Month: February 2009

  • The New Kid

    “I’ve hired someone to help you out,” said my owner. In this case, my “help” was supposed to spare me the agony of having to manage dinner, because restaurant management is something I absolutely, positively NEVER want to do again in my restaurant life, unless I own the restaurant. Except this kid, who literally drove…

  • Breaking Up is Hard to Watch

    I make a point to visit my bartender girlfriend whenever I go up to Fort Lauderdale. I don’t go too often, for many reasons, not the least of which is that getting there is a schlep and, beyond my bartender girlfriend and my pilot girlfriend, I have a lot of reasons to steer clear of…

  • A Walk in the Weeds

    An online writer contacted me (and I assume everyone else blogging about restaurants) and asked for examples of horrendous restaurant patrons. I try to stay away from writing about such aspects of the business because Waiter Rant captured them best back in the day, and it is too easy to whine on and on about…

  • All is Always Good, Right?

    If I drunk email my day-at-a-time boy and he answers very soon in a hopeful way, it’s good, right? Even if I know it’s all just an email that is pretty much meaningless, right? If I meet the guy that Upset Waitress is sure is the one for me, and he seems great, and even…

  • Sea Gazing

    At low tide on my little beach, the wet sand emanates random popping sounds. A few hours before sunset on my little beach, a golden tone colors everything, and the ocean and rocks sparkle in the backlight. On this afternoon after a busy day at work, the quiet was such that you could hear the…

  • Fortune’s Quarter

    I felt like crap–achy, stuffy head, cough. I had not been sick in years, even working so closely with the public as I have in various restaurants. Not a sniffle, not a thing. Until now. “He will think I am bailing again for the 95th time,” I complained to my co-worker. “But I really don’t…

  • RG Interview

    Check out a five-question interview with yours truly on Menu Pages South Florida. And now I must go back to digging out all the fleece I thought I would never wear again as I try to stay warm during this taste of winter that is sweeping south all the way to the Keys! Brrr. Even…

  • Just Like Me

    “I need a butter knife, said Upset Waitress as she rummaged through my kitchen drawer, “In case I have to break into my house. I forgot my keys and don’t know if my husband left the house unlocked.” It’s weird down here–folks rarely lock anything. She paused as she looked at the tarnished silver handles…