Well it's Monday. Back to Work. Well it's acually Wednesday, but since it's the start of my work week, I call it Monday. All in all things went pretty smoothly. Just to remind you, I'm a grill cook at a restaurant. We specialize in burgers and fries. Oh, we do have hot dogs, grilled cheese, veggie sandwiches, soda and tea. No chicken. No fish. No salads. The menu is not huge. Hamburger/Cheese burger. Bacon/No bacon. Drink/No drink. Fries/No fries. That is basically all there is to ordering your lunch. Not rocket science by any means.
Where we run into trouble is by asking you what you want on that burger. Ours are not pre-made, all identical burgers. They are made fresh, with what ever you want on them. You are presented with a list of about 12 toppings to choose from....and you decide. Again, not rocket science. Right?
Well for some people it seems like it is as complex as rocket science. These are the individuals that invariably walk up to the register with a hand full of the free peanuts and stare up at the menu in wonder. When the cashier greets them, they pop those peanuts into their mouths, chew them up a bit, and start talking. Usually spraying the cashier's face with half chewed nuts. Uggghhh! Then they throw the peanut shells on the floor. Just ignore the garbage can right there. Apparently to them, it was there just for looks.
Meanwhile they are trying to decide what to put on that darned burger. Lets see.....Catsup....Mustard... No wait....Catsup.... Mayonaise.... Pickles... no, no pickles. Onions...no make that the grilled onions. And grilled mushrooms. Oh and lettuce. Well you know, just make it plain I guess. Uggghhh!
We actually had a customer do that today. It took him 5 whole minutes to order a single cheeseburger.....plain!!!! No fries, no drink. 5 minutes. Seriously folks, does it sound like rocket science to you? Oh, and the worst thing is....it was a regular customer. He comes in at least 3 times a week and still can't make up his mind. Always starts out brave, always ends up with a plain cheeseburger.
But, like I said, all in all not a bad day. For a Monday anyway!!!!! See you all next time!
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Just another crazy day.....
Ever have one of those days when you wake up and you really feel great? The weather is beautiful, sun is shining, and everything seems wonderful! What a great day to be alive.
Then you actually get out of bed. It gets worse. That's how my day went yesterday.
I get up at 5 am to take my boyfriend to catch his ride to work. No big deal. Do it everyday, right? Except we go out to the car and lo and behold: a flat tire. Ok. Call his ride have him pick my boyfriend up here.
Now on to changing the tire. Easy right? Well not so much for me. I had open heart surgery 2 years ago, hip and knee problems, and other medical issues that make everyday things a challenge to me.
I call a friend of Keith's (my boyfriend) and he says he'll come over to fix it. By now it is 7 am. Still no big deal. It's my day off after all. Except that as the only driver in the house, and of course the woman of the house, it's really no day off at all. Running errands, cleaning, laundry, paying bills, taking care of the dog......well that's a whole other story!
His buddy comes over and changes the tire to my donut tire. I hate those! Well my tires are still under warranty, so I head over to the tire store to get it fixed. It is now 9am. Well apparently a couple of the mechanics called out today, so I have to wait. And wait. And wait.
Finally! 10:30 am. They put my car on the racks, took the tire off to fix, and rotated my tires for free while I was there! Good deal! Well, turns out, there were no nails, leaks, punctures or any other obvious problem with the tire after all. Must be the neighborhood teenagers up to their pranks again. Uggghhhh!
I finally get home at 11:30 am. Never got to eat breakfast, so decided on a quick tuna sandwich for brunch. Put the bread in the toaster and go about making the tuna fish. Now I smell smoke! Turn around and the toaster looks like an outdoor BBQ grill on a bad day. Open the windows, turn on the fan. Too late! Smoke detector going crazy! Hit the reset button. What happens? Nothing of course! I finally manage to take the cover off, and just yank out the batteries!
I decide to air the place out a little quicker and open the kitchen door. Wrong move. I didn't see my adorable old dog Sweetpea lurking in the corner! With all the chaos of the morning, I had forgotten to take her out, so she makes a run for it.
Now don't get me wrong. I really love my dog, but when she gets out, she acts like a puppy again instead of the 10 years old that she is. She loves playing what I guess she figures is the "catch me if you can game". She'll wait until I'm close then dart off again. Remember my knee and hip problems? This game is a real challenge. The trailer park I live in has about 150 trailers over 3 streets. I live all the way on one side. Our little game probably had me visit about half of the yards here.
Finally! Caught the dog. I pick her up (I forgot to grab her leash of course in all the frenzy) and carry her home. Thank God she only weighs 20 lbs.
We get home, and of course, both of us need a drink. Open up the fridge, get a nice cold glass of tea ready, and plop down on the sofa to relax. I decide to call Keith and see how his day is going and of course I forgot to charge my cell phone. Dead. Dead as a doornail. Plug it in and call him. We chat a few minutes on how his day is going and then asks if I got the laundry done? No. Did you get the bills paid? No. Did you go to the store? No.(And we do need a new toaster). Then he asks what I've been doing all day? After all it is 3pm now and I've got nothing accomplished! So when he asked how my day was.... I just left it at it was just another crazy day honey, no big deal.
Then you actually get out of bed. It gets worse. That's how my day went yesterday.
I get up at 5 am to take my boyfriend to catch his ride to work. No big deal. Do it everyday, right? Except we go out to the car and lo and behold: a flat tire. Ok. Call his ride have him pick my boyfriend up here.
Now on to changing the tire. Easy right? Well not so much for me. I had open heart surgery 2 years ago, hip and knee problems, and other medical issues that make everyday things a challenge to me.
I call a friend of Keith's (my boyfriend) and he says he'll come over to fix it. By now it is 7 am. Still no big deal. It's my day off after all. Except that as the only driver in the house, and of course the woman of the house, it's really no day off at all. Running errands, cleaning, laundry, paying bills, taking care of the dog......well that's a whole other story!
His buddy comes over and changes the tire to my donut tire. I hate those! Well my tires are still under warranty, so I head over to the tire store to get it fixed. It is now 9am. Well apparently a couple of the mechanics called out today, so I have to wait. And wait. And wait.
Finally! 10:30 am. They put my car on the racks, took the tire off to fix, and rotated my tires for free while I was there! Good deal! Well, turns out, there were no nails, leaks, punctures or any other obvious problem with the tire after all. Must be the neighborhood teenagers up to their pranks again. Uggghhhh!
I finally get home at 11:30 am. Never got to eat breakfast, so decided on a quick tuna sandwich for brunch. Put the bread in the toaster and go about making the tuna fish. Now I smell smoke! Turn around and the toaster looks like an outdoor BBQ grill on a bad day. Open the windows, turn on the fan. Too late! Smoke detector going crazy! Hit the reset button. What happens? Nothing of course! I finally manage to take the cover off, and just yank out the batteries!
I decide to air the place out a little quicker and open the kitchen door. Wrong move. I didn't see my adorable old dog Sweetpea lurking in the corner! With all the chaos of the morning, I had forgotten to take her out, so she makes a run for it.
Now don't get me wrong. I really love my dog, but when she gets out, she acts like a puppy again instead of the 10 years old that she is. She loves playing what I guess she figures is the "catch me if you can game". She'll wait until I'm close then dart off again. Remember my knee and hip problems? This game is a real challenge. The trailer park I live in has about 150 trailers over 3 streets. I live all the way on one side. Our little game probably had me visit about half of the yards here.
Finally! Caught the dog. I pick her up (I forgot to grab her leash of course in all the frenzy) and carry her home. Thank God she only weighs 20 lbs.
We get home, and of course, both of us need a drink. Open up the fridge, get a nice cold glass of tea ready, and plop down on the sofa to relax. I decide to call Keith and see how his day is going and of course I forgot to charge my cell phone. Dead. Dead as a doornail. Plug it in and call him. We chat a few minutes on how his day is going and then asks if I got the laundry done? No. Did you get the bills paid? No. Did you go to the store? No.(And we do need a new toaster). Then he asks what I've been doing all day? After all it is 3pm now and I've got nothing accomplished! So when he asked how my day was.... I just left it at it was just another crazy day honey, no big deal.
Monday, March 9, 2009
Welcome to my blog on restaurant humor!
Hi! My name is Julie and I work in a restaurant. I've worked in many restaurants over the years in fact. Do you ever wonder what really goes on in the kitchen at your favorite restaurant? I'll share stories with you that will make you laugh. I also plan on sharing different recipies, cooking tips and general information that may be helpful to you. So sit back, enjoy and come back again!
Oh, I'll probably share totally unrelated stories from time to time too. So you can expect something new and different all the time.
In case you're wondering...if you've ever seen the movie "Waiting", I've never seen anything that bad really happening in all of my years in the restaurant business. So relax. Cooks may talk a lot of trash, but we're really good people! And most are total professionals.
Oh, I'll probably share totally unrelated stories from time to time too. So you can expect something new and different all the time.
In case you're wondering...if you've ever seen the movie "Waiting", I've never seen anything that bad really happening in all of my years in the restaurant business. So relax. Cooks may talk a lot of trash, but we're really good people! And most are total professionals.
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