Steve Dublanica - "Waiter Rant"

     Did I just stumble onto my own autobiography????  I wonder if anyone's ever thought that before?  Ummm, this may seriously be in my top three best books EVER!!!!  (After you count all of Francine Rivers' works, naturally.)  A little, personal side note about me:  I've been waiting tables now for about a decade (plus or minus a few months here and there while I tried my hand at other professions) and have been a server in the fine dining arena for over four of those years.  I ate this book UP (pun totally intended!), which was recommended to me by a waiter friend of mine.  I cannot wait to run out and buy Mr. Dublanica's second book.  Hubby had to literally tell me, "Babe, I'm glad you're so entertained, but you either need to stop reading or go in the other room." on not one, but TWO different occasions as I read through this book.  

     So a few years ago, "The Waiter" began his blog, www.waiterrant.net to detail and sometimes rant about his life as a server in one of New York's fine dining establishments.  He is a college educated middle-aged man who through a topsy-turvy stream of events finds himself thrust into the restaurant business aka service industry at the age of 31.  It's a great insight for those of you who've never worked in the retail or service industries.  Eventually his blog garners quite a bit of attention, which at some point leads to a book deal.  And here we are...

     Steve's memoiresque (yes I created a word... just go with it) book contains snapshots of what it's like on the other side of the table and in the typical commercial kitchen.  Now, do keep in mind, this is one person's take on it, but honestly I can say that in my nigh ten years of experience I've run into 85% or more of the exact situations.  Honestly, for the VAST majority of this book, I seriously wondered if someone had planted a bug in my brain.  I am fortunate in that I work for a great company with fair and respectable management and owners, and most days, I really enjoy my job, but that has not always been the case for me (or for Steve and probably the majority of waitstaff everywhere).  He has very accurately (and cynically - he warned you on the cover of the book...) relayed the "waiting experience" in an easy-to-read, relateable way that is laced with humor, honesty, and a super quick wit.

Waiter Rant: Thanks for the Tip--Confessions of a Cynical Waiter (P.S.)

   

     He articulates a lot of things that go on in an restaurant in a way that pretty much anyone can understand, relate to, and hopefully use to get a glimpse into the life of the average American server.  He is correct in saying that, "80 percent of customers are nice people just looking for something to eat. The remaining 20 percent, however, are socially maladjusted psychopaths."  If you have ever worked in a restaurant, you KNOW it's true.

     Throughout the book, Steve paints poignant portraits of life in a restaurant.  He talks sincerely and humorously, and cynically not only about the woes or working in as a server (of which there can be many) but also about the really great times and people he got to meet throughout the course of his employment as waitstaff.  I love that's he's given a voice to the 2 million servers in the U.S.  As a matter of fact, I think Mr. Dublanica should be nominated for sainthood; Server Steve - patron saint of waitstaff everywhere.  I think he's dead on when he "breaks down" the various types of guests as well as what it's like to work any of the major US holidays.  If you are a server, enjoy the camaraderie that you feel, and if you are a regular diner, see what it's like to wait on folks; you may learn something about something you didn't know before?

     One more note on my newest favorite book, there is a LOT of profanity in there.  It is a normal part of working in the industry, and the book would've lost a lot of it's true-to-form-nature had he excluded most of it.  Steve actually explains why he thinks this much profanity is part of the "behind the scenes" look at a restaurant staff in the book....  Just so you're warned, now, go and read it!!!!!!!!!!!!!