Gringo de Loco Opens
There’s a new restaurant in our neighborhood. Formerly La Costa, the new Gringo de Loco is continuing the Mexican tradition, but with a whole new twist.
“Mexican Inspired, Blues Infused”
The new owners will feature blues music and have a Jazz night on Thursdays. The house band is called “The Brown and Blues Band” and will keep the party going on Wednesdays.
They are open for business now but the grand opening party won’t be until Cinco de Mayo…. Ole!
Link to Gringo de Loco
Mentioned on the Urbanist
Filed under: Restaurants
12 comments
F food for thought April 15, 2008
just a thought on language and -isms:
if i opened a place called “the crazy wetback,” how long do you think it would last before i was protested out of business, no matter how good the food was?
M more food for thought April 15, 2008
Maybe I should reconsider renaming the restaurant I just opened … The Dirty Mexican might be offensive.
S Sassy McButterpants April 15, 2008
According to Urban Dictionary (My favorite repository of reference information) Gringo is defined thus:
_a gringo is just a north american or anglo-saxon. it is usually a white person but doesnt have to be. it isnt a hateful term but it can be used hatefully. it also represents behaviour and attitudes latinos consider to be “american”.
is he latino?
no hes a gringo
OR
why wont you share your smokes, dont be such a gringo_
So if I understand it would be more like…. “The Crazy American” or “The Crazy White Guy” which would certainly make more sense…
C crenshaw sepulveda April 15, 2008
I don’t find the name offensive it is just that the name doesn’t make sense in Spanish, it translates to: Gringo of Crazy person. Made up Spanish, not sure if that bodes well for the menu.
C crenshaw sepulveda April 15, 2008
Gringo Loco would be the appropriate name, that would translate to Crazy Gringo. The use of the “de” indicates the person naming the restaurant is not crazy, just ignorant of Spanish.
A altered chords April 15, 2008
Trying to get my arms around this grammar.
Cren: if you added the word “de” to your handle (Crenshaw de Sepulveda) then you would be
a muskmellon belonging to a station on the Los Angeles Orange Line Transitway.
That would be cool.
J Jaime April 15, 2008
I agree, the name doesn’t make sense. I’m a gringo that studied Spanish.
It’s okay, I’ll still go there and check it out, but it’s just not correct grammar. I’ll just have to call it something else. Ha.
A altered chords April 15, 2008
Check out the link to the restaurant and then click on the Brown & Blues Band link.
Now THAT’S Blues! This band’s the real deal. I can’t wait to hear them live!
The name may not make perfect sense but the house band selection is spot on.
B bluesfan April 15, 2008
I’ve seen the Brown & Blues before at Jazzbones and they were great, i’m definitely going to have to get down this Gringos place and see them. Personally, as a gringo myself, i dont find that name even remotely offensive-just funny.
H Heather April 16, 2008
I had lunch with friends at Gringo de loco today. The food was good enough. My favorite part was that they brought some refried beans with the chips and salsa. Of our three meals, the best one was the half order of fajitas. My least favorite part was the iced water, which tasted like bleachy plastic. Prices were decent and the portions appropriate. The staff members were helpful and efficient but I don’t think I could honestly describe them as friendly. Actually, they all seemed to have the blues! I think that the proprietor was working, too, but he didn’t seem interested in small talk. I would have liked to ask him a few questions about the place.
The name is unfortunate, particularly as there are several staff members who speak Spanish. If there was any team creativity/effort involved in the opening of the restaurant, you’d think that someone would have spoken up before the sign was ordered. I don’t find it offensive, just bad grammar. I think I’ll just refer to it as Gringo’s.
I will probably go back again, maybe to try out drinks, chips, and live blues. I don’t think I’ll be eager to return for lunch. However, I’d encourage you to try it out for yourself; I’m hoping it will improve steadily as they work out the opening kinks.
Oh! And you can catch Brown & Blues Band on Sunday afternoon, April 27, at Malarkey’s (formerly City Nights). It is a fundraiser; $10 gets you in the door and I think there will be two other bands.
C crenshaw sepulveda April 16, 2008
I agree with altered chords, and will take the name change under advisement.
B bluesfan April 16, 2008
I went in there tonight for dinner and talked to the owner about his poor spanish grammar in regards to the places name. He told me it was intentional because Gringo Loco is commonly used and he wanted to set the place apart and there are plenty of american buisnesses with bad grammar. Sounds loco to me. i had their wings and thought they were awsome…maybe a bit too spicey but it sure made my beer taste good