{celebrating a decade of learning to write in front of an audience}

Regional Regular

On an episode of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Detective Tutuola (played by actor and rapper Ice-T) walks into a bodega and asks for “Two coffees: one black and one regular.”

Huh?  Question for New Yorkers, please: what is “regular” coffee if it’s not black, drip, American-style coffee?  When I was a barista mumbleteen years ago, if someone asked for “regular coffee”, I’d probably ask them if they wanted “room for milk”.  That’s it.  The black, drip, and American-style would have been automatic.



3 Responses to “Regional Regular”

  1. Joshua (Site Owner) Says:

    It was not “regular” as in “my [Tutuola's] regular”, by the way.  That would have made sense (I had about a hundred customers’ regular orders stored in my head when I had the job), but he was in another neighborhood from where he lives and works, on a stakeout.

  2. Dave (Site Brother) Says:

    Many bodegas put in milk and sugar as a matter of course. I’ve found that out the hard way before.

  3. Joshua (Site Owner) Says:

    Thank you.  Weird.

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