Author: Restaurant Gal
-
Has It Really Been Six Years?
On January 21, 2006, I posted my first entry as Restaurant Gal. I called it “First Course,” and all subsequent posts that are more about me than about the industry are filed under that heading in my archives. I had forgotten that I had titled my first post as such until I decided to undertake…
-
Holiday Cheer’s Tears
‘Twas the night before the night before Christmas and all through the restaurant, families broke bread together, then let their tears flow…and flow…. My Christmas wishes to each and every one of you who made someone cry tonight (and you are far too many for comfort!) are as follows: To the family of 10 assorted…
-
First Night Out
The cab pulled up fast, then halted just as fast. Two heads in the back seat lurched forward. I think I saw two hands clutch the head rest of the front seat. Both back doors of the cab opened almost before the cab came to its quick, complete stop. Two men emerged, one clutching a…
-
Desperate Turkeys
Two weeks ago, I bought a frozen Butterball turkey. If I buy it, I figured, they will come for dinner. Two weeks ago, the pleas from the various caterers I work with began in earnest: “$25 bonus to the first three servers who will work a Thanksgiving dinner in Delray.” “Extra $20 to anyone who…
-
Quit Occupying My Section
Monday is not normally my busy night, but yesterday was. Monday night is not a shift I expect to make much money, but I had the potential to make much last night. “We’ll be 7 or 8 when everyone gets here at 6:30,” said the man struggling to pull two of my best tables together.…
-
I Won! I Won!
“Sure, I’ll buy a ticket,” I tell the local Keys organizer of a military charity drive. “But do I have to be present to win? I’ll be at work in Fort Lauderdale when you have the drawing.” “No! Just leave us a phone number. We’ll call you if you win!” he says. “You have a…
-
Costumed Canines
Rouletta and Angel had no trouble selecting costumes for their doggie day care costume contest: Boston Red Sox. Happy Halloween everyone!
-
Costume Contest
I have been called in to work the Halloween shift at my new job. “You have to wear a costume,” insisted one of my managers. Okay, will do. But which one looks best with a three-pocket black apron and hideous non-skid shoes as accessories, and is still practical enough to allow me to work through…
-
So Many Candles
Who doesn’t take stock of life’s antics on one’s birthday? Sure, you pretend this insignificant, utterly forgettable birthday is insignificant and forgettable enough to stop the reflective thoughts as they creep up over your morning coffee and spill forth with the force of a rogue wave by happy hour. Thus, if the thoughts are there,…
-
But What If I Don’t Know How…?!?!
It’s not like I don’t know the hospitality realm. Hell, I grew up in it. At age 5, I coughed my way through clouds of smoke as I helped the bartender at my stepfather’s Southern California restaurant wipe down his bar surface. Six months later, when my stepfather moved us east to D.C. so he…