Restaurant Gal

Month: May 2006

  • Doing The Drunken Swirl

    Music plays throughout the restaurant in the few hours before we open to the public. The type of music depends on the opening manager. One plays smooth jazz–fine if you want to nap. Another plays hits from the 40s or some such unremarkable musical decade. This is never fine for pre-opening. Back in the early…

  • BFF

    “Don’t put your heart in this business,” my counterpart always warns me. “It’ll just get broke.” He’s right. He always is. How can one develop a personal connection with any co-worker at a restaurant podium? I’m not talking fun and laughs and let’s-go-out-later relationships. I’m mean explore an honest camaraderie, knit a tight friendship, share…

  • Mimosa Memories

    Restaurant Gal Daughter was supposed to work today. Then she spiked a 102-degree temp overnight and garnered a paste-white complexion and fevered glisten to her eyes. She knew she couldn’t call out (not allowed in The Gal family), and we had no clue who else to call to cover for her. I don’t really know…

  • Week In Review Highlights

    Monday: A challenging customer thrust her empty Dasani bottle a tad too close to my face and said, “I assume you have a place to throw this away?” Tuesday: During a walk home, I cut through the lobby of a five-star hotel and wondered, “Are the customers nicer in a place where a harpist plucks…

  • How Mr. Little Crab Almost Stole the Day

    **If you are new to the blog, or need a “crab” refresher, please refer to this previous post and this earlier one to fully appreciate this tale. Once upon a time there was a blue crab named Mr. Little Crab who lived in the bottom a barrel. He loved his place at the bottom, and…

  • The Look

    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…

  • Computer Overboard!

    I live and die by my podium computer. I track reservation arrivals, incomplete parties, walk-in traffic, the wait list and more on it. One Friday a few months ago, at 11:45 a.m., we were told we had five minutes before the reservation system would be down. I scrambled as best I could, but when my…

  • Can I Accept the Challenge?

    Working with Restaurant Gal Daughter this week has turned out to be incredibly rewarding. I know she will never call out on a whim, because she just won’t. I know she will never call out late, because she is with me, and I am always in early. I know she knows what she is supposed…

  • A Great Walk Almost Home

    True, I am tired after work. My feet hurt. I want to hop on the subway at the stop a few blocks from my restaurant. I usually don’t. Why not? I like to walk. But Restaurant Gal, you are on your feet all day? Why would you want to walk after work? * To keep…

  • Thankfully, There’s Work to Do

    This past week has been rough on our family. My father-in-law died on Saturday morning. Both kids made it home, safe and sound. And we will gather several times in the weeks to come to honor their grandfather’s memory. I have to say, work is almost a welcome respite as we muddle through. And there’s…