This document provides a tour of the "line" area and kitchen of Islands Restaurant, describing the various food preparation and serving stations. It explains that the line has three windows where finished foods like burgers, fries, and tacos are placed with tickets to identify the corresponding orders. Additional areas described include the dessert preparation station, drink station with various beverages, and bar serving beer and cocktails. The purpose is to explain how the restaurant coordinates preparing and assembling all items for each customer's order to be served efficiently.

1. Welcome to Paradise! Danielle Lavoie Cultural Anthropology Dr. Leanna Wolfe 10/12/2010

2. The Line Welcome to Islands Restaurant; a place of “fine burgers and drinks.” I’ve been serving up beef patties for about 5 years now and know this place in and out. I’m going to take you on a tour behind the scenes of the best burger joint around and explain how the process of getting the food to your table is executed. “The line,” pictured above, is where half of the magic happens. This area and the kitchen combine to hold the tools that are used to create the delicious food we serve. On the left we have three different “windows” where various foods are set when the orders are up. On the right, drink stations, the bar window, the computer systems and condiments can be easily accessed. Servers and other employees enter from the Takeout door straight ahead.

3. Burger Window Yum! What’ll it be? A Hawaiian burger? Maui? Whichever you choose, it’ll pop out of this window. When the burgers are done, the cooks set them in this window where the “back-server” checks to make sure the modifications are correct before the rest of the order is put together. A “ticket” coordinates with each order so that the back-server knows what entrees go with one another. The “white wicket,” which is the main ticket, is usually thrown up with the burgers.

4. Fry Window If you ordered an appetizer, soup, onion rings or fries, this is where they can be found when ready. The heat lamps in this window are set at a higher temperature than the rest to keep the delicate fries and rings warm if the rest of the order is not up yet. If servers get cold during a shift, you can sometimes find them here warming up their hands under the lamps. Don’t‘ worry, they’re all very sanitary. When an appetizer is up and needs to be run out to a table before the rest of the meal, a white ticket is places in the window and a server will take it to the table immediately. Other items are places in the window with a dark yellow ticket which signifies that the item goes with a complete order.

5. Taco Window The third and final window is known as the “taco window.” Along with tacos, salads and quesadillas can be found here. It is usually quicker to prepare the tacos then it is the burgers, so the cooks time the preparation very carefully. The goal is to get all the items of an order ready at the same time so that no particular item has to sit in the window for any long length of time. A light yellow ticket is set on the line along with the tacos to signify which order they go with. Also on the line, silverware and ramekins for dressing are frequently stocked by the back-server and are readily available for the floor-servers. The wide variety of dressings that we carry can be found in a fridge beneath the taco window.

6. Dessert Station A two-pound burger and bucket full of fries didn’t fill you up? We have just the thing. Dessert! Servers prepare the desserts themselves at this station. If someone orders a “Chocolate Lava,” their server throws it in the microwave for about a minute to make it nice and hot before topping it with two scoops of vanilla ice cream, chocolate syrup, whipped cream, nuts and a cherry. If a Kona Pie is ordered, it’s topped with just the chocolate syrup, whipped cream, nuts and a cherry. The mugs shown above are for Root-beer Floats while the white bowls are for Ice-cream Sundays. Each server is assigned to stock and clean particular parts of the restaurant to keep things running smoothly. At this Islands, the section 6 server is responsible for the dessert station.

7. Drink Station Refills, refills, refills! This is where all the refreshing beverages we offer and prepared. Along with the beverages shown above, strawberry lemonade, passion fruit iced-tea and regular iced-tea are also available. All soft drinks are served over ice unless otherwise specified. The ice is stocked by the helpful bussers who get tipped out b the servers at the end of the day. Teas are garnished with either a lemon or an orange while the kids’ drinks come in a fun, plastic logo cup with a lid to prevent spills. The boxes shown on the right contain the syrup of the soft drinks which are combined with carbonated water to create the fizzy liquid we Americans are so familiar with. Changing out these boxes is actually quite a challenging task considering each box ways about thirty pounds.

8. The Bar Islands also has a full bar where a variety of domestic and imported beers can be found on tap. Margaritas, Mojitos, and Mai Tai’s are a few of the tropical drinks that we also offer. Most alcoholic drinks require a garnish ranging from lemons to olives. The bartenders make the bar drinks for the servers most of the time, but if the bartender is busy with their own customers, servers may sometimes step in to help out. Straws and garnishes are readily available on either side of the bar window.