President Tomato Ketchup

December 30, 2004 2:58 AM

Imitation chicken. Kennedy Fried Chicken, JFK Fried Chicken, J. F. Kennedy Fried Chicken, Kantacky Fried Chicken, et al. [via cardhouse]
posted by sklero (41 comments total)

That's great stuff. I also really like his related gallery of state chicken places (Utah Fried Chicken is my favorite).
posted by AgentRocket at 4:43 AM on December 30, 2004

There's a few Kennedy Fried Chickens by me. Not bad.
posted by adampsyche at 4:54 AM on December 30, 2004

Let's not forget the distinct classiness of New Yorker Fried Chicken (before and after remodeling).
posted by Smart Dalek at 5:03 AM on December 30, 2004

Kan those names be any more tacky?
posted by StephenV at 5:17 AM on December 30, 2004

Years ago, I recall hearing about a business owned my someone named MacDonald in California... McDonald's sued them to change the name of their business and actually won. Soooo, apparently with that win under their belts their lawyers went a little crazy. They actually tried suing people for using the "Mc" prefix... in SCOTLAND. Riiight. Because who's really named "McDonald" in Scotland? Hardly anyone!

McDonald's lost that one.
posted by miss lynnster at 5:43 AM on December 30, 2004

This is a ripoff of a British site that I can't find (um, assuming that site came first). Can anyone link it for me?
posted by Pretty_Generic at 5:49 AM on December 30, 2004

Here it is!
posted by Pretty_Generic at 5:50 AM on December 30, 2004

Someone commented on the blog that, "The word "Fried" loses it's meaning after seeing it so much. I think I started reading it as "Freud" by the 4th picture."

Which made me think that's a great name for a band.

Kennedy Freud Chicken.

Hmmmm ...

Rev. Kennedy Freud Chicken and the Outhouses.

That's it.
posted by krinklyfig at 5:54 AM on December 30, 2004

In toronto (and probably elsewhere in canada, i've never checked) there is this chain of donut/coffee shops called Coffee Time. Despite the fact that locating crack or hookers is as easy as locating a Coffee Time, lots of smaller shops appear to want to fool people into entering their stores. My favourites are Coffee Tip and Coffee Lime. (Which just sounds gross to me, personally.)
posted by Kololo at 6:09 AM on December 30, 2004

There's a chain of places around here, mostly inner city, that are called Cluck-U Chicken. I thought it was amusing the first time I saw it.
posted by TuxHeDoh at 6:09 AM on December 30, 2004

I wonder if the Kennedy Fried Chicken company predates that little-known 90's punk band, JFKFC, who was actually named for the John F Kennedy Fellowship Center.
posted by psmealey at 6:14 AM on December 30, 2004

On my travels in Ireland, I've seen a K-Recipe Fried Chicken, a Mall-Mart, a King Burger, and a supermarket in Waterford called Besco.
posted by kersplunk at 6:21 AM on December 30, 2004

His Brooklyn-based chicken joint, Kantacky Fried Chicken, sits diagonally across the street from a KFC. He also used to own Eleven Seven, the 24-hour deli that shares the same corner. His inspiration for the names? "I do it for fun."

I'ld like to open a place called MallWart-- just for fun.
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 6:54 AM on December 30, 2004

We appear to be (approximate) neighbors, TuxHeDo. I like how Cluck-U tries to disguise itself with a collegiate font, as though it were Cluck University or something.
posted by Faint of Butt at 7:21 AM on December 30, 2004

"The word "Fried" loses it's meaning after seeing it so much. I think I started reading it as "Freud" by the 4th picture."

Kentucky Freud Chicken.

It's mother-fucking good.
posted by Mr Bismarck at 7:27 AM on December 30, 2004 [1 favorite]

Somebody did the same sort of study of donut shops in the Toronto area who imitate one of the major chains. Whether it was Coffee Time or Country Style, I don't remember, and I can't find the link.
posted by jacquilynne at 7:29 AM on December 30, 2004

Hats off to Bismark. Brilliant!
posted by raedyn at 7:37 AM on December 30, 2004

Here's the Kennedy story, copied from the NY Times.
posted by wolfey at 7:42 AM on December 30, 2004

A girl I knew worked in a DC convenience store opened by Pakistani immigrants. They named it "Seven Eleven," because that's what they thought convenience stores were called. They changed it to "Seven Even" after they got the cease-and-desist letter.
posted by Mayor Curley at 7:43 AM on December 30, 2004

Bismarck wins. And by a wide margin!
posted by psmealey at 7:58 AM on December 30, 2004

I wish I had taken a photo of "KFG," a chicken place in Bangkok. No explanation of what the "G" stood for.
posted by goatdog at 8:39 AM on December 30, 2004

Thanks for the cardhouse link.

OBEY
CONSUME
MARRY AND REPRODUCE
NO INDEPENDENT THOUGHT
STAY ASLEEP
THIS IS YOUR GOD
A TIME FOR HEALING
posted by orange clock at 9:08 AM on December 30, 2004

Bismarck, with only your second comment you've already struck gold. Nice.
posted by WhiskeyTangoFoxtrot at 9:22 AM on December 30, 2004

In San Jose, Costa Rica, they opened a Kentucky Fried in the 60's. Back then it was a symbol of CR entering the 20th century and coming from being a third world backwater, banana republic into a new era of development. President Kennedy (coincidentally) visited the store on a state visit, as part of a US Chamber of Commerce rally. Of course now, its just another schlocky American fast food joint, but then it meant something to the Costa Ricans, thus, all over the nation sprang up imitations, all of which were named for American states, most having nothing to do with the souther tradition of frying chicken, but who the hell knew that in 1960's Costa Rica? Thus you have a glut of Illinois Fried Chicken and New York Frieds. Granted its been a good 10 years since I was there last, but they were still going strong in the early 90's!
posted by Pollomacho at 10:09 AM on December 30, 2004

That UK "BadGas" site is just scathing snarking at poor people in poor neighborhoods and the poor immigrants who feed them. Martin Amis was right: England's all about Class.
posted by davy at 10:21 AM on December 30, 2004

What do people in England call FCKF for short?

"Hey what do you want for dinner?"
"Fuckoff"
posted by daHIFI at 11:24 AM on December 30, 2004

Kudos, not only to Mr Bismarck, but all the others who made me snort coke (a-cola!) out my nose while reading this thread. Yall is da funny.
posted by Sparx at 11:59 AM on December 30, 2004

wow bismarck. whew.

i once purchased an "ALPHINE" stereo system for my auto-mobile.
posted by glenwood at 12:04 PM on December 30, 2004

An interesting article on Slate about the campaign to subtly change the meaning of KFC to "Kitchen Fresh Chicken.'
posted by bingo at 12:30 PM on December 30, 2004

Mr. Bismarck, welcome to MetaFilter. You'll be getting the invoice for one Microsoft Natural Keyboard shortly!
posted by zoogleplex at 2:34 PM on December 30, 2004

The ghetto that my school was in had a Kennedy Fried Chicken. That was the only fast-food joint I've ever been in where the clerk stood behind floor-to-ceiling bullet-proof glass.
posted by tomorama at 2:48 PM on December 30, 2004

That UK "BadGas" site is just scathing snarking at poor people in poor neighborhoods and the poor immigrants who feed them. Martin Amis was right: England's all about Class.

Er, and the US is different how exactly?
posted by qwerty155 at 5:35 PM on December 30, 2004

An interesting article on Slate about the campaign to subtly change the meaning of KFC to "Kitchen Fresh Chicken.'

Bizarrely, in Japan, "KFC" actually stands for "Kentucky Home Kitchen." You may just have to take my word for it that this makes sense in Japanese.
posted by Faint of Butt at 5:42 PM on December 30, 2004

An interesting article on Slate about the campaign to subtly change the meaning of KFC to "Kitchen Fresh Chicken.'

You do realize that Kentucky Fried Chicken didn't become KFC to eliminate "fried", don't you? The real reason is here, and it has nothing to do with the food.
posted by dagnyscott at 6:46 PM on December 30, 2004

Me: That UK "BadGas" site is just scathing snarking at poor people in poor neighborhoods and the poor immigrants who feed them. Martin Amis was right: England's all about Class.

qwerty: Er, and the US is different how exactly?

We give more lip-service to our supposed democracy. I.e. not very.

It was a British site so I brought up Amis; were it an American site with the same tone I'd've said something equivalent with an American reference.

You want I should compare everything to the Klingon Homeworld?
posted by davy at 8:07 PM on December 30, 2004

You do realize that Kentucky Fried Chicken didn't become KFC to eliminate "fried", don't you? The real reason is here, and it has nothing to do with the food.

You were joking, right?
posted by ALongDecember at 9:18 PM on December 30, 2004

jacquilynne , here is the link to the imitation Coffee Times.
posted by Kololo at 11:36 PM on December 30, 2004

This is a ripoff of a British site that I can't find (um, assuming that site came first).

Actually, I'm fairly certain Mike (the guy who runs Satan's Laundromat) came up with this idea on his own, especially since I was one of the people he asked to help on the project.
posted by armage at 6:24 AM on December 31, 2004

In an email to me earlier this year, he said:

I'm collecting fried-chicken places named after states other than Kentucky. I'm weird.

Take that as you will ;-)
posted by armage at 6:28 AM on December 31, 2004

Goatdog, I've taken that "G" as a) an easy way to look like KFC but not, and b) the initial letter for (one) Romanisation of the Thai word for chicken, gai.
posted by jaruwaan at 10:18 AM on December 31, 2004

While we're on the subject, anyone who is interested (for some reason) in KFC arcana should see 'Around The Bend,' a mediocre movie with Christopher Walken and Michael Caine. A great deal of it takes place in KFC, and KFC is rather important to the plot. I saw a screening attended by Walken, and he mentioned in his talk afterwards that bizarrely, KFC had nothing to do with the making of the movie.
posted by bingo at 11:33 AM on December 31, 2004