A name of shame?

A journalist crosses a certain threshold when he uses the term “female genitalia” in an article. So it was for me yesterday when I wrote about the latest restaurant venture from Hard Rock Cafes co-founder Peter Morton.

Morton, whose publicist acknowledged that the entrepreneur and his relatives have garnered $1.2 billion from the sale of restaurants, casinos and hotels, wants to tout the new venture by putting its name atop the Arizona Cardinals’ pro-football stadium. He’s already offered $3 million for the naming rights, and underscored his seriousness—or so his press release said—by flashing a check for $5 million before the eyes of Cardinals officials.

That situation is extraordinary enough. But as Morton might say, in a decidedly hipper way, "Wait! There's more!"

The topper in this case is the name that would show in lights above the facility: Pink Taco Stadium.

If you’re one of those people who crook their pinkies when they sip coffee, you may not be aware that “pink taco” is slang for a part of the female anatomy that probably shouldn’t be mentioned in a family-friendly blog like this one (hence the afore-mentioned reference to genitalia.) And that’s the phrase that’ll greet families as they file into the stadium to root for their Cardinals.

Morton professes that he doesn’t see why the use of that name should be controversial, which is why he’s proudly using it for his new chain of Mexican restaurants (two open, seven under development). Which, by the way, is being run by his 25-year-old son, Henry, better known to the younger staffers here at Nation's Restaurant News as the boyfriend of Lindsay Lohan.

The Mortons characterized the fuss as “foolish,” noting that the Pink Taco has been used without any rub at the prototype in Las Vegas for six years.

Who’s opinion are they soliciting, the guys from Hooters?

They acknowledge that the brand name is a strong draw for men aged 21 to 34, which explains why the second Pink Taco, in Scottsdale, Ariz., was a phenomenal hit.

Yet father and son are astute enough to acknowledge that they’d settle for Morton Stadium if the community finds the other designation to be too explicit.

You’ll find the story in the Breaking News section of our website, nrn.com.