Apparently it’s fall now? Is that what I’m to understand? Suddenly, without even a hint of a transition, it feels like Bourbon Season is upon us. Good. I don’t like the idea of driving forty miles, back and forth to work, on slick roads. But other than that… bring it on. You can take your hot, and especially your humid, and ram it deep and on a slant.
However… Toney and I were out yesterday and noticed some ridiculousness. My car said it was 63 degrees out there, and we saw many people bundled up like Russians out doing their Defence of the Motherland Day shopping. It’s 63, not 23. Why the dramatics? And it works the exact opposite way in spring. I posted this at Facebook yesterday:
63 degrees on October 1: wool coats and winter hats.
63 degrees on April 1: flip-flops and cargo shorts.
Why can’t people just be realistic? Is that too much to ask? Sweet sainted mother of Morganna The Kissing Bandit.
While we were out, we stopped at a great little Mexican restaurant called Chicano’s. Hey… don’t blame me, I didn’t name it. But the place is fantastic. I always just get tacos, because they’re great. It’s one of those deals where you’d like to branch out, but don’t want to go there and NOT have the tacos. They’re so simple, and yet so tasty. I love that place. In fact, I think I have a photo of the tacos on my phone. It was taken on a previous visit, not yesterday… Hang on a second and I’ll try to find it. Here it is:
I think I could literally eat 20 of those bastards, every day for the rest of my life. As I say, they’re so good, I don’t dare venture deeper into the menu. I’m a prisoner to their excellence! Are you familiar with this phenomenon? Damn, I wish I had some right now.
I bought a 256 gig microSD card for my phone. Is that overdoing it? I certainly hope so. I could put my entire massive iTunes library on there and it would still be like an empty warehouse. Hello? …Hello? Is there anybody here? I moved over all 900 or so episodes of the Jean Shepherd radio show on Saturday. It took a while. But I now have every surviving episode of that great, great program at my fingertips. It’s amazing. And that didn’t even take up 6 gigs. It’s fantastic. Are you familiar with Jean Shepherd? He was a funny man and a brilliant storyteller. His show was on in NYC from the late 1950s to the late 1970s. Good stuff.
Next up: Phil Hendrie! Pure, undiluted comedy genius.
For a Question, I’ll just tie it into Chicano’s, mentioned above. I’m not sure if that’s an odd name, really. But it feels like it is. Maybe not? In any case, I’d like to know about the businesses you’ve encountered with especially memorable names. That can be because it’s highly inappropriate (my favorite!), genuinely clever, totally bizarre, or truly funny. Whatever the reason, let’s hear ’em. Use the comments link.
Two jump immediately to my mind. Do you remember a Denny’s-like restaurant chain called Sambo’s? According to the Wikipedia page, they had over 1000 locations at one time. I think it would fall easily into the “inappropriate” category, right? I know they claim innocence, but regardless… you can’t have a restaurant called Sambo’s.
Also, in Atlanta, we passed a place on our way to work every day called Doing It For The Lord Hair and Nail Salon. Now that’s a memorable name!
Do you have anything on this? If so, please share.
And finally, the Monday episode of the world famous Jeff Kay Show is up. Here’s your link, and here’s your description:
In this one I tell you about my almost-new piece o’ shit computer and the latest trick it’s doing, Neck Beard Johnny the man who insists there’s nothing wrong with said computer, our recent visit to Chipotle and how their pico de gallo ratios were way off, and my possibly inconsistent reactions to places where horrible things happened. I also introduce a new weekly feature: The Totally Out of Context Quote of the Week. Thanks for listening. I hope you enjoy it!
I hope you guys have a great week!
I’ll see you again on Thursday.
Now playing in the bunker
Support us by doing your shopping on Amazon! In Canada? Here’s your link. Thank you, guys!
If I recall correctly – Sambo’s is featured in the movie Ghost World.
Years ago there was a Boob & Lube in Des Moines. Topless women serviced your car
for a hefty fee. Only lasted a couple of years.
There was a topless car wash in West Virginia years ago. Don’t remember the name, a buddy of mine heard about it so we detoured through on our way to the NASCAR race in Bristol one year.
I hope it was called Jiffy Titty?
There were some coffee shops like that for a while – they had been Photomats. My understanding is that the girls would flash you for a big tip. I recall reading about that somewhere.
The medical thing also had to do with age. I work with a lot of people in their late 60s. So it is common to hear about their medical problems.
Country Girls Tans & Curls
There was once a topless coffee and donut shop in Dickson City, PA. All the morning radio shows were there.
The joint was owned by a strip club owner.
http://articles.latimes.com/1989-10-01/news/mn-852_1_coffee-shop
There is a Mexican place connected to a tanning salon where I live. I have always found that odd. You can eat your beans and then gas up the tanning beds.
phil hendrie is my spirit animal and i have you to thank!
I’m very familiar with the “deep menu but only ever get the one thing I really like” syndrome. Several places I go to all the time and always think, “Everything on the menu looks so good. I should get something different.” But the pull of that familiar item gets me every time. I’ve sworn I will visit the same place every day for a week just to give myself some latitude for ordering something new. But it never happens. A week or two goes by and I find myself looking at the menu with intent and ending up with same standby anyway. Is that a sign of age?
There’s a great pizza joint here called Garibaldi’s. The have a lunch buffet that has all kinds of pizza but also has salads, spaghetti, pot roast, beans etc. A co worker and I go all the time. He eats the pot roast or pork steak or whatever. I’m not going to waste my $9.96 on salad and chicken pot pie.
A friend of mine named Glen works on Mercedes. He was going to open his own shop and call it Mercedes Glenz
There used to be a great little Chinese joint near my house named “You-A-Carry-Out-A”. Their logo was a little Chinese man running while pulling a rickshaw.
Very good. And very racist.
When I lived in Chicago in the 1980s there was a chain called Chinee Takee Outee
There’s a bar in Oceanside, CA called One More That’s It. According to friends who live the area, it’s a pretty great place.
When I was a little kid, my family had to wait out a really bad sand storm near Death Valley in a Sambo’s. I always loved that place until I was old enough to realize what the hell was going on. Eating breakfast at Sambo’s always meant the first day of a camping road trip.
Sambo’s was actually named after the owners: Sam somebody and something-or-other Bonett, I think? But people assumed it was because of the story and they went with it. That was back when things were a lot less PC.
I always thought the name was based on the story because there were scenes from it as part of the decor. The story actually makes sense for a breakfast place. Sambo tricks some tigers into chasing him around a palm tree. They run faster and faster until they turn into butter, which Sambo uses to top some pancakes his mother makes for him.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Story_of_Little_Black_Sambo
I always think of Phil Hendrie whenever someone starts talking about the morning FM radio station personalities. He has a whole bit about that.
Hair salon in southern WV (Logan County?) called Curl Up & Dye.
We had one named that in Peekskill, NY
…and Myrtle Beach.
Was also a location in “The Blues Brothers”….the place Carrie Fisher’s character worked.
Bar in New York City – 3 Sheets Saloon
I have confirmatory photos
One sign reads:
Strickly Sportswear
Do the right thing
And next door:
Strictly Ladies
When I was a kid my mom sometimes took us to this place in midtown called Zum Zum. It was “fast food” but had a variety of German sausages in lieu of hot dogs. My pre-teen taste buds loved it.
Here in the DC – Arlington Axis, there was a series of establishments all run by the same guy(s): BBQ Iguana, Roratonga Rodeo, Bardo Rodeo, Amdo Rodeo. Why were they called Rodeo? But whichever one existed at any given time, you could get a good beer there.
Late 70s Oklahoma, visible from I-35, a taco place called Spic’s. We always stared in disbelief!
In the City of Fairfax there is a cheap-and-cheerful restaurant called Havabite. It’s actually quite good, even if the name is almost normal.
Just by the way – the term ‘Chicano’ isn’t necessarily considered pejorative. It’s an identity term used by some Mexican-Americans and was particularly popular with activists in the 1960s and 70s. Fallen out of popularity since then, of course, but it had its moment as a marker of community pride.
We have a cookie place here in town called “ABC” which stands for: “A Blessed Cookie”. They must bless them somehow, because they are really good cookies!
There’s also a food truck that runs around here called, “Holy Crepes” which is a pretty clever name. I’ve never had it, but others have said it’s great stuff–if you like crepes.
We also have a hot dog place that I could never bring myself to go to called “Dirty Franks”. Somehow, their name sounds totally unappealing to me! I mean really, who would want to eat a ‘dirty frank?!?’
I’m in the same camp as many others. When I find a menu item that I really like, I generally tend to stick with it. I have an old saying that has become a part of me more than I would care to admit, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!”
There’s a restaurant in Nags Head & Avon, NC called Dirty Dicks Crab House. You can get T-shirts & whatnot that says “I got my crabs from Dirty Dicks”.
Bar we used to hang out in religiously: Nobody’s Inn
I have been to Nova Scotia’s Lick-a-Chick fried chicken place:
https://www.aklick-a-chick.com/
There is a dog grooming place near here called For The Love of Rosco.
Las Vegas, New Mexico…..Dick’s Liquors. Established 1940. Great restaurant/bakery there too.
The mall in Greensboro had a Frank-n-Steins. They served hot dogs and a big beer. We would get a beer and watch people. The food court had woven metal seat bottoms so’s when you got up the back of your legs looked like waffles.
There is a towing company near me call Camel Towing. It made the rounds in the news a few years back and is still going.
https://www.facebook.com/camelstl/
There used to be an ice cream place (Scranton adjacent) called Jitty Joe’s. My then pre-teen son bought a tee shirt there. Interestingly enough, the same guy own d a topless place as well. My son said, “do you think they call it Titty Joes?”