This week's review features Allium, the second act of Germantown Café team Chris Lowry and Jay Luther. The architecturally arresting restaurant takes its name from the family of aromatics that form the basis of much French cuisine. With any luck, the name should have the benefit of weeding out those finicky diners who so often ask for their food without garlic and onions—an onerous request on a French-minded chef.
Lowry says the name and the graceful scallion logo are the brainchild of a graphic designer who had always wanted to apply the branding package to just the right venture. My guess is that we all have our secret list of dream restaurant names. The best one I ever heard was for a tapas-style restaurant serving only items made with three ingredients. The name, naturally, would be Mangez à Trois.
If you were going to open a restaurant, what would it be called?
