What’s Fo’ Suppa’? Change Yo’ Name?

Have you ever experienced a thought so funny that it tickled your funny bone the whole day? In my experience, those things that make me giggle the most are completely lost to others around me.

There was a new Vietnamese restaurant, Pho Sapa, near our home in Phoenix, AZ that my husband and I wanted to try out. I had driven by it on numerous occasions without paying much attention. This time, as we pulled into the parking lot and as I saw the name in large letters across the front of the building, I came down with an incurable case of the giggles.

Do you know much about Vietnamese food? I don’t know about it too much, other than that my favorite dish is Pho. Pho is the word that means noodle soup. I’ve had it with beef, with just vegetables, or just like chicken noodle soup. I love it! I’ve even made it at home! Also, in my limited knowledge I’d have to say that everyone in Vietnam probably eats it regularly.

Like I said, most things that make me giggle are lost on others. My husband and I were opening the door when I told him what I thought was so funny. I was really hoping he wouldn’t leave me to be alone in the joke, but unfortunately, he didn’t get it. Maybe he wasn’t in a good mood. Maybe he didn’t know what I knew about Pho. Maybe I didn’t tell it right. In any case, I just wanted to feel understood. If he couldn’t humor me, I’d have to tell the waitress . . . What would her reaction be like?

The staff in the restaurant didn’t look like me, I’d have to assume they were of Vietnamese decent (not that wait-staff must always descend from the same country as the food, it was just my best guess at the time). The name of the restaurant indicated that they served a regional cuisine from the north west corner of Vietnam near the Chinese border, called Sapa. No matter where it was from though, I knew the soup would be exquisite.

When the waitress came to our table, before we ordered, I was so excited to let her in on my little inside joke! I could just imagine that her reaction of laughter and enjoyment would satisfy my need to be seen as comically clever. Unfortunately, I forgot to factor in the possible language gap. (Oh, why hadn’t my husband just humored me?)

“Hello,” I began, “I like the name of your restaurant because I really love Pho.”

She was with me so far. “But do you want to hear something funny?” I said. She wasn’t too committed to listening, but allowed me to continue by nodding.

“It’s the perfect name for a restaurant also because when you say the name, ‘Pho Sapa,’ and butcher it with an American accent, it sounds like ‘For Supper.’” …Silence.

I had to go on, “You know, it’s great because if somebody is hungry, they’ll remember to come to your restaurant for dinner whenever they ask themselves, ‘What’s fo’ suppa’?”

I thought that was the most comically clever name of a restaurant. And, I felt pretty special to be, apparently, the first person to ever point out the most marketable similarity to an English phrase the Vietnamese food industry has ever seen! Right!?! Well, as it turns out, maybe not.The waitress did not seem to join in my excitement. Neither did the owner/manager who, by then, had also come to see what my story was all about.

The worst part of the story is when about a month later I was driving down the same street, I saw a brand new sign with a brand new name. Pho Dalat. I guess I won’t be telling anybody if I think it sounds like “Fold A Lot,” and it might be bad for business to start franchising in Las Vegas.