Omnivore - Best Bets: 5 Atlanta restaurant names you may be mispronouncing
...and how to say them correctly.
It happens to the best of us. We order a dish with complete confidence, only to hear in a Giadia De Laurentiis-like reply “it’s pronounced ‘bru sketta’.” Even worse than mispronouncing a Macaron (mak-uh-RUH) as a “mak-uh-ROON” is butchering the name of the restaurant you have talked up. In the interest of public service, here are six best bets of restaurant names you are probably pronouncing incorrectly.
Makan, the nine month old downtown Decatur restaurant serves Chinese and Korean fare with modern panache. The name has its roots in Indonesian and Malay languages, where it means “to eat” as a verb or “food” when used as a noun. What it doesn’t do is rhyme with bacon or even with the ending syllable rhyming with dawn, as most commonly overheard. Enjoy ramen, dumplings, or family style fried chicken in confidence knowing it is MAH-kahn.130 Clairmont Ave., Decatur. 404-996-6504. www.makanatl.com.
Another hot new spot from the Rocket Farms empire seems to trip up tongues. Superica in Krog Street Market with its Mex-Tex inspired menu harkens to a place in Texas where chef/owner Ford Fry frequented while still in his little boy cowboy boots. Before scooping those layers of ingredients in the Bob Armstrong queso or attending to the individually topped nachos, say it aloud: soo-pur-EEE-kah. 99 Krog Street. Inman Park. 678-791-1310. www.supericaatl.com
The swanky Parisienne bistro Le Bilboquet,the only freestanding establishment in the new Buckhead Atlanta development, easily brings chic classic French brasserie food but it’s moniker poses a challenge to patrons. Instinctively we want to call it “the library” (le bibliotheque) because it is one of the few words lingering from French 101, but it holds steak frites and moules marinieres, not books. It is actually named for the old fashioned children’s toy which has a cup and a ball attached by a string. The mission is to try to land the ball in side the cup. Your mission is to pronounce it “lay-bil-bokay.” 3035 Peachtree Road N.E. Buckhead. 404-869-9944.
At Buford Highway’s Pho Dai Loi 2 the only task that should be daunting is choosing among the vast array of comforting Vietnamese noodle dishes egg rolls, bun and rice bowls. Remember, soup is your friend, not your foe. Like the beginning of your favorite curse word, “pho” is pronounced “fuh.” 4186 Buford Highway NE. Doraville. (404) 633-2111
If there is ever a banquette scene on Game of Thrones, you would no doubt see a cockentrice on the table. The mythical beast designed by the kitchen staff in the middle ages to please royalty was crafted of the head of a suckling pig sewn together with the end of a capon (a castrated male chicken), then stuffed, skewered, and roasted on a spit. At Krog Street Market, chef/owner Kevin Ouzts’ Cockentrice doesn’t serve mismatched animals but a rather yummy selection of meat-centric dishes. And here is how to pronounce it: kok-UN-trīs (like “rice”). 99 Krog St NE. Inman Park. (470) 428-2733. www.thecockentrice.com.
Top Chef’s Ron Eyester re-launched his Morningside pizza joint this January as a pizzeria cum deli with hot New York style sandwiches like a fried clam roll and house-made pastrami and bagels with schmears. Timone’s is an homage to his New York Italian mother who shares a maiden name with the establishment. So don’t be a jabroni but think of the word for rhyming purposes when you say “TIM-hohn-nees.” Timone’s also let’s you brush up on your bruschetta ordering with it’s creamy white bean and sage version.1409 North Highland Avenue NE. Morningside.(404) 809-2979. www.timonespizzaatlanta.com.