Local Business Signage Can Be Amusing

I find some local business signage amusing.

For instance, the fine folks at Sunny Hill Gardens on North Kingshighway have been promoting their "Organic Plants" with a sign in front of their business for the last few weeks that makes me laugh.

Aren't all plants organic?

Yes, I know that they are likely using the term in the more narrow sense that no fertilizers or pesticides were used in growing some of their nursery stock. That kind of thing matters to some people.

Not to me though. If I can get a 6-pound tomato by spritzing it's mama plant daily with synthetic steroids, then I'm going to spritz away.

And I love the CTA mass-transit vans that tend to gather in little herds along Independence Street. I often seem them at Rhodes, the Keg Shop or in the Town Plaza parking lot, presumably waiting to be called for a pickup. I'm sure Independence is pretty central to their primary service district.

The CTA operates a number of mini and full-sized vans.

Apparently, in an effort to subsidize the service they've converted the outside of many of their vehicles to billboards. I've seen Las Vegas cabs with less advertising. It's actually quite hard to identify some of their vans as mass-transit vehicles.

At least two of the full-sized CTA vans really give me a chuckle. They are wrapped bumper-to-bumper promoting Bening Mazda and Bening Ford. The first time I saw one of these vehicles, I actually thought they were the customer courtesy vans for those dealerships. Here's the ironic part.

They're both Chevy vans.

And then there is case of the "China Buffet Mongolian Grill" restaurant on William Street.

I've never eaten there, but considering the number of vehicles I see parked outside, I guess that their food is pretty good.

I did eat at a Mongolian grill in St. Paul, Minnesota about 15 years ago.

At that place, you created your own dish adding various toppings to a base of noodles. Then you would hand your creation over to the cooks behind the counter and they would grill your selection until it was nice and hot. It was quite tasty.

Anyhow, what I find amusing about this particular restaurant is its name.

It is a historical fact that the Great Wall of China was built to keep out the Mongols and other invading nomadic tribes.

I saw that on the History Channel and verified it at Wikipedia.com, so it must be true.

Therefore, having the "China Buffet" and the "Mongolian Grill" together, under one roof, would be -- historically speaking -- a little like oil and water. Provided of course, if the Chinese held a grudge for several hundred years.

I wonder if this restaurant has similar defenses to the Great Wall, where the Mongolian Grill is kept at bay by fortifications to keep the cooks -- presumably Mongolian cooks -- in the kitchen?

Perhaps, they toss the finished dishes over the wall when they're ready to be put on the buffet.

I wonder if the Mongolian cooks have ever stormed the wall between the kitchen and the dining room and sacked the customers in the restaurant at the time? I would guess not. Surely, I would have read about that in the police report.

A Mongolian Horde was reported invading the dining room at the China Buffet at 2146 William on Monday night. No one was injured in the attack, but some hot and sour soup was spilled and an eggroll was smooshed. Charges are pending.

I really need to eat at this restaurant sometime.