Special Sub-Topic: Restaurant Lingo Authored by: quaxo Sub-topic of: Food & Drink

What is a "dupe"?

The order pad. Dupe comes from "duplicate". The Restaurant check pad has a carbon. One copy goes to the kitchen, the other is for the customer. Dupe also means someone who is easily decieved. A stupid person is a dope. Having two beats is duple.

What does "on the fly" mean?

Fix the food in a hurry. A waiter will ask the cook for an item "on the fly" when he has forgotten to order something.

What does "S.O.S." mean?

Sauce on the Side. Waiters use abbrevations to communicate to the kitchen expeditor any special cooking or preparation information.

What does "working" mean?

The food is being prepared. A waiter will ask the kitchen expeditor if an item is "working" to find out if it is being perpared.

What does "in the window" mean?

The food is ready to go to the table. Waiters or runners get the prepared food from the "pick up window" which is usually a shelf in the kitchen at the station where the food is prepared. Some restaurants actually have a window to the kitchen where waiters hand in their "dupes" and pick up the food so they don't have to go into the kitchen.

What does "echo" mean?

Repeat the order to the cook. The kitchen expeditor will "echo" all orders he thinks are "working" to check that the cooks are preparing them.

What does "86" mean?

All of the above (A customer has been thrown out of the establishment and will no longer be served, The "Proof" of liquor, Out of Menu Item). According to many research sources, "86" may have come from Chumleys, a former Greenwich Village Speakeasy located at 86 Bedford St. If you got thrown out you were "86'd" onto 86 Barrow Street, where the back door was located. Check this place out whenever you're in NYC; they say it's haunted. A grave is 8'x6', nix means no, rhymes with 86. Delmonico's Restaurant in NYC supposedly had over 100 items on its menu- # 86 was a rib eye steak which sold out a lot. If you were not a "regular" customer you were served 86 proof liquor instead of the "good" stuff, which was usually 100 proof or more.

"Tips" means To Insure Prompt Service or To Insure Proper Service.

True. I got this definition from a graduate of the Hotel/Restaurant School of Cornell University. In the U.S. a tip is usually 15 percent of the total check before taxes.

What is a "line up"?

The meeting before service starts. In a very formal restaurant the manager and the chef would line up the staff. First, to check that the staff is properly dressed and groomed and second, to go over the special dishes for the day and have a short meeting with the staff. The meeting is also called pre-meal.

What is a "Leo"?

A Lox, Eggs and Onion Omelette. A "Leo" is a very New York thing.