The Name Game: your suggestions, part 2

Today I'm going to highlight those of your suggestions from the category I labeled Other. Most of these were words in English, but other sources included Latin, Basque, Galician, and people's own imaginations.

Since there were several I liked, I'm going to just list them and put them up for a mass vote. Once again, thank you to all of you who participated. Your ideas were so creative!

Honorable Mentions

Arlene’s (after Arlene Sardine, a children’s book about a sardine)
Bardine (play on sardine and bar/dine. Awesome!)
Califia (mythical Amazon goddess after whom state was named)
Halcyon (peaceful; prosperous; carefree)
Twine Spun (creative!)
Zest (love the meanings, culinary and otherwise; don't like the soap)

Name that Made Me Chuckle

Liselotte (Liselotte was the name that won the Name That Sheep Contest on Farmgirl Fare two years ago. I got so overzealous defending my suggestion of Pepato — as in the ewe's milk cheese pecorino pepato — that my consolation prize was getting a different sheep named after my name, not Pepato.

Finalists

Open Kitchen

The open kitchen with counter seating will be the first thing you see as you approach the restaurant. The design of my kitchen is radically open. Trust me, there is no other kitchen quite like it! The boundaries between it and the dining room are blurred. It will be like you're eating in my kitchen (depending on where you're sitting. Some seats will make you feel like you're eating in my garden. But I digress). Open also refers to my openness, my life's guiding mantra of late. If I chose this name, I would split the reward between the person who suggested Open and the one who added the Kitchen to it. On a personal side note, my mom's nickname was Kit. Groovy, no? (Trust me, she was!)

Sardine/Bar Sardine

Like Bar Sardina, this one seems like a natural fit. I think I prefer Bar Sardina, but I thought I'd let you weigh in on that. I know many of you like the idea of name that incorporates "sardine." You IPOS readers are predisposed to like it because you read my charming, fascinating, always amusing blog, which I am positive is the highlight of your day. While I'm happy to provide you a reason to get out of bed every morning, my concern is what about the other 99.999% of the world that regrettably does not read my blog (shocking, I know)? Is this a name that whets the appetite?

Someone sent me an email pointing out the problems that a now-shuttered restaurant called Tartare had. The name caused the perception that many dishes on the menu were uncooked, which was simply not the case. Might using the word "sardine" in the restaurant's name confuse and even scare away potential sardine-loathing customers? Does the name truly reflect my menus, which always include several vegetarian friendly options? On the other extreme, those who love sardines might be disappointed on those occasions when the little fish are not on the menu due to lack of availability. I do like its (and Bar Sardina's) quirkiness. But then again I came up with Castropoda, imby, and foc i fum, so what the foc do I know?

What about considering a phrase that doesn't imply that sardines are a menu item? Something silly like Sardine's Leap (my restaurant's leap from cyberspace to brick and mortar business). Or something else. Let me know if you think this is a road is worth traveling down.

Sardinella

Latin for sardine. Kind of has a nice ring to it. I know many of you like it. Am I the only one, however, that thinks of Cruella de Vil, Barbarella, and Dracula when I hear this name? I still think I prefer Bar Sardina of all the sardine variations. Oh, by the way, "In Praise of Sardines" as the name of a restaurant? First reaction: Awww, how sweet! They really like my little blog, don't they? Second reaction: Are you all high? (That would explain a lot, come to think of it).

Swoon

This one's a bit of a wild card. Nobody suggested it as a name here, but someone left it in a comment on a recent photo I took of grilled porcinis. It's one of my favorite words and it has the much sought after oo sound. It means "to enter a state of hysterical rapture or ecstacy." Well, that and "to faint." I like the idea of a verb for a name (are there any other restaurants with verbs as names?). Swoon makes me think of peak experiences, like falling in love and savoring extraordinary food (like perfectly grilled sardines... *thud* That was the sound of me fainting as my eyes rolled into the back of my head at the very thought of how delicious those little fish tasted). Swoon is also rather sweet and quirky. To me, it inspires culinary adventure. My only concern is it might raise people's expectations too high.

Viridian/Viridiana

Dark spring green with a bluish tint to it. You know how much I like my metaphors (see upper right corner of this page, just above my picture. That's right. Sardine is a metaphor too!).The person who suggested it wrote that viridian is a metaphor for "youth and promise, verve and vitality." It also conjures up images of spring and freshness. Additionally, it reflects my commitment to green practices, both in my menu and the restaurant's design. In fact, the name is associated with an environmentalist design movement. And guess what! There's also a Spanish connection. The feminine version, Viridiana, is both the name of a classic film by the iconic Spanish director Luis Buñuel and the name of a top restaurant in Madrid that was named after the film. I like the way both words sound. To my ear, they roll off the tongue in a nice way. If you like this one, let me know which version you prefer, yin or yang.

Mortar & Pestle

I'm adding one more of my own into the mix. The mortar and pestle are (is?) my favorite kitchen tools (I own three — marble, stone, and ceramic — and use them daily, all for different tasks). I consider myself a bit of a Luddite, the Don Quixote of the kitchen. The mortar and pestle symbolize my antediluvian approach to cooking. These tools represent the common "urban farmhouse" thread that runs throughout my cooking no matter what flavors I choose to feature. They are especially well-used in Catalan cooking, as many long-simmered dishes feature the last minute addition of a picada (toasted bread, nuts, garlic, herbs and other aromatics pounded together and added to a dish to flavor and thicken the sauce).

Onto the vote! I'm adding in yesterday's contenders, Bar Sardina and Casolana, too. For now, I'm going to group all the variations on the sardine theme together into one shoal, er, category. If that category's popular enough, we'll sort it out tomorrow. Then we'll revisit the favorites (including, but not limited to Olallie, Triana, Barcino, and Emerson. Maybe Bocarte. Maybe Julivert. Maybe foc i fum). If you haven't weighed in on last week's 8 new suggestions, there's still time to vote!

Comments

[Adele]

I'm afraid your poll isn't working for me - it'll only let me select one option.

I think Mortar & Pestle might be my favorite. I like Bardine, but I think Sardinella sounds too much like "salmonella" - definitely not a good association in a restaurant name.

I really don't like Swoon, and Viridian just doesn't make me think of food... it sounds like an upscale hair salon or boutique.

[art]

I think of salmonella when I hear sardinella.

I think a lot of people's reviews are mixed on open kitchens. It's one thing to have an open kitchen and another to advertise that you have one.

Mortar and pestle is nice but it has kind of a medieval ring to it.

[brett]

Thanks, Adele. I fixed the poll. You can enter multiple choice votes now.

[Jack at Fork & Bottle]

I really like both Mortar & Pestle and Swoon.

(Vote button does nothing, it seems.)

[Jack at Fork & Bottle]

(But with a reload - it does work now.)

[brett]

Try again. I got rid of the "other category" and added mortar & pestle, which I had forgotten to add.

[chris brandow]

I like Open Kitchen the best, but it needs a tweak. It is perfect way to capture what your kitchen is about in many ways, but it seems to obvious, literal, or heavy-handed. Keep riffing on this idea. it is really close to a cool name, I think. But it does leave out the regional & field to plate ideas. Hmmm... that's the challenge isn't it. Three strong, complementary concepts competing for recognition in the name.

[Jeanne]

Mortar and Pestle could be the name of a pharmacy and is the symbol most often used by pharmacies. Doesn't work for me at all. Swoon is unique but you might tire of it quickly, and could be difficult to logo. Veridian sounds stiff. Viridiana is too complicated. Casolona still has the "ass" sound in it and is boring. I'm liking where Chris is heading.....

[Stephanie]

I'm sort of worried that Bar Sardine/Bar Sardina sounds too much like Bar Tartine...

[Silversara]

I'm joining the sardinella sounds like salmonella bandwagon. Love the word swoon!

[catherine]

Wow, I can't wait to see the menu! With all of this name discussion, it is making me hungry for some fabulous Spanish food.

I am sure that it will rock because of the thought that has gone into the name. Yum!

[sam]

The poll won't let me vote for "none of the above".
None of these ring my bell.
I too love my pestle and mortar. But it seems odd to me the other way round and I wouldn't name a restaurant after it.

[EB]

Nope.... not high... right now... the first thing I thought when I saw Sardinella was Barbarella. Made me giggle that you did too. And again... giggling because it was funny. No... not high.

[Tracy]

salmonella will make you swoon...

[Diane]

I still like all of the short list from the round with "tirana" and "julivert" much better than anything else offered to date. Most of these are "meh" to me. I like sardinella. Otherwise - meh...

[Tea]

Can I vote for Picada? I like it!

I also like some less obvious variation on open kitchen.

[barbara]

I've been away for a couple of month so have missed the name game. Tonight I have read every post and voted for my favourites but I still like Olallie best.

[Bonnie]

Eh...meh..something happened and all these contenders now sound over-thought, under-inspired to me. I agree with you that regardless of this wonderful blog's popularity (and I love sardines too, incidentally), referencing the tasty fishies n the name will probably put a few people off. (And maybe they don't deserve to eat there anyway, but...)

Mortar & Pestle sort of lands with a thud, tonguewise it's Germanic. Swoon sounds like a trendy bar. Viridiana is my favorite but it's a bit of a syllabic mouthful.

I really like how enthusiastic you are about Open Kitchen, and how it ties together the layout with your cooking and life philosophies. But it sounds blah to me (and reminds me of OpenTable, the reservation system). I know you're down to finalists, but I think you should play with Open Kitchen some more, like Chris says above. I don't speak Catalan, or even Spanish, but I did some Catalan dictionary Googling and here are a few new suggestions (that you may have already thought of and rejected):

OBERTURA ("opening" — you, the restaurant, and the kitchen space)

ESTRENA ("opening night" — same idea)

I also like both of these just on an auditory level for sounding feminine and soft but not cutesy or prissy.

My 1.5 cents.

[aja]

Hey B,
I like the sardine route but think it needs to be mellowed down just a bit - I know it is a bit late in the game, but how does Baradina (needs to be said in a soft spanish sibbilant...) or Barina or being even more round about and less in your face - SaBar or S'Bar?

I'm glad you're back, glad you're looking forward, and glad that you are seeing the sparkle in your cava again - I missed having you around on my screen.

[Melissa]

Like Bonnie, Open Kitchen makes me think of Open Table. Also, Open Kitchen is OK, which may or may not be okay with you. I like the feeling behind it, just somehow re-worded.

[Towse]

I like Swoon. Second the Sardinella'Salmonella connection.

I was going to suggested Quixote but there's already a Quixote in our fair ville.

But here are my reasons anyway: Most people would know how to spell it even if it does have that funky "x" there and there you'd be the Don Quixote of the kitchen, chopping field greens with Sancho Panza, changing the world, one dish at a time.

[Steve Dunham]

You could also consider just "Pestle" as a variant to Mortar and Pestle (which sounds a little like a pub to me).

Another cooking-related name that comes to mind is "Fond", but french is a bit far afield from your criteria.