Slow Going at The Bar

I may have to start calling The Restaurant "The Bar". A had told me we were going to have a menu of small portions of hot and cold appetizers ranging in price from $4-$8. But it turns out there is no menu. We are offering complimentary appetizers each evening.

Business has been slower than I had hoped. A couple nights, I have waited on A and he has tipped me quite generously, but other than that, it has been fewer customers and longer hours than I expected.

My new co-worker, K, is getting frustrated too. I worry he will quit. I am starting to question a couple things about him, though. This is his first food and beverage job. In general, he has been a fast learner and has been doing great. He made a mistake Friday night though that cracked me up. Our red wine glasses are really big. I would guess they could hold 16 ounces of liquid, but we only pour about 5 ounces per serving. This gives the customer room to swirl and smell their wine, as red wine drinkers oft do. I did teach K the proper portion to serve and where to pour up to on the glass. He must have forgotten though. On Friday night, I went to check on some customers and came back to the bar, where there was a customer sitting with a glass of wine, filled all the way to the top. I guess you have to see it to picture how funny it looked. What is worse, is this customer had already had four martinis and was switching to a glass of wine before he left because he was feeling tipsy. After K poured half the bottle in the glass, the customer stared at it and took a couple of drinks before leaving.

I didn't work Saturday because I was in Champaign, at a marching band competition. I am wondering what I missed because someone posted on Peoria.com saying the upstairs bartender was a jerk. I hope that it was just this person's misperception, but I can see how if you aren't happy with your job, it may seem like you are being a jerk. So I hope that business picks up and K can act happy and I hope people don't think that we are stuck up jerks.

A New Leaf for the Old Restuarant?

I’ve been working few hours at the Strip Club, and enjoying my freedom to spend time with the family and friends. Within the last month, I had heard that A had a new co-owner for The Restaurant. J and his partner, B, have been at The Club, having meetings or sitting at the bar. No one introduced them to me; I made my own introduction. I told them I used to work at The Restaurant and asked what they were doing with the place. I was told they were making a lot of changes including a new staff. OK. I thought, “Good, I wouldn’t want to work there anyway.”

So what did I say on Wednesday, when A called me down to the office, to ask me to work at the new place, starting FRIDAY? “Oh, yes, sure, that sounds exciting!” I don’t know what my problem is. I can’t say no to that man. They want me to work at the upstairs bar, which is only open Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, for now.

I have to admit, it is a little alluring, a little exciting. I love the upstairs area. There is a fireplace, a gorgeous view of the river, small quiet areas with couches and coffee tables. It is so romantic and cozy. I got a little busy Friday night. Saturday night was pretty slow. I mostly stood around, getting to know my new co-worker, K (who has never worked in a bar or restaurant before, ever).

I hope the new place does great. I think it is an awesome bar and has a lot of potential. But I’ve thought that before about The Restaurant. And no matter how busy or wonderful it is, I don’t think any bar can compare with the money making potential of working at the Strip Club. I am going to give it a try for awhile. My husband isn’t thrilled with my new hours. My grandma isn’t adjusting well either. She won’t go to sleep until I am home. I am going to see how it goes for a month and promise myself to make a decision about whether I enjoy it and find it valuable at that time.

Now I ain't sayin' she a gold digger

I am settling in at the Strip Club. So far, so good, except I am having a problem with a particular dancer who is really...um, aggressive about getting money and drinks from customers. I am resisting the urge to call her a money grubbing whore. She really irritates me though. She tries to order drinks for herself and others and put them on other customers' tabs. She will say she wants to order a drink for a customer and to put it on her tab, then wink at me. She wants me to charge the customer for his drink and hers when she says she is buying the round. Or not charge her for the drinks at all maybe?

I'm not stupid. I am not going to risk my job so she can get drunk or get customers drunk and steal from them (which I have seen her do). Also, I like my customers to be happy, not pissed at me for drinks charged to their tab that they didn't want to buy. I need to have a talk with her about this, preferably before her next shift, before she is drunk. I also feel irritated that when she could tell I was getting upset with her, she started to try to flatter me I guess? Telling me I could be stripper! We could play the good girl/ bad girl routine! I did not appreciate the attempted distraction.

I think she also thought I was telling on her at one point and came to intercept the conversation. I was talking quietly to a manager to tell him about an interaction I had just witnessed between another dancer and a customer. (Dancer: "So what do you do for a living?" Customer: "Construction" Dancer: "Oooh, What are you working on?" Customer: "Building a fence" Dancer: "How big is it?" Customer: "11,000 feet" Dancer: "Wow, that's a tall fence".) D snuck up behind me and as J and I started laughing, she started laughing and said "I have a joke too". I think she thought I was telling on her, which I probably wouldn't do, unless I couldn't handle it myself. So I need to try to handle this myself and have a talk with her. I hate confrontation. But I hate dealing with her deceitfulness more.

I get to work at The Restaurant Saturday night. The kitchen has been closed there for about a month, and it has just been operating as a bar. One of the Owner's friends wants to have a birthday party in the Red Room Saturday night, so I am going to work for that. Which will mean a lot of work readying the room. Cleaning, vacuuming, polishing crystal and silverware, setting all the tables, etc. Ugh. I just think it will be a lot of work for not a lot of money probably. But I agreed to do it and can use the extra money I do get. I like earning my money honestly.

The Red Room, The End

I went into work at The Restaurant this evening to find out it is CLOSED. Well, the part I work in is closed. No one bothered to call and tell me, or mention it to me when they saw me earlier in the week at the other establishment. I am not shocked. I am just shocked that it was so sudden, and no one bothered to tell me.

Working at The Strip Club has been going well. I like it. It is pretty easy and I have made more money working a couple shifts for a few weeks than I have all year at The Restaurant. Now I need to see if I can pick up more shifts there, but I am kind of picky about my schedule. I don't want to work until 4 a.m. The shift I have been doing is behind the bar from 4-10 p.m. Behind the bar, I can wear pants and comfortable shoes, and it doesn't really matter that I have gained 20 lbs since I last worked there. I think the only shifts available will be to waitress. I will have to wear 4 inch heels, and fishnet stockings, and a skirt that has to be higher than my fingertips when my arms are at my sides. I think I will feel a little self-conscious about that extra weight. And very uncomfortable in those stupid shoes.

I'll be out with your salads as soon as I clean this toilet

Bread boy is gone. I came into work one day last week in the middle of an argument between manager, L, and Bread Boy about cleaning the toilets. Since the Restaurant no longer has a cleaning service, we should have known this is our job. Bread Boy got sent home for being disrespectful and by mutual agreement between him and the Owner (there is only one now; no Owner 1 and Owner 2), he is not coming back.

This sucks for me. Not only will I miss him, but I prefer to have as little responsibility as possible there. The whole restaurant (or at least the part I work in) has been a downward spiral from the get go, and I try to do my best, and keep customers happy, but the plight has gotten ummm, just ridiculous, really. I don’t make enough money to spend my evenings cleaning toilets and waiting around for customers. The other server, J, is gone now too. Owner is on vacation, so I’m not sure exactly what the plan is, but we have hired a new server to work everyday. I think my plan is to pick up a couple shifts at another establishment and work at The Restaurant Fridays and Saturdays, or to help with bigger parties.

The other establishment is a strip club. I bartended/ served there before The Restaurant opened. I kind of miss it. I definitely miss the money. I didn’t like working late nights and couldn’t work during the day because of Grandma’s condition, but The Strip Club has recently made a new 4:00- 9:00 p.m. shift that will be perfect for me. Really, I am more confident recommending a stripper for your lap dance than a steak for your dinner anyway. And it will definitely provide better fodder for blogging.

I had a lime thrown at me

Wow. I have been so busy, yet busy with boring stuff, I think all three of my readers may think I have fallen off the face of the Earth.

Well, auditioning for Deal or No Deal was not boring. Even though we stood in line for six hours, I don’t think I got bored at all. I was having fun with Jennifer and it I was excited with anticipation of the audition, which lasted 20 seconds.

Work has been mainly uneventful except for one night of waiting on a rock star and some TV celebrities. It was a lot of dealing with the attitude “Don’t you know who I am?!?” (No, I don’t actually, and even if I was big fan, I doubt I would know you didn't want a lime in your drink.)

Our chef, G, has still been putting out consistently good steaks and seafood. Yet she still has some….creative? ideas that I don’t quite understand. Our special last weekend was Seared Sea Scallops (say 5 times fast) and mashed potatoes. Plated together. With a White Sauce. I don’t eat meat and especially hate seafood, so I should not be pretentious enough to say these flavors would not go well together. How would I know? At some point the special did get changed to Sea Scallops and asparagus. I’m not sure of the details of how it was changed. I just know no one told me about it until I saw a plate come out of the kitchen with asparagus instead of mashed potatoes. Luckily it was for Bread Boy’s table and he was already aware of (maybe initiated) the change.

Something else no one told me was that our new dishwasher is deaf. So for the first few days he worked there, I went from thinking he was ignoring me, to getting frustrated over serious communication problems. Since seeing someone sign to him, and figuring out I need to make sure he is at least facing me if I want to talk to him, (He is a good lip reader) everything has been fine and he seems nice and interesting. I’m not sure if he will stay with us though, since our dishwashing machine has been broken since he has started, and he has to wash everything by hand and his skin is getting raw.

My husband got me a new notebook computer, which is cool. I have started another job grading the written portion of standardized tests which I can do online. Too bad it is temporary, just for a couple months. The plan is, that I can take my computer to work with me, and when we have no customers, I can grade tests.

Yesterday, I used my new computer for a few hours with it sitting on the kitchen table, which is several inches higher than my computer desk. Last night my shoulder was hurting me, from having my mouse arm higher than normal. I was complaining about it and my 12 year old, Little E, said, (in a slow, condescending voice) “Mom, it is called a LAP TOP so you can sit it on the TOP of your LAP, and you won’t need to reach up to use it”.

Comfortably Numb

I had Wednesday night off work. I went out to Sully’s open mike night to watch my friend, T, play. I got a text message from Bread Boy, saying, “Happy one year anniversary to us, taking tomorrow off, we have no resos”. So, the Restaurant has been open a year. We still have a very inconsistent crowd. Most nights, it is very slow. The past couple Saturdays have been really busy.

We have a new manager and a new chef. Our manager, C, seems very detail oriented and assertive. He has initiated a lot of changes to make things more consistent, which I appreciate. Our new chef, G, is working on a new menu. She seems very down-to-earth and practical. I like her. Our cook, M, is leaving us in a couple weeks. I will miss him.

I am still feeling (inexplicably) hopeful that The Restaurant will be successful. I am also pretty indifferent about looking for anything else right now, though, and am content to work only a few days a week. I hope for customers, but when we have none, I take advantage of the quiet atmosphere to work on my book club book. My schedule is working out in regards to taking care of Grandma and I also have a temporary work from home job starting in April. This slow complacency is feeling pretty comfortable right now. I know that feeling will soon pass, however, when I balance my checkbook or pay my overdue CILCO bill.

Good Wine, Depressing Pens, and Ethics

Last week, Owner 1 came to eat with some friends. He brought with him a large bottle of Opus One. The bottle size is either called a Methusalem or Imperial; I think one refers to wine, and one to champagne, but maybe they are interchangeable terms, I don’t know. It held the equivalent of eight standard bottles of wine and I think I will call it a Methusalem, because I think that is accurate and I like that word better.

I like O1 (Owner 1; I do like the wine, Opus One too, though). Waiting on him can be a gamble. Sometimes, he has a temper and is very particular. Sometimes he can be very fun to serve and has left me the most generous tips I have ever received. Sometimes he has left without tipping me at all. So, it is really hard to know what to expect.

On this night, the party of six had a few cocktails before dinner and started to work on the Methusalem with dinner. There was wine flowing aplenty. O1 generously offered Bread Boy and me each a glass, and we graciously accepted. After several hours of wining and dining, the Methusalem was emptied. One of the guests offered pay the dinner tab if O1 left the tip. Another vomited red wine all over the bathroom floor. Everyone (well, except for Bread Boy and me) was very intoxicated.

I have worked for O1 (in other establishments) for almost eight years. As unpredictable as he is, I know his “unhappy intoxicated glare”. When I saw this dazed look on his face, I whispered to Bread Boy that I was not feeling hopeful about the tip situation. Bread Boy said he thinks O1 heard me because when I was in the kitchen, he threw money on the bar and left. My husband thinks maybe he thought the (expensive) glass of wine should have been considered a tip. I don’t think he heard me, and I think he was just being generous and wanted us to try his wine. Yes, that is probably it.

The next night, there were two reservations at the same time. One was a pharmaceutical rep and his clients. The other was a medical equipment supply rep and his clients. I took the pharm party and Bread Boy took the equipment party. My table turned out to be a Pfizer rep, talking about Alzheimer’s, which was kind of depressing for me. I decided, though, it was better than having to listen to the conversation at Bread Boy’s table, a group of colorectal surgeons discussing exactly what features they look for in instruments to perforate and clamp the bowel (WHILE EATING DINNER).

There were seven people at my table. The Restaurant allows us to add an automatic gratuity to parties of six or more. I prefer not to do this. It seems pretentious to assume that I deserve a certain tip based solely on the number of people at the table. So I did not add the gratuity. The gentleman pulled out his calculator to figure the tip, which was lower than what the autograt would have been. This was fine; it was my choice to take that chance and I understand that many companies only allow their employees to tip a certain amount. He seemed to think he was tipping me very generously though. He asked if I got to keep the full tip amount and told me I had “a good gig going”. He also left an Aricept (Alzheimer’s medicine) pen with the check. I tried to return it to him, but he told me it was a gift, for my good service.

I am not sure what to do in the future about the auto gratuity situation. I am not very comfortable doing it. But maybe for company-sponsored dinners it would be accepted and advantageous to me? I also worry about inconsistencies; if I don’t do it, but another server does in the future, the customer may not appreciate it and think “well, they didn’t add a gratuity last time”. I really want to do what is best for the customer, the restaurant, and myself, not just financially, but supporting my sense of integrity.

Feel compelled to post even though it is boring syndrome

Valentine’s Day was anti-climactic. I am talking about my evening at work. I remembered that the owners had some fondue set-ups from a previous establishment, so I suggested a chocolate fondue dessert. Being pretty busy and not even making any treats for my own family, I decided that was enough of a contribution to the dessert effort, (coming up with the idea), and decided not to make something myself. Bread boy made champagne poached pears, which looked pretty and smelled wonderful. Another server made a heart shaped napoleon. Our cook, M, decided to make a cake, even though he had never made one before, because “apparently there is some sort of dessert competition going on that no one told me about”. He broke it getting it out of the pan, but some of it was salvageable. With the two store-bought cheesecakes we had in stock, we had an actual dessert menu.

I wasn’t feeling well when I went in to work, with pain in my back and ribs and difficulty breathing. By the end of the evening, I was sent home and I went to the doctor the next day. He diagnosed me with a condition called costochondritis and said it was probably caused by a virus (but not contagious). I looked it up online and learned it can also be called Tietze Syndorme, or Slipped Rib Syndrome, or according to one site, " ‘fall asleep in the back seat of a crowded car syndrome.’ A person falls asleep in a crowded car with the door handle jutting into a rib. The rib slips out of place and the problem begins”, which I thought was oddly specific.

It was very painful for a few days, but now seems to be completely gone so I am relieved. My grandma has a bad cold and a constant cough. When she gets a cold, it usually turns into a month long illness. I am sitting here cringing each time she coughs. Any healing thoughts sent this way are welcome and appreciated.

Super Server and Bread Boy and the Dessert Dilemma

One night, at work, I had a customer complain about his meal. He prefaced the complaint with “You and your bread boy did a really good job, but…” (My coworker, R, had brought bread out to the table for me while I was making drinks.) I got a kick out of the term “bread boy” and have been using it as a nickname. To me, it sounds like a superhero sidekick. I told him we could be the dynamic duo of Super Server and Bread Boy.

When I started this blog, I pictured a lot of it being about my work life and the exhilarating world of food and behind the scenes restaurant drama. I know I haven’t been a frequent poster in general, but I really have had NOTHING to write about regarding The Restaurant because nothing happens there. Quite literally, some days I go in, set up the bar, clean the dining room and watch the door ‘til closing without a single customer. (I really should get a laptop and I could get some blogging done.)

Since I last posted, we have gone through several more chefs and a couple managers. The menu has been changed to very simple steaks, seafood, and pasta, and now The Restaurant doesn’t want to hire a new “chef”, just “good cooks”. So we have been through several good cooks. I think we have two cooks right now. We have had about twenty come and go.

One of the areas that is suffering most from our rotating cooks, or overworked cooks, is our dessert selection. I have never been happy with our dessert selection. I am learning that while “cooks” can cook steaks and seafood, even if they are not trained chefs, apparently no one can make a dessert unless he is a “pastry chef”. Almost everyone we have had in that kitchen, when asked to make desserts, has replied, “I’m not a pastry chef”. It is really embarrassing when someone asks to see the dessert tray, to have to say we have only one type of (store-bought) cheesecake. I think this will be especially disastrous on Valentine’s Day. So I have been trying to think of romantic desserts. The other night, Bread Boy called me and told me he was working on making a Chambord mousse, so he was thinking the same thing about V-day desserts. Last night, a bartender/ manager was printing off dessert recipes and said next Wednesday night he could make some desserts.

It is a week before Valentine’s Day, and we actually do have a lot of reservations for that night, and we have two servers and a bartender taking the initiative to plan and create a dessert menu. I will post what we come up with, but be forewarned, we are not pastry chefs.

Stepping Up

I have been watching one of our food runners start to take on more tasks in the kitchen. Usually her job duties would be limited to putting food on a tray and taking it to the correct table. Occasionally the food runners also serve as expeditors, telling the chefs what items are coming in on the tickets. A couple weeks ago, I started noticing a food runner, B, chopping onions and blending soup. She has been continuing to do more and more food prep duties, even cutting meat. I have been kind of impressed.

Saturday night, we were pretty busy. The kitchen was running semi-smoothly for just having lost our executive chef and also training a new line cook and salad worker who do not speak English. Chef P, who has suddenly become the executive chef, and been putting in crazy hours, had not prepared any new desserts and by the end of the night we were out of desserts. We thought we were through with service for the evening and Chef P went home. Then we had a couple parties show up wanting to eat, so Owner 2 was debating what to do. B said, “I’ll cook. I know all the dishes.” R1 said, “And I will make some dessert.” So B made some perfect dishes and R1 made some less than perfect dessert (Blackberries sautéed in brandy and red wine with some brown sugar, served over vanilla ice cream; it tasted good, just looked a little sloppy). So we served the two parties who were very happy with their dinners. One of my customers said, “Give the chef a raise!”

I recently read a book called Service Included by Phoebe Damrosch. It is a memoir about working in a fine dining restaurant. It was a good read and I liked it because I identified with her story of being new to serving, and also wanting to excel at it. In her restaurant, all the workers called each other “chef”, as a sign of respect. She did not explicitly say this, but I am assuming that this practice also helped keep in mind that everyone in a restaurant is contributing to the same goal of providing a great meal for the guests. I don’t know how actual chefs would feel about that practice (most chefs I have met are VERY particular about being called CHEF), and I am not going to suggest we try it at my work, but Saturday night I complimented B and called her “chef”.

The Restaurant

I work as a server in a small, local, fairly new restaurant. I really like my job. I try to do my best in spite of minimal or conflicting training. I really want this place to be successful, but it has really had its ups and downs already. I keep being hopeful that it will get better. I think people don’t know about us yet and we are still smoothing out some rough spots. Some days are great, the tables full, the compliments flowing. Some days I sit there without a single customer. Sometimes I disagree with the way things are done or get irritated with my employers or coworkers, but in general I would say I am still in it for the long haul and hoping it works out.

I thought I would use this blog to express some of my thoughts about work (hence the name). But I haven’t decided how secret I need to be yet. I know as soon as I reveal a few details about the restaurant, some Peoria people will know exactly where I work because I have read posts or comments on local blogs about my work place. I guess that is OK, I am just still unsure about how I feel about my fellow coworkers knowing if I post about work.

So even though I haven’t figured out a theme to this post or a purpose for sharing, I think I just want to write about my weekend at work. Maybe through writing I can process my thoughts or feelings, or, if not, maybe start to paint a little picture of my world at work and the beautiful but bizarre restaurant I have an exaggerated sense of commitment to.

Friday, when I arrived at work, I was told by my coworker/ kind of manager, R1, that we are changing uniforms. From now on we are to wear colored dress shirts instead of white ones, without neckties. I expressed my disappointment and took of my tie. He proceeded to tell me that also, from now on, he and I are supposed to be more laid back. (The going without ties thing is supposed to help us with the appearance of being laid back.) I felt confused by this for a couple of reasons. 1. I am already very laid back. Before this job, I don’t think I had even eaten in a fine dining restaurant. I knew nothing about wine. I knew nothing about food. (I still struggle with this because I am vegetarian and don’t know much about cuts of meat, and also, customers seem to want to know if you personally have tried the things you are recommending). Anyway, I always try to make my customers feel super comfortable. We have a lot of people who show up “not knowing how nice it is” and seem to feel out of place because maybe they are wearing jeans or something, and I always try to be very reassuring that they are welcome and we want them to have a great experience. I enjoy being at work and am not ever snobbish or pretentious. I am laid back! 2. A couple of months ago, a server was fired for being too laid back. The actual action that got him fired was standing with his hand on his hip. I was really upset about this at the time because I thought this man was a really good server and willing to learn. If the owner would have said, “Do not stand with your hand on your hip”, I’m sure it would have never happened again. But, at my work, people get fired A LOT.

So, a couple hours after R1 told me about changing uniforms and being laid back, he also thought to mention that our executive chef had gotten fired on Thursday. I think he was our fourth chef we’ve had since opening. Two quit and two got fired. We have also had five managers quit or get fired. And countless employees.

Aha! I have thought of the theme of this post. Consistency (well, lack thereof). I think the restaurant is at a crucial point in which we need to start having some consistency. Our menu is always changing, rules always changing, chefs always changing, even our décor. I know our owners are trying to tweak things to make them better, and that is probably acceptable for awhile when a business is new. But after the newness is over, the constant changes are unsettling for the employees and the customers.

Now we seem to have a good team of servers, good managers, and if our sous chef is becoming executive chef and stays with us, I am hoping we will finally have some consistency.

I am concerned about the length of this post. I think I will write a shorter post about Saturday as a separate entry. I wonder if people will be interested to hear the stories of a local restaurant.