Let there be no confusion in this market . . .

The first time I came to Binghamton, I noticed a cute downtown restaurant named Zazou. John confirmed that this was a reputable, cute, girly place with some of the best food around.

Part of the reason it caught my eye is that there is a similarly reputable, cute, girly restaurant in Redondo Beach by the same name (see photo). Both of these establishments are about 5 to 10 years old, and neither one is what you'd call "famous." Let me be clear: NOT ONCE DID IT EVER CROSS MY MIND THAT THESE TWO RESTAURANTS COULD BE AFFILIATED IN ANY WAY.

Now flash forward a couple of years to last month, when I'm listening to a boring conversation at lunchtime, and someone announces that our local Zazou will be changing its name because some restaurant in California threatened to sue for some sort of name infringement.

I snapped to attention: WHAT? Was I dreaming? I can pretty much guarantee that I am the only human being on this planet who has dined in or ever even laid eyes on BOTH of these restaurants.

What is the California restaurant afraid of? That the Binghamton Zazou is going to cut into their business? That all those Binghamton Zazou diners who have a bad experience here are going to avoid the Redondo Zazou on their next trip to Los Angeles? What could the fear possibly be? Not sure, but it really, really makes me laugh.

Quite possibly the best part of all, however, is the new name for the cute, girly, lavender-colored-rock-sugar-on-your-lemonade-glass-with-a-pink-flexi-straw: D.C. DUMSTER'S.

?Que? Am I again dreaming? It might as well be called D.C. DUMPTRUCK'S because that name sounds like it should be a beer-encrusted sports joint with regulars arriving when they open at 6:30 a.m.

Geez. No girly-girl wants to brag that her wedding is being catered by D.C. Dumster's, I'm sorry. I guess it's the guy's name, and he's apparently fearful of name infringement, but, come on, couldn't he think of anything more appropriate than that?