Cellar Scribblings

[CellarDweller]

Servery" a counter, service hatch, or room from which meals are served.

In most houses built before or shortly after the war, kitchens had a servery to the outside which had a door on the inside which could be locked. The milkman left bottles of milk in there and the baker left bread.  However in Taverns here the servery is much bigger, the door can be rolled up to provide a counter at times when meals are served. Servery can also be use for the food service area in canteens as in universityies. As we (thankfully) do not tip, it is quite common to go and collect one's meal when it is ready. Of course the meals are cheaper than in a full restaurant. I would not call MacDonalds a restaurant either but they do advertise themselves that way. I have become lactose intolerant so sadly no longer buy a shake with my big mac and fries. Instead I order a coffee and have been surprised to be given a number and told to go and sit at a table and my meal is brought to me.

I had never heard of a servery either, and when  I google image searched it, I found two different types.

I think this one is most like what you are talking about, Brian.





This image also came up as a 'servery', I think here it would be called a cafeteria line or buffet line.

[brianr]

Yes photo 1 is often seen around  shopping centres but I never use because I want to sit down and drink my coffee. Having always worked in schools, I was never able to just drop out of the office to buy a coffee. What I am referring to looks similar but is found within hotels or taverns. You go to the bar for drinks and to the servery for food and take them back to the common tables. Photo 2 would be more like what is found in student canteens.

[brianr]

We have discussed soda and pop before. We say neither but say 'soft drink".

[Sason]

Thanks for the diner/restaurant explanations!

We don't have diners here exactly. Lots of different types of restaurants and cafés and fast food places, but nothing that's open 24 h. (AFAIK)

Brian, I love your idea of monthly meetings aiming at visiting every café in town!

[brianr]

Brian, I love your idea of monthly meetings aiming at visiting every café in town!

Yes. nothing here open 24 hr except (perhaps) MacDonalds. People on TripAdvisor often ask where to get a meal after 9pm. There are a few places in the city centre that open very late (like 3 or 4am)on Friday and Saturday but I do not know how late they serve food, usually they close the kitchen about 9pm.. But we only have a population of 135,000. Auckland with over a million may have more open.
When I took over the 60 Plus hiking group six years ago, we began going for coffee afterwards, actually some of us had started doing that beforehand but the previous leader was not impressed. There are lots of groups in our 60Plus club, one is called 'Coffee & Culture' and, after a monthly visit to a museum or art gallery or similar, we go for coffee nearby. Another is the 'Movie Club' and after our monthly movie on Sunday afternoon, many go for coffee but always the same cafe.  So I suggested a 'Just Coffee' group. It cannot be openly advertised in the club as most cafes cannot handle much more than dozen. We have had between 4 and 14 but usually between 6 and 10. I advertise by email the Saturday before (it is on Thursday or Friday at 10.30am) and ask people to let me know if possible the evening before. If 6 or more, I ring the cafe early and book a table. Today, after the supermarket, I went to 'Muffin Break' which is in the Food Hall and had a mixed berry muffin (my favourite) and a medium cappuchino. While not strictly a cafe, I go there a lot as every 5th coffee is free and they give me a free muffin in the month of my birthday..

[serious crayons]

All of these sound good to me. Brian, your servery seems like kind of a combination between our cafeteria and drive-thrus (sorry, that's how they're spelled). Do you decide in advance what you want, or do you stroll along the line saying "I'll take some beans" "I'll take some mashed potatoes" or whatever?

I did know that about soda pop. The equivalent anecdote I have is talking to a guy who I think was maybe from Tennessee? "Pop is a word you would never hear used in a sentence," he said.

I had a friend In New Orleans who'd say "Do you want to go for a drink?" like, at 2 p.m. or something. That threw me until I realized that to her it meant a beverage of any kind. I think the weirdest of all is Southerners who call it "Coke," even if you're not talking about cola.

[Jeff Wrangler]

A diner is more casual, and you can usually order "Americana" style of foods like fried chicken, meatloaf, burgers and fries, as well as breakfast items like french toast, eggs and pancakes.

I'd add chopped steak to that list, too.

Also most restaurants will have an open and close time,  and may have set menus for breakfast, lunch or dinner.  A diner is open (at least in NJ) 24 hours, and if you want breakfast food at 7PM, you can order that, the full menu is available at all times.

Diners are that way, here, too, except that the one my dad and I frequent closes at midnight Sunday night and reopens at 7 a.m. Monday. I presume that's for some kind of cleaning.

[Jeff Wrangler]

That's so different from here that I don't even know what a servery is!

I've been places where they hand you what is essentially a pager that they buzz when they have a table for you. I guess it's better than having somebody call out "Smith! Party of four!" when your table is ready.

I've also seen places where there is an opening where food is put through to the dining area from the kitchen, except that it's the server and not the diner who picks up the order and carries it to the table.

I have a friend who once lived in a pre-War apartment building here in Philadelphia that had a built-in place in the wall where the a milkman could put a milk delivery or a baker a bread delivery, and the milk or bread could be retrieved from right in the kitchen. (The apartment also had a maid's quarters!)

[Jeff Wrangler]

I think the weirdest of all is Southerners who call it "Coke," even if you're not talking about cola.

Around here when they call it coke and they don't mean a soda they're talking about something that gets snorted up the nose.   

[brianr]

All of these sound good to me. Brian, your servery seems like kind of a combination between our cafeteria and drive-thrus (sorry, that's how they're spelled). Do you decide in advance what you want, or do you stroll along the line saying "I'll take some beans" "I'll take some mashed potatoes" or whatever?

No, you order from the menu and pay often at the bar but collect from the servery, either when your number goes up or your pager buzzes.
It is more usual here to pay when you order in cafes, taverns and bistros not after you have eaten your meal. That (now I think of it) would be a major difference with a restaurant where you pay the bill at the end. In fact that is something I hate when travelling, trying to get the server's attention that you want the bill.