Category: Guests

Dear mental health professionals who practice in my city: What were you thinking? Are you all sharing a vacation house at the beach this week and forgot to counsel your patients to take their meds while you are away? Yeah, bad idea. Here’s how I dealt with that oversight on your part and all who…

As the outdoor temperature sizzled and climbed on Friday, they came in droves through my front door. Every local office worker baking in a suit, every out-of-town tourist sweating in sneakers, and everyone else having a bad hair day in the humidity figured my restaurant was the place to be. I am pretty sure we…

One of my managers likens the job I do to working Rubik’s Cube: “Some people can do it, some can’t. If you can’t do the Cube, you probably won’t do well at figuring out the flow of a fast-paced restaurant like this.” Yes, well…. I HATE trying to make sense of Rubik’s Cube. I hate…

“Where are the mints?” I stared hard at the stumpy little man asking for–demanding, actually–a breath freshener. People ask for mints all the time. And, an equal amount of times, I take a rather out-of-character, sadistic delight in telling people, “Sorry, no mints.” I grin an evil grin as I say it. Usually, no one…

I cringed when I saw her walk through the front door. She clutched a plastic trash bag filled with God knows what. Her clothing was dirty and greasy and torn in spots. Her hair was all over the place. She limped. My foyer was full of business people and tourists. No one protested and everyone…

“Restaurant Gal, call 9-1-1!” This from one of the sous chefs in charge of the carryout area. “What?” It’s true, my first reaction to someone telling me to call 9-1-1 was, “Huh?” “Call the police, now!” Chef shouted across the dining and bar area as he headed back out to the carryout floor. Which was…

Many walk through the front door of our restaurant and approach my podium to ask for any multitude of things–except for a table, that is. “Do you have an ATM in here?” No. Around the corner, down the block, across the street. Everywhere, except here. “Do you know where a [name any bank] is?” Yes.…

…bringing in outside food. A guy comes in to meet five others already seated. He is carrying a soda and paper bag from one of the carry-out Tex-Mex places nearby. “Hi. I am here to meet my friends. They’re already here.” He pauses as he sees me and my seater staring, speechless, at his over-stuffed…

Sometimes people talk too much. Sometimes I talk too much. In a post about a patron being rude to Restaurant Gal Daughter, Lobster Boy offered an insightful way to deal with said patron. Silence. Keeping quiet is not easy for The Gal. I like to chat. I like to interact. I like to keep my…

Please allow me a few moments of whining via a list of pet peeves. I promise to get most of this out of my system right now, but I reserve the right to revisit the list every six months! Peeve 1: Unseasonably cool weather. Another rainy monday. It feels more like early March than mid…