The Other Side of The Coin

My NYC education has taken an unexpected turn--in the form of waiting tables at a new restaurant in SoHo, Burger&Barrel (B&B). The man in charge, Josh Capon, is a fantastically boisterous, outgoing chef whose reputation precedes him and whose many loyal fans have followed from famed Lure Fishbar just down the street. In a city where most egos resemble the 30lb. pumpkin I saw yesterday at Whole Foods and there are more restaurants Capon makes you feel like you're actually working for a human being. He knows each server by name, each food runner, each busser and spends just as much time greeting guests and sitting down with close friends as he does in the kitchen. Having worked at a handful of hairbrained breakfast joints during college (once, at Burnt Toast in Boulder a pigeon flew into the grill exhaust and feathers blew up in the kitchen), I've seen enough to know that a many things can stand between serving great food and being a profitable restaurant and while it may need a little grease to get going, B&B is a well-oiled machine in the making.

As painful as the process of opening a restaurant can be at times, it still has its pleasures--like the tasting dinner the Saturday before B&B opened, where each server was asked to bring a date. After attending several New York Food & Wine Festival Events earlier that weekend (Giada Laurentiis' cooking demonstration, Sunny Anderson's demo, Rachel Ray's Burger Bash afterparty), I would argue that listening to Chef describe the 18-oz Dry-Aged, bone-in Ribeye (with roasted shitake mushrooms, scallions and jalepenos), sipping free-flowing wine and sitting around a table with one best and fifteen other soon-to-be friends may have been the best event of the week.

While the 5pm to 2am schedule has basically turned my sleep habits upside down and the absurdities of working in the restaurant business always take some getting used to, I wouldn't trade anything for the characters I've already met or the excitement of being a part of something new. I've been really struggling with the decision to pursue my career interests in either fashion or food (in terms of writing and marketing/PR, that is) and though the thought of choosing only one or the other is agonizing (why I am making myself choose in the first place is a good question) I'd rather focus on one career path at a time. The point is that doors are opening for me in the food industry...meeting restaurateurs, chefs, Food Network executives, bloggers, New York Times critics, PR reps...so I'm going to let fate intervene awhile, close my eyes and see where this goes. I'll be well-fed in the meantime.

Xxx