I wasn’t sure what to think when I saw the red, white, and blue “American Café” sign in Lafayette. It’s a new sign and a new name for a café that’s been there a long time. It made me a little uncomfortable because this is a community with a significant Latino presence. I don’t know who owns and operates the restaurant and I don’t have any reason to believe the name is an attempt to distinguish itself from a Mexican restaurant. It’s just my cynical nature to wonder. My thoughts really say nothing about the American Café, but they say a lot about my character given my willingness to question motives in the absence of knowledge.