[jim berman]

I am about half-way through Waiting by Debra Ginsberg. Can't put it down. It strikes me as the front-of-the house response to Anthony Bourdain's Kitchen Confidential, only not as intense. A humorous look at waitstaff and their own set of neurotic tendencies. I was half-expecting a kitchen-bashing, tell-all, but it is a surprisingly objective look.

 

[suzanne]

I agree; excellent book. Since I only know FOH as a customer or as an annoyance to BOH, I found her story fascinating. Plus, she's a good writer.

 

[isa]

Is it like a certain website on which you can learn of all that can be done to your food behind the kitchen door?

 

[marmalady]

I just finished reading it, also - great insights!

Isa, yes, it is a kind of tell-all, but I think the major theme was the writer's discovery through her restaurant travels that waiting is indeed a profession; one that allowed her to grow and develop, and be single mom able to work and raise her child. Of course, the anecdotal tidbits threaded through the book are what makes it so juicy!!!

In my late teens, I waitressed at Durgin Park Restaurant in Boston, and the book brought back so many memories! The older waitress 'cliques', temperamental chefs, and off the wall management, the long split-shift hours, and the camaraderie that develops among the staff.

A good read all around!