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3.5 AVERAGE
3.5 AVERAGE
informative
reflective
medium-paced
I actually enjoyed this book a lot.
Its a story that set in the 80s, i wasnt surprised with the sex, drugs and alcohol.
after seeing someone DNF because of that.
The later part of the story wasnt much about all these 3 already.
myself too started working in the restaurant business at ages of 16. It wasnt the 80s, his story opened my eyes to the history of restaurant business.
.
I was feeling the vibes and sharing his feeling during the time.
How i felt exactly the same as he talked to the guest, facing difficult guest etc.
How I felt when guest pass me 100 pound bill in my hand.
the upside down life, the late life. how he have mixed up bio-Clock.
.
I was feeling every bit of it. I was almost tearing up as his memoir came to and end.
I am glad he did what he did and not giving up on the industry.
Its a story that set in the 80s, i wasnt surprised with the sex, drugs and alcohol.
after seeing someone DNF because of that.
The later part of the story wasnt much about all these 3 already.
myself too started working in the restaurant business at ages of 16. It wasnt the 80s, his story opened my eyes to the history of restaurant business.
.
I was feeling the vibes and sharing his feeling during the time.
How i felt exactly the same as he talked to the guest, facing difficult guest etc.
How I felt when guest pass me 100 pound bill in my hand.
the upside down life, the late life. how he have mixed up bio-Clock.
.
I was feeling every bit of it. I was almost tearing up as his memoir came to and end.
I am glad he did what he did and not giving up on the industry.
This was surprisingly entertaining: a dishy and romanticized view of a life of restaurants.
medium-paced
informative
tense
medium-paced
informative
reflective
I put this off because of a friend's review, but I was still hopeful. The author is New York through and through, and it doesn't translate to midwestern lives. Not that every book has to relate to every scenario, but it came off as if the author felt that there isn't more than one scenario to consider. Which again, in the context of a memoir, fine, but it was like that in the sections that were written more as tips to the reader.
Every chapter vacillated between "One had to be drunk or high to get through a single shift," and "I loved every minute of it," and the early resentment toward guests made me dislike the author himself pretty quickly, especially when it was because they didn't surreptitiously hand over extra money just to get a seat.
Every chapter vacillated between "One had to be drunk or high to get through a single shift," and "I loved every minute of it," and the early resentment toward guests made me dislike the author himself pretty quickly, especially when it was because they didn't surreptitiously hand over extra money just to get a seat.
As anWater Club and River Cafe alum, I’ll attest that book had to be written about Buzzy. It just didn’t need to be this one.
DNF @ 46%. I got tired of reading about his sexual escapades and drug addiction.
In addition to autobiographies/biographies of musicians, athletes, and celebrities, I also like the occasional memoir of somebody who has worked in the restaurant industry; most though, have been chefs. So, when I saw this book about a Maître D’, I was interested in learning more about him.
Because of all the cruises I have been on, I am aware of what a Maître D’ does and all the ones I have encountered have been very nice and friendly. They always come to the table at dinner and introduce themselves and ask how everything was from the food to the waiters.
I enjoyed reading this book along with his career progression from a server to a Maître D’. The restaurants and people he worked with in New York City is like an all-star lineup. His stories of everything he has done and seen is remarkable. Yes, there was a lot of drug and alcohol usage from him, in addition to lots of sex. One of those sex and drug escapades was with Althea Flynt (Google her, if you don’t know she is). I recently read an autobiography of a former Editor from her ex-husband’s magazine.
Being a Maître D’, could be the best and worst thing in the world. And he tells a lot of stories involving famous and not famous guests. He even mentioned that if a guest happens to slip him some extra money, he will go above and beyond. Yep, money is definitely a factor in getting the best table or the table near the bathroom. Obviously, that probably won’t work in a well-known chain restaurant like The Cheesecake Factory, but in a small New York City restaurant, it may.
Oh my gosh, how can I not mention that in addition to him being in the restaurant business, he was also trying to be an actor and has a Master of Fine Arts.
Oh, he is about to open his own restaurant.
Because of all the cruises I have been on, I am aware of what a Maître D’ does and all the ones I have encountered have been very nice and friendly. They always come to the table at dinner and introduce themselves and ask how everything was from the food to the waiters.
I enjoyed reading this book along with his career progression from a server to a Maître D’. The restaurants and people he worked with in New York City is like an all-star lineup. His stories of everything he has done and seen is remarkable. Yes, there was a lot of drug and alcohol usage from him, in addition to lots of sex. One of those sex and drug escapades was with Althea Flynt (Google her, if you don’t know she is). I recently read an autobiography of a former Editor from her ex-husband’s magazine.
Being a Maître D’, could be the best and worst thing in the world. And he tells a lot of stories involving famous and not famous guests. He even mentioned that if a guest happens to slip him some extra money, he will go above and beyond. Yep, money is definitely a factor in getting the best table or the table near the bathroom. Obviously, that probably won’t work in a well-known chain restaurant like The Cheesecake Factory, but in a small New York City restaurant, it may.
Oh my gosh, how can I not mention that in addition to him being in the restaurant business, he was also trying to be an actor and has a Master of Fine Arts.
Oh, he is about to open his own restaurant.
There's an author's note at the end that acknowledges that 1) these are the author's memories to the best of his ability, and 2) that the restaurant industry has changed a lot over the years -- and that it is/was often an extremely toxic, abusive, complicated space.
I wish that note had been at the beginning -- it could have helped change my perception of the stories to follow. Nearly every paragraph felt like it was glorifying the "good old days" of booze, sex, drugs, and a toxic environment (and many paragraphs hit all of these things in one go!) Normally this stuff wouldn't bother me or make me think twice, but something about how it was presented left me a little uncomfortable.
As the book progresses (and presumably, as Cecchi-Azzolina matured), the stories feel less gratuitous and over-the-top.
I wish that note had been at the beginning -- it could have helped change my perception of the stories to follow. Nearly every paragraph felt like it was glorifying the "good old days" of booze, sex, drugs, and a toxic environment (and many paragraphs hit all of these things in one go!) Normally this stuff wouldn't bother me or make me think twice, but something about how it was presented left me a little uncomfortable.
As the book progresses (and presumably, as Cecchi-Azzolina matured), the stories feel less gratuitous and over-the-top.