Server or servant?

The front door of the restaurant was held open momentarily by a blustery gust of watery wind. I struggled with that door, along with my umbrella, before entering the foyer victoriously and a little wet. Nobody ever notices the little victories.

Gainfully employed

It had been a typically enjoyable evening. The two ladies had enjoyed a cocktail two appetizers, a split salad, and glass of wine. We were all relaxing and enjoying the wonderful afterglow of an evening well spent. Truth be told, they were enjoying it, and I was working it. People sometimes forget that while they are at a bar for fun, the bartender is there to work.

GEV magazine’s Foodie Five with the Barfly

Kimberley Lovato’s Foodie Five interview with Jeff Burkhart:

http://gevmag.com/2013/04/28/shake-it-up/

Remembering Howie, who had a real zest for life

‘MAKE THE MOST of your regrets and never smother your sorrow,” Thoreau said. Each spring those thoughts return along with the warm weather.

Howie was an interesting fellow, and as interesting fellows go, offered interesting conversation. He was a dying breed, the philosopher/craftsman, a man equally adept at quoting Lao Tzu as he was building the most impressively artistic garden gate you’ve ever seen. Dos Equis’ “the most interesting man in the world” is but a thin fictional caricature of the real man Howie was.

Gin and bear it on Easter

‘THIS GUY SAYS this Ramos fizz doesn’t taste right,” a waiter says to me in passing.

So it begins, another Easter brunch shift.

Keeping it kosher for passover

“Let my people go!” commanded Charlton Heston as Moses in the 1956 movie “The Ten Commandments.” Well, Pharaoh didn’t and what followed were the Ten Plagues of Egypt as dramatized by Cecil B. DeMille, the last of which was the coming of the Destroying Angel who “passed over” the homes of the Israelites if their door posts were marked with the blood of a spring lamb. If they weren’t, the firstborn of every household, including Pharaoh’s died. As a result Pharaoh finally let the Israelites go.

Leaping leprachauns why are some so entitled?

RECENTLY I READ an article in the newspaper about former Grateful Dead guitarist Bob Weir shushing the crowd at one of his gigs, then uttering, “Am I interrupting you? Am I bothering you?” before storming off the stage in disgust. Oddly enough he’s a co-owner of the venue, Mill Valley’s Sweetwater.

Some online comments attribute the problem to a sense of entitlement many believe has begun to permeate this county, which reminded me of something that happened many, many years ago.

“Spring forward” isn’t always about the time

AS WE MOVE toward spring, the days get longer, which of course means the nights get shorter. So certain nocturnal activities get a little more hurried, a little more rushed. “Spring forward,” they say, and that can mean an awful lot of things.

Some questions aren’t seeking answers

‘WHAT WINE WOULD you recommend?” asked the woman who had already attempted to squeeze in front of two other groups of people who were waiting to order.

“What wines do you like?”

“I like them all.”

Boundaries are bound to keep changing

SHE SAT IN front of me, not out of reverence or respect or even out of interest, but simply because it was the only seat available.

“Finally some adult time,” said my newest charge.