Customers are always leaving business cards, religious tracts, and other sundry items in the checkbook or on the hostess stand. Usually too poor or desperate to afford a decent advertising budget, they resort to foisting their shit on me. Here … Continue reading
Are stories about waiters suddenly hip? I must’ve not gotten the memo. Imagine my surprise when I opened up the New York Times this morning to read that their vaunted food critic, Frank Bruni, stepped down from his critical perch, … Continue reading
A female patron, who’s very drunk, is staring at her menu in the deluded expectation that it will divine her gustatory predilections and pick out something for her. I’ve never seen a menu do that. Perhaps if she was tripping … Continue reading
The customer pushes his plate away, dabs his mouth with a linen napkin, and waves me over. “All done sir?” I ask. “Yes,” he replies, “That was great, as always.” “Glad you enjoyed it sir.” “Just bring me an espresso … Continue reading
The woman on table 23 lost her child a few months ago. Cancer. I haven’t seen her in months. She’s eating with friends. They’re talking about nothing which is supposed to distract her from thinking about everything. They finish and … Continue reading