Pop-Up Restaurant
A "pop-up restaurant" is a temporary restaurant, often established for a certain event or season. The term "pop-up restaurant" has been cited in print since at least 2006;…
Queen of Soul Food (Sylvia’s)
Sylvia's restaurant at 328 Lenox Avenue (127th Street) has become a Harlem institution. It was started in 1962 by Sylvia Woods (1926-2012). Sylvia's has used the trademarked slogan…
Ray’s Pizza (started by Ralph)
Many pizza places have "Ray" in the name. It all began in 1959 with Ray's Pizza at 27 Prince Street. http://www.urban75.org/photos/newyork/ny432.htmlRays Pizza, 1986-2005 New York…
Restaurant (Refectory)
New York City has long had eating places, with the earliest being called "taverns" or "inns." George Thompson (in a post to the American Dialect Society on December 21, 2007)…
Restaurant Critic
The term "restaurant critic" has been cited in print since at least 1922, when "Advice to Restaurant Critics" was published in the Hotel Monthly. New York City newspapers hired…
Restaurant Row (West 46th Street)
"Restaurant Row" is near by the "Broadway" theater district, on West 46th Street, between Eighth and Ninth Avenues. Ask for the pre-theatre specials. "Harlem's…
Restaurateuse (female restaurateur)
A "restaurateur" is a person who runs a restaurant; the term is neither masculine nor feminine. A "restaurateur" who is a woman is frequently called a "restaurateuse,"…
Roastery
"Coffee roasting" is not new, but the term "roastery" is newly popular. What was once called a "coffeehouse" or a "coffee shop" has often been replaced with…
Rotten Ronnie’s (McDonald’s nickname)
McDonald's fast food restaurants have had a Ronald McDonald clown mascot since 1966. The McDonald's nickname of "Rotten Ronnie's" has been cited in print since at least the…
Sanctuary Restaurant
A "sanctuary restaurant" is based on the concept of a "sanctuary city." The website sanctuaryrestaurants.org, a joint project of the Restaurant Opportunities Centers (ROC)…
Scrubway (Subway nickname)
Entry in progress -- B.P.Subway Wikipedia: Subway (restaurant)Subway is an American fast food restaurant franchise that primarily sells submarine sandwiches (subs) and salads. It is owned and…
Shadow Kitchen
Online and mobile prepared food ordering and delivery platforms such as DoorDash, GrubHub, Postmates and Uber Eats have resulted in several new terms for restaurants: cloud kitchen, cloud…
Shareable
Entry in progress -- B.P. (Oxford English Dictionary)shareable, adj.That may be shared.1920 Q. Rev. July 161 It must be shared or at least must be shareable; otherwise it were nothing at all.1935…
Shitpotle (Chipotle Mexican Grill nickname)
Chipotle Mexican Grill is a chain of restaurants specializing in Mexican (or Tex-Mex) food such as burritos and tacos. Those who don't like the restaurant have nicknamed it…
Siberia (second-class restaurant seating)
Siberia is known as a cold, inhospitable place in Russia; political prisoners were sent to work camps in Siberia and never heard from again. "Siberia," in slang, is any such similar…
Silent Dining
The restaurant Eat, in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, began "silent dining" in September 2013. Patrons were required to eat in silence. The term "silent dining" had been cited earlier,…
Singles Bar
New York City can probably take credit for the first "singles bars." in the mid-late 1960s, Friday's and Maxwell's Plum opened on the Upper East Side and were termed…
Sistine Chapel of Comic Strip Art (Overlook bar)
Costello's bar opened in 1974 at 225 East 44th Street (near Third Avenue) in Manhattan. It had murals by
Smokeasy or Smoke-easy (smoke + speakeasy)
A "speakeasy" was a place where alcoholic drinks were illegally sold. The term "speakeasy" means that customers should inquire secretly about the illegal product;…
Soda Jerk (Soda Jerker)
A "soda jerk" (or "soda jerker") is a person employed behind a soda fountain, "jerking" the fountain spigot to make a soda or an ice cream soda or other such drinks.…