The restaurant’s name is KYU, which sounds like the letter Q, rhymes with “cue” — as in “barbecue” — and is a play on a Japanese word for grilled meat, “yakiniku.”
No matter how you pronounce it, you can call it delicious. KYU, in the artsy, vibrant Wynwood neighborhood of Miami becomes the first place on which I’ve bestowed four stars for all-around excellence since I started doing the dining-critic thing earlier this year.
It took me a while, but I’m glad I finally have a four-star review to call my own. As you may recall, I was starting to get a bit concerned last month when I couldn’t seem to find my elusive Holy Grail. You know what they say: The 27th time is the charm.
I covered a lot of ground in the review, but I didn’t delve too deeply into the name.
Like many people, I was a bit confused when I first saw it. Was is K-Y-U, with each letter sounded out? Was it meant to evoke Kentucky, or perhaps an institution of higher learning about lubricants?
Chef Michael Lewis and general manager Steven Haigh explain they wanted a name that evokes barbecue and that Japanese term “yakiniku,” because the cuisine is based on grilling and smoking meats, seafood and vegetables in an Asian style with the sweet Florida oak that’s piled up on the side of the kitchen. “Wood-fired and Asian-inspired,” is how Lewis, a disciple of acclaimed chef Jean-Georges Vongericthen, describes it.
Haigh says they don’t mind if there’s confusion over the name, because it can be a conversation starter, a way to get people talking about the restaurant.
Do names matter much for eateries? Sometimes, they can get too cute (Beauty and the Feast in Fort Lauderdale comes to mind). But in my mind, a good name can’t make up for mediocre food.
A bad name, on the other hand, can sink a place. I’m thinking of a now-shuttered pub in Dania Beach that enjoyed a long run as the King’s Head, but then changed names after an ownership switch (and to avoid a conflict with the King’s Head Pub in Sunrise and Pompano Beach). First, the Dania pub became known as the Bad Boys of England. Ugh. Then, there was a sign outside billing it as the Great British Wing Disaster.
Memo to restaurateurs: Never put the word “disaster” in the name. It tends to become a self-fulfilling prophecy.
As for KYU, here’s hoping those confusing letters have a long, delicious run.
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