[Wilfrid]

I can't see any discussion of this place on Mouthfuls. I thought the menu looked interesting, if not as adventurous as I'd hoped from the pre-publicity.

Dining Briefs

[flyfish]

Do people actually ever test restaurant names before they open? Because, geez.

[Blondie]

We got takeaway from there a couple of times a month or so after it opened. Thought about eating in, until we saw the overly-groomed, mobbed up crowd up front. With consideration to the fact that we weren't eating at the place, the food was still grimly mediocre. I can't even remember what we ordered, except the prosciutto and arugula pizza, which was a disaster compared to Bella Via's version a few doors away.

Granted they seem to be going for something different than is already available at Manducatis, Manetta's and Bella Via, but those places are solid, consistent and occasionally brilliant. Testaccio is not.

[joethefoodie]

Do people actually ever test restaurant names before they open? Because, geez.

I don't know if I understand what's wrong with the name?

I do understand that there appears to be a bunch wrong with the food.

[flyfish]

Do people actually ever test restaurant names before they open? Because, geez.

I don't know if I understand what's wrong with the name?

I do understand that there appears to be a bunch wrong with the food.

Hint: most guys have two.

[joethefoodie]

Do people actually ever test restaurant names before they open? Because, geez.

I don't know if I understand what's wrong with the name?

I do understand that there appears to be a bunch wrong with the food.

Hint: most guys have two.

Most guys have two neighborhoods in Rome?

[djk]

it's a popular meat neighborhood in rome - so here is the homage direct from queens. have not heard much good about it from various friends but haven't been myself.

[g.johnson]

Condom is a town in France. I still wouldn't name a restaurant after it.

[joethefoodie]

Condom is a town in France. I still wouldn't name a restaurant after it.

A bit of a stretch, really, but neither would I. Is Condom, France widely known for a specific style of food?

[Sneakeater]

Testaccio is well known to those who know it. It strikes me as ill-advised for a restaurant to adopt a name that makes sense to the cognoscenti and may be laughable to everyone else.

ETA -- "Widely known?" What percentage of people in New York City do you think know that Testaccio is a neighborhood of Rome, much less that it's roughly equivalent to the Meatpacking District here back when it actually was the meatpacking district?

[fentona]

Does "Testaccio" really sound like "testicle"? It doesn't to me; I don't think the name is any better or worse than a hundred other restaurants' names.

[g.johnson]

Sounds like testicle was my immediate thought.

[joethefoodie]

Testaccio is well known to those who know it. It strikes me as ill-advised for a restaurant to adopt a name that makes sense to the cognoscenti and may be laughable to everyone else.

I believed everyone here to be the cognescenti.

[Sneakeater]

We can still recognize the problem, though.

ETA -- Although I'd add that if, even here, there are people who don't know what Testaccio means, then that just proves my point.

[Wilfrid]

It never struck me as incongruous in any case, as the PR emphasized the offal content of the menu. Which turns out to be less adventurous than I had anticipated.