Paris: Neighborhoods (Jewish, Japanese, Latin)

This blog entry goes through a few distinctive neighborhoods in Paris: le Marais (the old Jewish Quarter), le quarter japonais (Japanese Quarter, around la Rue Sainte-Anne), and le quartier latin (Latin Quarter, near the Sorbonne - so called because university scholars used to speak Latin).

Here's a typical storefront in the Marais advertising merchandise in Hebrew and French. Incidentally, the word "Librarie" doesn't mean "library" - it means "bookshop" (the French word for library is "bibliotheque").

This excellent restaurant, "l'As du Fallafel," advertises its signature attractions in Hebrew: falafel (פלפל) and shwarma (השאוורמה). It's worth noting that the origin of falafel is disputed; some would claim it is Arab in origin. Whatever its origin, the food is delicious.

A closer view of the take-out order window reveals playing card aces (the word "As" in the restaurant name means "ace") and the motto of the establishment is "Toujour Imité Jamais Égalé" (Always Imitated, Never Equaled) - a nice jab at all the rival restaurants that have opened up nearby.

Along the Rue Sainte-Anne there's a stretch of Japanese restaurants - here's the menu for Naniwa-Ya, which probably has the best Japanese noodle soup I've ever eaten. The Japanese menu reads in the traditional manner, up-down and left-to-right. Oddly, the menu uses the letters YA rather than the kanji (character) 屋 or や (ya).

On one of the walls inside the Sorbonne I saw this sign advertising a photo competition for an international language study program. "No entiendo" is Spanish for "I don't understand," and the French translation ("Je ne comprends pas") is the URL for the website. I find it ironic that the acronym ESL (English as a Second Language) doesn't need any translation.

Inside one of the bathrooms in the university, some pedantic graffiti. One person demands that the maintenance staff replace the hand towels, and another person corrects the first person's grammatical error, correcting "essuies-main" to the proper French form "essuie-mains" (hand-towels).

Nellies Sports Bar Men's Room

The men's room in Nellie's Sports Bar contains a lot of humorous Braille signage.

P.S. For another (older) photo of more Braille signage at Nellie's, see here.

Extraneoüs üse of ümlaüts

A few days ago, near McPherson Square Metro. Extraneoüs üse of ümlaüts in poster for "Yogen Früz" (frozen yogurt establishment). Here, the umlaut mark (i.e., double-dot above a letter) evokes certain vowels in Germanic languages, perhaps along the lines of "Häagen-Dazs" ice cream?

(Little bit of trivia: "Häagen-Dazs" is an invented name that does not actually exist in any Germanic language).

Asian Spice

Chinatown, December 2009. The translation of "Asian Spice" (亞洲之味) looks correct to me. I overheard a couple deliberating as I took this photo: "Well, this looks OK...but the name of the place sounds too much like an X-rated film." They decided to eat there anyway.

German Chinese Restaurant

December 31, 2009. I haven't posted anything in a while because of holiday travels (spent a few weeks in Europe). Before I resume my regular postings, I thought I'd share a particularly memorable experience: eating dinner in a Chinese restaurant in a small German village.

Here's a picture of what was on the table when we arrived: each setting included a quintessential German beer coaster and a napkin teaching Germans various Chinese phrases. Left hand column: "Guten Appetit" = 請您慢用 (qǐng nín màn yòng) - more literally, "please eat slowly." Note the German orthography here: "jon" = "yòng" since J = Y sound.

Our fortune cookies came with fortunes in 4 languages (English and German on one side, Dutch and French on the other).

Here's a picture of the spread. The duck, in foreground, was eine Haus-Spezialität (house specialty). Yum!

Dégustation de Tripes

More from Julia Child's kitchen at the Smithsonian (NMAH), November 2009. Vintage French restaurant signs like these (exotic and quirky to American audiences at the time) were used as props for Julia Child's TV show. For more on tripe in French cuisine, try searching Larousse Gastronomique online.

Chinatown: Vapiano

Say hello to the newest German-based Italian restaurant in Chinatown: Vapiano!

Vapiano's "gimmick" = a pasta bar where your order is cooked on the spot before your eyes. The sign reads 麵食 (noodle, pasta) 披薩 (pī sà = pizza) 酒吧 (bar), i.e. no attempt to render "Vapiano" phonetically.

A few notes: the restaurant chain is based in Germany and its website boosts locations in many countries. It's interesting to see that this establishment has done a better job with its use of Chinese than the banners at the Goethe-Institut a few blocks away.

P.S. The name "Vapiano" is apparently a compression of the two Italian words va + piano ("go slowly, take it slow"). Vapiano's UK website claims the name "Vapiano" comes from the Italian proverb "chi va piano va sano e va lontano," which  "translates as: people with a relaxed attitude live a long and healthy life."

Canadian Fish, Wacky Address

Chinatown, Full Kee Restaurant. A few photos from dinner. Above, a mysterious reference to "Canadian fish" on the menu. The Chinese characters 鱈魚 mean "codfish," so I suppose this is actually Canadian cod? I can't judge the accuracy of the Vietnamese translation below the English, but it's interesting that "Canada" appears in that line as well.

Below, see the computer-generated bilingual receipt. Looks like the Chinese/English translations are accurate, but there are some problems in the address at the top.

Translation issues aside, this is definitely my favorite Chinese restaurant within DC proper.

P.S. If you're interested in what the actual food looked like, here's a photo:

Smörgåsbord Franglais

IKEA, October 2007. This cheerful little sign translates a Swedish colloquialism into English by making use of a common French phrase. To make matters worse, the sign misspells bon appétit as bon appetite.

Chinatown: Unique Restaurant

What is the only business establishment in DC Chinatown that does NOT have a corresponding Chinese inscription? Mehak Authentic Indian Cuisine.

Chinatown: Fado Irish Pub

Is is possible to offend two different cultural groups at once? Fado Irish Pub & Restaurant features a stereotypical Celtic font as well as a Chinese inscription 愛爾蘭酒館 ("Ireland Pub/Tavern"). There's also an attempt to replicate these Chinese words in a more archaic "seal script" going down the column. I can't quite figure this out - some of the characters are disassembled and at least one is backwards (flipped horizontally).

Shaw: Slum Historique

Shaw (9th between Q and Rhode Island NW), early 2007. In mid-2007 somebody painted over the words "slum historique" on this (in)famous mural.

Strangely, the unflattering French along the other side of the building was kept untouched: "blvd. de rêves blessés" (blvd. of wounded dreams) and le café "putain qui pue" (stinking prostitute café).

I hear a "real" restaurant is going to be moving into that space.

Chinatown: Starbucks Coffee

Chinatown. This one is a doozy. "Starbucks Coffee" = 星 (xing, which means "star") + 巴 (ba) 克 (ke), i.e. phonetic rendition of "bucks" + 咖 啡 (ka fe = "coffee").

P.S. This translation isn't particular to DC Chinatown; I've been informed this is the standard translation of Starbucks Coffee across places like Hong Kong, Macau, etc.

Chinatown: Quiznos Sub

Chinatown. Quiznos Sub becomes simply 三明治 (sandwich).

Chinatown: Dunkin' Donuts

Chinatown. Pure phonetic translation = string of nonsense syllables 當 (dang) 肯 (ke) 多 (duo) 娜 (na).

Chinatown: Hooters

Chinatown. "Hooters" becomes 貓頭鷹 (owl) 餐廳 (restaurant/cafe).

P.S. The Chinese word for "owl" does literally break down to 貓 (pussycat) 頭 (head) 鷹 (bird) so maybe there's a translingual pun lurking somewhere in there.