Help on name for a new restaurant

Not sure if this is the right forum for this thread.  I would love your opininons.  I am about to open a restaurant, at the beginning it was only going to be pizza, pastas and italian desserts... but necessities have changed and I am expanding the menu.  My pizzas will be cooked on a brick oven with wood, I will have pastas, a few dishes with chicken and beef, hamburguers, soups, salads, all kinds of desserts and more...

I am down to two names which me and my wife like both, if you have any idea of a different one of if you like one of the names below, please let me know.

One name is Al dente and the other one is Gourmet Express

Your help is greatly appreciated.

Thanks

I apologize I was not specific enough.  The restaurant will be in Mexico and I checked there are not too many restaurants with that name...

As far as Gourmet express with the express on the name do you get the feeling that is fast food?  Or the name just plain sucks? haha... I would like to use the word gourmet on the name if possible, but I am open to new ideas.

Thanks all.

I am in Nogales, which is right across the border from Arizona.  This restaurant will serve no turists at all, mostly locals.  The reason, I would not want italy on the name is because I will have other stuff on the menu that is not italian.  At the beginning it would've been good, but now around 60% of the menu is italian... the rest is not.  I even have tamales on the menu.  I have chocolate tamales with crystallized orange, this are consider somehow gourmet tamales if there is such thing as gourmet tamal.  I also have some kabobs made with chicken, bacon, zucchini and onion and before serving I put some tamarind salsa on top.

I also have hamburguers... I have one with pinneaple, one that I put some chipotle salsa, so it is not your regular hamburguer. 

Thanks all for your contributions

I am not necessarily looking for a name in English.  Gourmet is the same in english and spanish and Al dente is a world wide expression.  I am right across the border from the US, so having a name in english is not a weird thing here since there is a lot of influence from the US.  I do not care if the name is in English, Spanish, French or Italian as long as it's a good name.

Oh and why Alfonso? haha who is Alfonso?  :)

hahaha, well I do not have a name yet, but I am sure having a good time!

Quote:

Originally Posted by durangojo 

esoltero,

ther must be no air on your planet...sorry, i just gotta say this.....are you friggin' nuts to open a restaurant on the border? you may as well just paint a bullseye on yourself....just let me know where to send the flowers or a charity donation...you sure about this? i have passed through nogales many, many times on our way to san carlos or bahia kino...you notice, i said passed through, as in did not stop, never, ever, even to go to the bathroom. friends, people i know and ourselves go as quickly through nogales as we can, and never at night. the locals are packing up and the tourists don't hang out. did you inherit the place or something? are you or your wife mexican? not that it matters to the cartels...it's right up there with juarez, tijuana and nuevo laredo for drug violence......why not go across the border to nogales, arizona...least there you would have a fighting chance.....maybe you should name it 'comida pasada'.....

bueno suerte, for sure...okay, sunday sermon over

joey

Thank you for the sermon Joey... although I do appreciate your concern.  Nogales is not as bad as it seems, yes; drug violence rate went up the last 3 years, but it has come down a little and it is not as bad.  I am mexican (from Nogales) and my wife is also mexican and so is my whole family and locals are not packing up, there are new businesses opening everyday and we cannot be afraid of doing stuff because of drug violence. 

My restaurant will be on a very nice part of town, I have the best college right next to me, also Daher-Socata which is a french aerospace company, Master Lock and Black & Decker are next to me... there has not been 1 report of violence aroundt here.

Usually drug violence is between cartels, sure sometimes civilians get caught in the middle of their war, but usually they just kill each other.

The thought of opening in Nogales, AZ was up there and it is still up there, but I am not a US Citizen, or legal resident or anything of that matter so Legally I cannot open a business in Nogales, AZ.

Thanks again!

Quote:

Originally Posted by panini 

Well, that was a piece of encouragement!!

Go for it bro, but nix the Italian.

I personally think you should offer local menu at a reasonable price.

Just make yourself an option for cooking at home to just a convience.

I am offering a good variety so people keep coming back and at a reasonable price  I am purchasing most of the raw materials here in Mx which allows me to give a better price to my customers.

Thanks for your thoughts!
 

Quote:

Originally Posted by aliciamunoz 

Yeah Gourmet and Express seem to create an oxymoron... But Al Dente is cute!

Thank you!  We had a family dinner yesterday and it seems Al dente will be the winner... everybody voted for it!  So it will probably something like:

Al dente

Gourmet cuisine

or

Al dente

The art of cooking

or something like that

Again thanks everyone for your thoughts and time!