"I supplement my income by dealing weed, and 80% of my client base is at my job: the bartenders, my co-servers, the cooks. Ya know, I smoke weed all the time. I come into work high, but I don't fall all over the place. I've smoked so much that it's just like Ritalin."

--Waiter at a restaurant in the 30's

I don't know why so few of you post comments and end up sending me email instead. But thanks for all the email.

For those who don't work in the industry, now is when most people are looking for waiter jobs in Manhattan. Well, actually it started about two months ago, around the first of March. So I guess now is when most restaurants have gone through their first round of firing and are trying to fill in those open spots.

Today, I'm gonna' continue today with D. He's an Asian immigrant so he's got a bit of an accent. The whole time we were doing the interview, he was looking around like he was afraid somebody was listening in.

And I guess this part of his interview has basically tipped me off to one about New York dining: eat in a restaurant that has good light!

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There's was a time, I was young, in school in the spirit. I was working at an Irish pub. You know an Irish Pub. The food is not very good. They serve hamburgers and stuff like that. It was on 46 and 11th. Still there.

And I had a table of six, the five ordered hamburgers and one wanted medium, one medium rare, one medium well...and I was BUSY! I was, I was...That restaurant did not have a good system. How could I remember who got what ?

I went to the kitchen and the chef hated to make hamburgers. Most of them do. I don't know why. So instead of circling medium, medium well, medium rare, on the ticket. I just put all medium. [Laughs]

What can I do? It was so busy, and so crazy. And they weren't really nice and had already had some drinks. So I brought out everything medium, and the light was a little dark.

You know hamburgers take a long time to come out. Lucky me. So by the time it's ready, they're really hungry. So I brought the food out and "Medium?"

"Oh no, I wanted medium rare."

"Oh sure." [Laughs and makes a motion like he's handing someone a plate.] It worked.

When they're hungry and it's dark...they'll eat anything.
7:38:46 AM     comment []