World’s largest restaurant…

…according to The Guinness Book of World Records is outside of Damascus and is named, appropriately enough, Damascus Gate, or Bawabet Dimashq in Arabic. It serves approximately 5,000 diners and has 54,000 m² (581,251 f²) of dining room and 2500 sq/m (26,909 f²) of kitchen. Over half a million square feet? Really? To give you a rough [...]

Happy New Year to all my readers!

Is this the end of the decade? Opinions are mixed. It might very well be, if you only count the aughts. It might not be if you say that the decade actually ends in 2010, if you count decades from year one. It’s the old “millenium” argument all over again. Frankly, I’m ready to ditch [...]

Cookbook of the day – The Taste of Thailand

The Taste of Thailand by Vatcharin Bhumichitr Publisher  Macmillan General Reference (September 1993) ISBN 10: 0020091303 ISBN 13: 978-0020091301 This, the last cookbook review of the decade, has a literal title that can be taken multiple ways. The first is used in the sense that you would expect a cookbook to use it – taste in a [...]

End of month, end of year, end of decade

Well, this is my last exhortation about uniforms this decade. Now’s the time to take a close look at your uniforms from head to toe. Shoes intact and non-skid? Check. Pants not frayed at the cuff and in the back? Check. Pants have oil stain that won’t come out? Put in emergency inventory. Use only [...]

Muscle memory

Muscle memory is a big deal in sports. Muscle memory allows you to play relatively unconsciously, which frees you from making mental errors or second-guessing yourself. It is only attained through repetition and practice. You can apply the same concept to waiting tables, except you should think about developing the biggest “muscle” of all – the [...]

Brandy vs. Cognac

OK, a quick quiz: Brandy is to Cognac as: A. The Ku Klux Klan is to Barack Obama B. Barack Obama is to Glenn Beck C. The Republican Party is to Tea Baggers The answer is: (a qualified) C. I qualify it because I’m sure you could find a tea bagger that isn’t a Republican (I’m talking to [...]

Oldest continuously operated restaurant in the US

The honor of the oldest restaurant in the US that has always been open belongs to Boston’s Union Oyster House, only a few steps away from Fanueil Hall.  Opened in 1826, it is not the oldest restaurant in the US, but it’s the oldest that has never closed or moved from its original location. I stumbled [...]

New link added – Lone Waitress

Here’s another blog that I’ve been meaning to add to the blogroll for a while. If you are a waiter, you’ll like it. I guarantee it. Recently there was a post about “Stupid things customers say”. This was one of my favorites, although it’s not so much “stupid” but just funny: 2) “Do you have [...]

Stick to the gameplan

I find that when I make mistakes waiting tables (and I certainly still do, even with all of my experience),  it’s because I get out of my routine. It might be writing something on my captain’s pad out of its usual place. It might be trying to cut a corner in service. It might be [...]

Oldie But Goodie

In the spirit of the holiday season, here’s a post from my second month. I think it captures the spirit of the season. Enjoy (again, if you’re read it previously): http://teleburst.wordpress.com/2009/05/31/sometimes-its-the-little-things/