MANHATTAN WAITER : what's on the menu?

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what's on the menu?

"The average sheep, restaurant patron doesn't know what goes on behind the scenes. I do, and that gives me the ability to see in different dimensions, through walls."

--Waiter at Craft

"Perhaps the worst thing about this job, is that I basically have the skills to do everything and nothing. The horror of it all, is that I could end up as a restaurant manager."

--Waiter at Mickey's

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I don't really know what started this project, but I think it came to me while working at a Greek restaurant in the West Village. I was interning at a magazine, making shit for money and I needed to pay rent. And eat.

Working at this restaurant brought me into contact with some really interesting characters--graduate students, illegal immigrants, actors, and addicts--all working as waiters. It's a really weird lifestyle that selects for an eclectic mix of characters, mostly people who abhor corporate America. But no matter how educated you are, or what your day gig might be, come dinner shift...you're just a waiter

I distinctly remember one day spending a good hour interviewing E.O. Wilson for an article I was working on. After the interview, we spent another thirty minutes just talking about science and writing, the whole time me thinking, "My God. I'm having this wonderful conversation with one of the best writers in America, a man who has won two Pulitzer Prizes."

Two hours later, my conversation had shifted to, "And tonight's special is a sizzling fish. It comes with..." And my biggest worry was whether or not table #23 needed another glass of wine. "Was that Chardonnay or Pinot Grigio?"

I knew this was something interesting, all this intellectual whiplash, but I didn't know how to put it into words. There's just so much; all this crazy drama that happens in restaurants. If you haven't worked in a Manhattan restaurant how could I explain it to you? Then I ran across a copy of Studs Terkel's "Working." That's it, I figured. I'll just interview waiters, and let them talk.

And here it is: an online documentary of the waiters that serve customers in the food capital of the world. They work in diners, chain restaurants, fancy hotels, theater bars, and family businesses. The majority are Americans, but others come from all parts of the globe. I'm trying to capture the whole Manhattan experience--fifty waiters in all, hopefully. The only thing I've asked of them is to be honest and tell the truth as they see it.

I have of course changed the names of most people and many of the restaurants. Otherwise, I wouldn't get the juicy details, the most tasty items on the menu. I hope it doesn't ruin your appetite.