just kiddin’, my Toronto besties, S&D! And…btw…can we come move in with you? 🙂 )

Please note that chia seeds are the main ingredient in this bag of Holy Crap “natural superseed blend.” And I really, really wanted to blog today about both the wonderful nutritional value of chia seeds AND the yummy recipes you can make with them. But I can’t. I just can’t. No matter how hard I try to like chia seeds and how much I appreciate their healthy qualities, I really don’t like them. I won’t write that they’re just crap – but I might think it.

Mind you, I may be in the minority with my lack of enthusiasm for chia seeds. Just do an internet search for Chia Seed Pudding, and you’ll see what I mean. There are recipes and videos everywhere! In fact, if you search for glass food storage (since you’re giving up plastics), you’ll find glass containers labeled specifically for Chia Pudding.

I can’t ignore chia seeds, so I’ve decided to write a little about the plant that provides us with these bags of black and white seeds. There’s so much to appreciate…and even be a little in awe of. Nature is pretty amazing.

Chia seeds come from Salvia hispanica, a member of the Lamiaceae – or mint – family. This particular annual salvia, native to Mexico and Guatemala, grows to about 3′-5′ in height and likes a warm, dry climate. Though in 2019 Mexico was the largest producer of Chia seeds, Bolivian leaders predict that within the next 5 years Bolivia will be the largest exporter, with 25,000 tons of chia seeds being exported annually to China alone. Mmmm…I promise not to digress into tariff-talk.

Salvia hispanica – which produces chia seeds

Research is being done on areas in the U.S. where chia seeds might be grown – if we don’t want to rely on imported chia. The red map indicates where current varieties might be grown (southern CA and Arizona) and the blue map shows where chia might be grown if a new more frost-hardy variety is commercialized. There is even talk of a variety that can be grown still further north.

If my math is correct (never something you’d want to bet on), one acre of land planted with Salvia hispanica produces about 1100 lbs of chia seeds or 1100 one-pound packages as sold at your local grocery store. That’s a lot of acreage needed to keep up with demand!

According to MexicoLore.com, “of Mesoamerican origin, the word chía comes directly from the Nahuatl chien or chian, meaning ‘oily’. The plant is ‘mucilaginous’ – when soaked it produces a thick, gluey substance that helps it store water and food by keeping the seeds moist.” The Aztecs, whose civilization flourished between 1300 and 1500 AD, used chia seeds in their diet for the energy and endurance the seeds gave them. The moisture retention of these seeds is what helps make them good for us – and what makes me find them…well, you know what. You’ll recognize that “thick, gluey substance” the first time you try them. Even Moss, our UC Santa Cruz grandson who makes and eats everything, texted me “I’m not a huge fan of them.”

Even if I can’t over-emote – or even emote – about chia seeds, it’s worth the effort to find ways to use these humble little seeds. After all, HarvardHealth states they will help with all of the following:

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A few caveats:

  • It’s best not to eat dry chia seeds, since that can cause stomach problems. Soak them before eating. For a pudding texture, a ratio of 1/4 c chia seeds to 1 c liquid is often recommended, and for a drink about 1 T chia seeds should be mixed with 1 c of water. Allow the pudding mixture to sit for at least 2 hours in the fridge – and the drink mixture to sit for 10 minutes or so before consuming.
  • You don’t need to grind them to get the nutrients, as you do flax seeds, but grinding chia seeds is good if you want the seeds to act as a binder, such as in vegan burgers.
  • 1 T of chia seeds is about the right amount per person, per day.
  • Chia seeds lose some of their omega-3 fatty acid benefits if they are cooked before eating, so it’s best to add them to cool-ish mixtures.

After many failed attempts, here’s a recipe that Andy and I both agree is not crap. In fact it’s damn tasty – even if you’re on my side of the love/hate relationship with Salvia hispanica and its seeds.

Banana Chocolate Overnight Oatmeal
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Finding Our Inner Elephant

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It’s Ann here today. Andy is over in OurLittleCorner thinking tender thoughts.

I’ll bet many of you saw the video of the way elephants at a San Diego zoo reacted when a small earthquake hit there last month. If you didn’t, here’s a video from the NYTimes for you to watch. It’s just amazing the way the adult females encircle the two young elephants to protect them; and the way the young male elephant tries to be macho and join the adults! 🙂

I mentioned in an earlier blog that a few species, including African elephants, have females in control. Here’s what one elephant site – Herd.org – says, “A herd’s matriarch plays a vital role in their overall development, protection, and wellbeing. The matriarch receives her position as a result of her leadership abilities, knowledge, and skills. She leads her family, sourcing water in dry months, ensuring the young are well cared for, and providing protection when difficult situations arise.”

But that’s not the only endearing thing about them. Elephants, it seems, are quite fond of carrots – and apples, bananas, and pineapple.

Global Sanctuary for Elephants, a non-profit organization with a 2800-acre elephant “sanctuary” in Brazil, has posted two intriguing (and pretty funny) videos of elephants enjoying these healthy human kinds of foods. You’ve got to watch the carrot consumption process!

Sometimes the blogging stars just align; at about the same time I saw that Instagram post, I found a recipe for a carrot sauce that is just amazing! We were entertaining friends from New Orleans for brunch, so a recipe that came from Molly’s Rise and Shine, a popular New Orleans breakfast spot on Magazine Street, seemed spot on. It has to be one of my favorite new recipes; it’s unique and so, so delicious. You’ll want to serve it for breakfast with plain yogurt, fruit, and granola.

And speaking of elephants and fruit, here’s how the Elephant Sanctuary describes the way one of their star elephants, Rana, an Asian elephant, eats her fruit every morning:

For breakfast, each elephant gets some hay, grains, and produce before going off to wander or to get treatment with caregivers. Here you can see Rana very cleverly picking up her food in an organized manner. She’s quite meticulous about lifting up her food neatly and in order. Her trunk goes for the grains right away, scooping them into a manageable pile before lifting the whole thing into her mouth. She saves the apples, bananas, pineapple, and watermelon for later; the sweetest bites will be savored at the end of the meal. 

You can watch Rana eating breakfast below. Damn those apples are hard to pick up with a trunk!

Be sure to watch this short video to the end. And I thought I had a lot of wrinkles! 🙂

If you want to give your brunch guests several options, here are two more perfect sauces to go with apples, bananas, and pineapple – or whatever fruits are in-season and delicious. Just like Rana, the elephant, you can serve and enjoy the fruits with grains (well, actually, with Deb’s Granola recipe).

So let’s give a toast (perhaps with a mimosa?) to finding our inner elephant. Let us join together to protect one and all! Let us benefit from strong, older females’ care and leadership! AND let us enjoy a delicious and unusual breakfast!

Rise and Shine Carrot Topping for yogurt, granola, and fruit
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