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Food Truck Names That Should Be Banned

Posted: 07/19/11 03:25 PM ET

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Food trucks are everywhere. Sure, some cities lag behind, and in others, laws prevent nascent scenes from taking off. But in major cities, odds are good that if you stroll down busy streets, you'll stumble across a food truck (if it's not Midtown Manhattan). Indeed, competition can be fierce. For this reason many incorporate gimmickry. Catchy names and witty slogans are effective ways to win attention. It's also the only time you could name an eatery Shrimp Pimp or Me So Hungry, and expect business not just to survive, but thrive.

Still, some trucks take that license, that "I'm the youngest child and can get away with anything" entitlement up to the edge of tolerability when it comes to the realm of brazen, eyeroll-inducing, pun-upon-pun chuckling. There's the almost-use of foul language, sex references, penis jokes, the point where your eyes roll around in your head so violently you almost think Tyler Florence's ties from last season's series of The Great Food Truck Race actually looked good. "Killer Street Food," "Shrimpin' ain't easy, but it sho is fun," "Shut Up And Eat," the list goes on.

In pictures: Food Truck Names That Should Be Banned

When it comes to food trucks, puns are without a doubt the most common rhetorical devices ever. Still, the sex-charged meat puns that "pop up" on the sides of food trucks catering to the masses are kind of endearing, even when they're beyond the pale when it comes to being obnoxious, obvious, and completely over-the-line. Sure, there's a sense of humor only teenage boys (or most linecooks) would love, but you have to appreciate the overboard qualities inherent to many food truck slogans.

With respect for the ridiculous, and getting away with what most serious restaurants would never consider trying, here are truck slogans and names whose cleverness and puns put them in a category of names that "should be banned" for being over-the-top and too good at their own game.

- Arthur Bovino, The Daily Meal

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Hit n' Run (Houston)
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Think Hit n' Run's name is over the top? How about the Houston food truck's slogan? "Killer Street Food." Roadkill, hit and runs, automobile death, and mayhem — all wrapped up in six words and a 27-foot 1973 Winnebago Chieftan that the folks behind it affectionately call “Winnie.”



The same playful spirit can be found on the Winnie's menu. There's the "Killer Burger" with "coked up onions" and the "Drunken Squealer," which sounds good: Shiner Bock-braised pulled pork, from-scratch cole slaw, sliced onions, pickles, and homemade habanero peach barbecue sauce on a "super soft onion bun." But their fish dish wins the best-name prize — “We Found Nemo” — a fish taco with Nemo spice and Nemo sauce. "You may now throw rocks at other fish tacos," their menu advises.



Related: Food Trucks, The New Marketing Platform
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Food trucks are everywhere. Sure, some cities lag behind, and in others, laws prevent nascent scenes from taking off. But in major ...
Food trucks are everywhere. Sure, some cities lag behind, and in others, laws prevent nascent scenes from taking off. But in major ...
 
 
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BannedInBoston
Everyone is entitled to my opinion.
10:57 PM on 07/25/2011
Food with 'tude....
02:23 PM on 07/21/2011
Food truck rock.
01:14 PM on 07/21/2011
You've got to be kidding... Ban the names of businesses looking to succeed and make a name for themselves based upon what? Some politically correct nimrod that gets offended when the light turns green as that light being green is offensive to grass right? Please... If it's not vulgar, then you have nothing to stand on at all... how about calling it unique and moving on with your day... The rest of us are grown up enough to handle it.
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gravity defiant
Maybe reality has a liberal bias.
02:47 AM on 07/21/2011
Recently opened in my neighborhood: Cheesus Crust grilled cheese. My mother the atheist said it even offended her.

(Personally, I find it funny and just wish they'd get some Daiya cheese!)
01:50 PM on 07/21/2011
Heck, I'm a Christian and that made me chuckle. And now I'm craving grilled cheese... mmmm....
11:12 PM on 07/20/2011
I'd love to lick a Sour Puss after I got it from the Got Shaved ice truck. It would probably be all wet . . . . from the hot LA sun.
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04:52 PM on 07/20/2011
wow, must be a slow news day, this is news worthy...
Bianca S
You can't go trick-or-treating. Ever. For a week
04:33 PM on 07/20/2011
Why would people get offended by 'balls'? Yeah it can be made into a sexual joke, but that's what they are. Are we supposed to call it "spaghetti and meatspheres?"
"Best beef that has been moulded into the shape of a three dimmensional circle in the City" doesn't exactly roll of the tongue...but balls do! (Gong)
02:55 PM on 07/20/2011
Is the article by Mr. Bovino trying to be tongue-in-cheek in itself by saying these should be banned, or does he actually mean it? If he means it, then he must be one uptight journalist ( and I use the term loosely), and maybe he should be banned from writing. In the food truck world creative marketing is a must, and expected.
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baxtron
tek phlarpt
01:40 PM on 07/20/2011
So Portland and LA.
12:42 PM on 07/20/2011
If this was not just about food trucks I would've suggested including Dirty Dicks in OBX
12:41 PM on 07/20/2011
I really want to go to Baby's and The Shrimp Pimp, to bad I don't plan on going to L.A. any time soon
HUFFPOST SUPER USER
cbaker2692
12:39 PM on 07/20/2011
Well if all you ahve is what you have shown here I saw nothing wrong with any of them. If any of these offend anybody you need to grow up act like an adult and deal with it. I can see somebody trying to shut one dwon and they truck owner screaming 1st Ammendment all the wya and they will will win.
12:07 PM on 07/20/2011
When I was a kid, we had a lunch truck in the area called, "The Roach Coach." And people actually bought food from it.
HUFFPOST SUPER USER
cbaker2692
12:39 PM on 07/20/2011
I remember those. Thas what we call them on base
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madenusa
Troll Patrol
02:56 PM on 07/20/2011
Roach Coach is a generic name for these trucks, used all over US
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
capwhan
Yell obscenities at old people and dance on.
10:48 AM on 07/20/2011
They're only bad if the food is.