The Name Game: your Spanish and Catalan suggestions

Again, I want to thank everyone for your creative contributions towards coming up with a name for my restaurant. Your participation brought me more joy than an ice cold glass of Cava on hot August day!

For me, this Name Game has turned into a long brainstorming session. Your suggestions have my creative juices flowing. You've inspired me!

Today I'm going to go over just your Spanish and Catalan suggestions. The more I work on my menus, the more I'm leaning towards (how noncommital is that?) the idea of choosing a name rooted in Spain and, even more ideally, Barcelona and Catalonia. To me, the biggest drawback to the name Olallie is that it has no connection to that source of inspiration.

From my own list of name ideas that I posted Thursday, I agree with the voters who like Triana and Barcino. We'll hold those up as gold standards for Spanish/Catalan names. Both have some weaknesses (I'd prefer a Catalan name, and Triana is in Sevilla. Many people will incorrectly pronounce Barcino the Italian way as bar-chee-no). No name is perfect. I also am fond of Julivert, Catalan for "parsley."

So, onto your suggestions! As the old expression says, great minds think alike. Quite a few of the names you suggested had, at one point, also occurred to me. That's especially true of those of you who searched through Spanish and Catalan dictionaries for translations of words that relate to my concept. (Woohoo, shout-out to to the dictionary geeks out there! I too have spent countless hours on that pursuit!) In the Catalan column, I also had thought of Boqueria, Cuina, Granja, Masia, Mercat, Olla, Pla (I love Josep Pla!), Quimet (I adore Quimet Quimet, the postage stamp of a tapas bar in Barcelona, but turns out Quimet is simply short for Joachim), Safrà, Suquet, and Taula. From the Spanish selections, Alegría, Cava, Campo, Cazuela, Cortijo, Girasol, Granja, Marcona, Milagro, Olla, Pimentón, and Plancha were all names I once considered.

I had to drop some names from contention, because they're too similar to existing restaurants in San Francisco or are already taken by well-known restaurants elsewhere. These include Boqueria (such a perfect name for my restaurant, but I stubbornly refuse to use it!), Mercat, Alegría, Bocadillo, Cava, Cerca, Paz, Pipirrana, Sabor, Little Fish, Sardinia, and Zest.

One lesson I've learned from this process is that the Spanish and Catalan languages are troublesome sources for restaurant names in an American setting. As I mentioned before, I believe sound is especially critical when choosing a name from a language other than English. I have no idea why, but it seems that many of the Spanish and Catalan sounds don't resonate as well to the English-speaking ear as French and Italian do. Am I alone in that opinion? For one, there are many pronunciation and spelling challenges, as we have learned with bocarte (bogart, bokart, etc.) and foc i fum (let's not even revisit that one). That's particularly true of Catalan names, because almost no Americans know the pronunciation or spelling rules of Catalan. In addition, in California it's tricky to choose a Spanish name that evokes Spain more than Mexico or Latin America. My restaurant is decidedly not nuevo Latino (not that I have anything against nuevo Latino cooking, it's just not me).

I mentioned brainstorming above for a reason. I have good news and bad news. First the bad news. Please forgive me, but much as I tried, I was only able to fall in love with one of the names you suggested from the Catalan and Spanish languages. Now the good news! One name someone suggested inspired me. It led me to thumb through Coleman Andrew's classic Catalan Cuisine where I discovered what I think is a very decent candidate. I'll reveal that word soon, after the jump.

Runners Up: the A list

The advantage of names starting with a number or the letter A is that they end up at the top of the list on Open Table, the online reservation system that diners in the Bay Area live by.

Alabar. Spanish for "praise," as in In Praise of Sardines. Also has the word "bar" in it. But, I don't know, maybe it's just me. Isn't there something vaguely sacrilegious about two syllables that mirror Allah hanging out together in a word with Bar?

Allioli. The classic Catalan sauce of garlic and olive oil pounded together in a mortar and pestle until they form an emulsion. All i oli literally means "garlic and oil." The beauty of this name is, as the person who suggested it pointed out, that it's almost an anagram for Olallie (I actually mentioned this in my original post on why I chose Olallie, but I'd forgotten). It's cute, but I'm not sure it's as distinctive of a name as I'm seeking.

Arbequina. It's a type of olive grown predominantly in Catalonia and locally here in Northern California. My only issue is that naming a restaurant after an olive sounds a bit too nineties to me. There's Lucques in LA, Picholine in NYC, Olives in Boston, Oliveto in Oakland, and, of course, Olive Garden. Again, doesn't seem quite as unique as what I'm envisioning.

Honorable Mentions

From Catalan:

Benestar (well-being)
Bocí (piece, small bite)
Cassola (clay cooking vessel)
Cuina (kitchen and cuisine)
Granja (field)
Masia (farmhouse)
Olla (pot), Safrà (saffron)
Suquet (fish stew)
Taula (table).

From Spanish:

Campo (field)
Cazuela (clay cooking vessel)
Cerca (near)
Cortijo (farmhouse)
Cosecha (harvest)
Girasol (sunflower)
Granja (field)
Marcona (almond variety)
Milagro (miracle)
Neblina (mist)
Olla (pot)
Plancha (iron, griddle)
Sardina (sardine)
Simpático (nice, likable, friendly, amusing, pleasant
Suntuoso (sumptuous).

Most Melodic

Neblina. Unfortunately, I just don't like the idea of naming my restaurant after damp mist and fog. Besides, it's vaguely reminiscent of my ex-wife's name.

Melodic Names, Honorable Mentions

Allioli
Arbequina
Cazuela
Girasol
Marcona
Sardina

Best Meanings, but not so Melodic to my ear

Cortijo (farmhouse in Spanish)
Masia (farmhouse in Catalan)
Granja (farm in Catalan and Spanish)
Cosecha (harvest in Spanish)
Plancha (iron, griddle)

Frankly, I could add Bocarte to this list

Oddest Suggestion

Bizcocho (sponge in Spanish) Are you trying to tell me something?

So, allow me to introduce the 2 names I liked, one your suggestion and one inspired by your suggesions. Drumroll please....

Bar Sardina/La Sardina. I like the sound, I like the meaning, I like sardines. One hesitation I have is this: is it too similar to Sardinia? It just so happens that the only Sardinian restaurant I know of, La Ciccia, is located here in Noe Valley. I think that could create confusion. Locals, please let me know if you think this is an issue. If it's not, I really should consider it, shouldn't I? I mean, duh! (More on the sardines issue tomorrow).

Casolana. It's Catalan for "home-style." It's a feminine adjective. "Home cooking" in Catalan is cuina casolana. When added to the name of a dish, such as the "pâté" casolana in Colman Andrews' book, it means "home-style." Casolana is an apt description for my rather rustic, homey, feminine style of cooking (remember I cook like a girl).

[Native Catalan speakers, let me know if there's anything negative or linguistically incorrect about using this as a name (other than the fact that it's odd to choose an adjective as the name of a restaurant!).]

The word that led me to this one was cassola, the Catalan word for the clay cooking vessel that is better known by the Castillian Spanish cazuela. I was actually going to choose cassola as my favorite until I discovered casolana (plus I don't like the fact that the second through fourth letters of cassola are not very appetizing, especially when followed by the "ol" sound. In my opinion ca·so·la·na is different enough not to suffer the same fate. I'll let you weigh in). If I end up going with Casolana, I would reward Anita who suggested cassola!

Since there were only 2 names, there's no vote today (I know, bummer). I'm going to add Bar Sardina and Casolana to tomorrow's vote, which includes several finalists. Please leave your honest opinions in the comments. If there's another name that you love or prefer to Bar Sardina and Casolana, like Allioli, Arbequina, or Alabar or one of the others, let me know that as well. Your opinion counts! No Electoral College here. Maybe I'll add one or two more to tomorrow's vote if there's enough support.

Again, I truly appreciate all of your suggestions and all of the thoughtful effort that you put into this process. Tomorrow I will feature the names that I especially like from the Other category. There were several that resonated with me. No, really.

Comments

[Anita D]

From a local perspective, I didn't think of Sardinia, or Sardinian cuisine or La Ciccia, but rather Bar Tartine. It sounds similar, even though the food would be completely different. Aren't there a lot of restaurants in SF with Bar at the beginning? Bar Crudo, Bar Tartine, Bar Johnny? I thought there might be a few more. Well, I do like the idea of Bar Sardina, however.

[sam]

I am actually beginning to find the insistence on Catalan to be stifling and restrictive. At this stage I am starting to find the process rather too anal. I don't actually think looking up the name in a dictionary is a good idea. It will never be from the heart, it will always be contrived.

[Adele]

I like Bar Sardina, Arbequina and Girasol. I'm not such a fan of Casolana.

[brett]

Sam, I'm starting to come around to that same point of view. I think that's why none of the Spanish and Catalan names have really resonated with me either. They come from the head and not the heart. I'm just not falling in love with any of them. It's a similar critique that the commenter the other day said about choosing from the intuitive right brain. I'll look to my heart to see if she's willing to whisper any answers in my ear. So far she's kept mum.

[Tracy]

I didn't think of La Ciccia either, I think you're safe with Bar Sardine. I like the little fishes reference, and the parsley (Julivert) name too, humble but significant ingredients. And I didn't mean for our offer of a discount on books for you to sound like payola, we just thought it was sweet of you and we'd like to return the favor...

[Richard]

Throwing my two cents in...I tend to agree that the Spanish, Catalan connection should be reflected in the restaurant's name. It is important to find something that you really like...it will be with for awhile and something that capture's your view of food, eating, dining and the whole experience...I think the "feminimized" name is a good idea and like Alabar and Arbequina...I prefer Casolana to Bar Sardina/La Sardina...while the latter captures your view of food, it sounds a little harsh and doesn't roll across the lips with the same softness as the feminine Casolana...Casolana sounds soft, sexy and sweet...it doesn't take it self too seriously, has a sense of whimsy and fun and sounds, yummy!

[Ken H]

Great post - I'd be happy with many of the names on your list. I think Olla is great not only because of the reasons you mentioned and it just has a good sound/feel, but it's also a nod to Olallie. If I had to pick a top 3 from this list... 1) Olla, 2) Alabar, 3) Casolana. I'm not a big fan of Sardina or Allioli.

[SlobDog]

I think you have a couple of great options mentioned that would all work well but if you are still searching perhaps you need to take a step back and reevaluate your desire for a foreign derived named. Your cooking seems to be a combination of regions not just Spanish. I don't know, what about names that are esoteric sounding using common words (don't know how else to describe it) such as, Far-Flung, Sardines In Praise, B.E. Culinary or B.E. Piquant - These are all rather poor suggestions I'm afraid but perhaps you or your readers could could nail a good name using more typical names/language so to speak.

[brett]

SlobDog, you've made some good points here. I'm taking them to heart. I'm starting to gravitate towards what you (and before you Sam) are suggesting. A name in English that may hint at what my restaurant is about without saying it directly. Perhaps a metaphor? Maybe a non-food word that conveys something about the kind of experience that I hope diners will have at my restaurant. Something along the lines of Hearth. I've already written Monday's post, but it's looking like I'm going to need to take a step back and reflect for a few days. Thanks for the help.

[Pep]

You should name it Olallie. It sounds just right for your restaurant. I don't think you need to be too explanatory. I'ts been a while since this name appeared in your blog, and it's still warm, nice feminine i misterious enough.

I guess you know sardinia is also an italian island in the mediterranean sea. Located between the italian penninsula and the balearic islands.

There is nothing wrong using casolana this way.

[Marc]

I like your blog and I amb quite surprised because you use many Catalan words in your posts. Should you need any help in Catalan vocabulary, I'll be pleased to help you.

[kudzu]

Ooops. Earlier today I wrote a comment that seems not to have made the transition to print, so here we go again: I awakened this morning with the name "Abretto" in my head. It was still there this afternoon. I don't recognize it from any language, but it contains YOUR name, and besides -- a name beginning with "A" is at the top of any list.