Can we please stop with abbreviations in the hospitality industry ASAP
Adeline loves food, a lot of it and often, both at home and out. But this week she just has to talk about all those incomprehensible abbreviations in the hospitality industry. And no, that’s not an Ancient Greek word.
So I don’t come across as ancient, I immediately start Googling when someone mentions lawa’s, kladiladi and adidi. Respectively: a long walk, close the laptop and after dinner dip. So naturally, I’m also completely familiar with EsMa’s, bopla and oat capu. Even though I refuse to use those abbreviations when ordering something. But this week, I was even completely done with them.
From an adidi to a despo; when will these abbreviations stop?
I was at a food truck festival. The kind where you have to fight your way through the smoke from the grill and pay five euros for a dim sum (no, that’s not an abbreviation) that you can barely see lying on the little piece of cardboard. This type of festival is a favorite of mine. Festivals are simply much more fun when there’s something tasty to eat as well, so you’re in pretty good shape at a food truck festival.
I headed toward the bar, because thirst and the warm day called for a generous amount of refreshing beer. So I ordered two Desperados from the girl. You know, that beer mixed with tequila that’s so delicious we’ve made the effort to pronounce the whole word for years and years. Until now, as it turned out at that particular bar. The girl called the order through to the guy behind her and she actually said it. ‘Two despos.’
Despoos
Despoos. It sounds a bit like despot, which of course makes no one happy except a chef in the kitchen. For a moment, I felt the urge to hold a funeral ceremony for our old, trusted Desperado right there on the spot—the one that had served us so well for years. My beloved aubergine also has to suffer the same fate. The most underrated yet most delicious vegetable in the world. The melodically pronounced zjien can simply pack its bags, because tonight we’re eating auber. Ouch!
Why, people? Explain to this millennial why.
Abbreviation dictionary
What do I actually find amusing about all this abbreviated mumbling? About three quarters of the abbreviation dictionary consists of terms for food or drinks. Now those are absolutely my kind of people. Although personally, I do think you shouldn’t rush anything that can be consumed. But then again, I have the time to say Desperado.
One bopla, please
If you happen to hear someone ordering a bopla (snack board), flaf (falafel), brokoma (croquette sandwich with mayo—one I need to remember) or PP (pasta pesto) soon, then this was your subtitle track.
Read also:
- Infuriating: going out to eat with impatient people
- Woman uses soft drink to get away with murder
- Different types of sambal in a row
