uno mas

so, friday went pretty well.  the halibut and pub chips started off slow but then went on a little run and we sold quite a few...at least ten orders, and i think we only had 12 prepped up.  we ran out of the chips three times, though...two times coming within a minute and a half of another.  plus boss took two orders home and crystal and jessie each had one.  and my usual friday night kitchen compatriot was out with the flu and tina came in and she's never worked a friday at this restaurant, and her and i only work together one day a week (spag day!) and we don't really have a good routine.  aaron (usual fri closer) and i have been working together for seven or eight years, and can pretty much knock out a dinner rush without having to talk about food or tickets...we each kind of have a side of the kitchen that we're responsible for, but we also swap back and forth if need be.  i call it the kitchen dance.  we're so used to scooting past eachother with knives and plates of hot things in our hands that it flows like a little dance.  i sometimes feel clunky working with other people.  anyway, tina did a helluva job.  i dunno how busy she gets on sunday or monday, but i know how busy we get on tuesdays (not much) and we got hella busy for a little while yesterday.  not super good friday night dinner rush busy, but busy enough that i had to pop to her side of the kitchen and help her out a bit.  it's okay, i'm cool with that.  also boss was kind of hanging around the kitchen and i like it when he sees me kick the shit out of a dinner rush.  i've worked for him for many moons and he's seen it countless times, but it's still fun to show off to somebody who appreciates it.

anyway, we're doing the halibut again tonight, and hopefully jenney works...she's supposed to, but she also called in with the flu yesterday.  me and tina are the only not-sick night cooks, and she has to have a day off...i may end up working dinner rush with the boss.  and lemme tell ya, i've worked for a guy who would never in a million years put on an apron and rub elbows with the kitchen staff for a lunch rush, much less help out doing dishes or waiting tables.  my current boss actually works every sunday morning, knocking out hashbrowns and pancakes, is around pretty much every day with an apron on at some point, doing prep or washing dishes or letting a cook go home early and watching the kitchen.  it's great.  it's good to have a boss that knows exactly what it's like to be on the line getting your ass whooped.  anyhoo, if bossman has to work tonight that's fine, cause we get along great, he laughs at all my dirty jokes, and i can cook circles around him and i like showing off.  plus i like letting him get a little behind and then yelling "i need those fucking fries!  goddammit, keep up with me here!"

i'd like to address what has become somewhat of a question for some folks i know (mainly mikey and his gf over at http://www.mikewatchestoomuchtv.blogspot.com/).  yes.  most chefs/cooks/kitchen folk smoke cigarettes.  theres's two main reasons, for that, i think...

1.  it's hot, hectic, and at times, frustrating and annoying working in restaurants.  especially in the kitchen.  we stand up all day, and it's at least 90 degrees at eye level in my kitchen with the potential to get much hotter, everything is kind of smoking and steaming and throwing wavy heat lines in the air, it smells of fryer and grilled meat, and smoking a cigarette is a welcome relief to all that, providing an opportunity mostly to sit down and get some fresh air.  and the front of the house has it's own frustrations, like screaming children, demanding customers, and in our case, pervy truckers.  sometimes a server just HAS TO GET THE FUCK OUT for a second so she doesn't stab somebody.  it's funny, in my experience, cooks smoke and make dick jokes and laugh a lot, and servers smoke really quickly and in a tense manner, usually texting somebody.  anyway, most of us smoke cause it's an excuse to leave for a second and we don't normally follow any regimented break pattern.  i just smoke when there's no tickets and i feel like it.

2.  i feel like this is the most important reason.  remember when you were in high school, and when you went to lunch at taco bell with your buddies, you drove past all those metal and punker kids across the street smoking?  remember those kids?  the ones with dyed hair and ramones and slayer t shirts?  yeah.  we grew up.  you went to college, and we took menial jobs right out of high school (if indeed we graduated at all).  we smoke so much cause we started early.  most of us in the restaurant biz, and in the service industry in general, are those kids.  granted, some of us went to college (like me), graduated (like me), and couldn't find a job in their field of study (like me).  i just realized i liked cooking more than i liked business management.  i don't want to wear a polo shirt with a corporate logo.  i don't want to wear khakis.  anyway, we in the restaurant business, and cooks especially, are the kids you saw out the window skateboarding while you were actually sitting in history class.  we're the ones who smelled like weed after lunch, and who carved metallica and van halen logos into the desks.  and we just got older.  but we're still the same kids.


hope that helps.  anyway, i'll give ya the lazy sunday am post and let ya know how much ass i kicked tonight.