When asked to bring something to a cookout, I typically always bring a big old batch of pre- mixed cocktails. In California, in the summer, the pitcher of margarita is always welcome. So here’s my go to recipe.
Just in time for Memorial day festivities…
Batch Margarita
makes about 2 quarts/ 20 drinks
For a batch cocktail like this, using top shelf tequila is silly. Don’t use the rot-gut either. You should spend about $12 on whatever bottle you get. Sauza is dependable.
I like to add a hint of grapefruit juice to my mix, too; make it a cross between a margarita and a paloma blanca.
3 cups blanco tequila
Juice of 1 1/2 grapefruits
Juice of 8 limes
3/4 cup agave nectar
1/4 cup cointreau or grand marnier
Juice the fruit, strain into a bottle. The straining is not to simply omit pulp, it actually helps preserve the juice. And a glass bottle is best, as well, for the same reason. Add agave nectar 1/4 cup at a time, taste for sweetness. Depending on the ripeness of the fruit, you might use more or less agave. (NOTE: you can also sub in simple syrup if you don’t have agave, just use a little more simple; its not as sweet.)
Add tequila and orange liqueur.
To serve, shake over ice, and serve in a salt-rimmed glass.
What does a Runner/ Expediter do?
These are the people who make sure that all your food comes out at the same time and in a reasonable manner.
Expo:
This position is one of the most stressful positions in the entire restaurant. This guy is communicates between the kitchen and the front of house staff. In most restaurants, if a server a has a question for the chef, she must go through the expo as the intermediary, not just as a power play, but also to keep the whole thing running smoothly.
When a server rings in an order at a point-of-sale computer (a.k.a POS). I know. We really do call it a P-O-S, and when the system crashes in the middle of a Saturday and night and you have to get the knucklebusters out to run credit cards, it reinforces the acronym, but I digress…. A server rings in the order on the POS in the dining room, a ticket prints out at the expo station, with the complete order on it. In the kitchen, the order prints on individual chits, divided by station. So, if your order is
Table 20 19:12
2f Ribeye Steak MR
1 Caesar Salad
3 Caesar salad
NO CROUTONS
side of French fries
SHARE
The expo gets a ticket that looks like the one above (the numbers refer not to quantity, but to the guests’ position at their table, more on that later). But in the kitchen, the grill cook gets a ticket that looks exactly like the one above. In the kitchen, however, the grill cook gets a ticket that says
Table 20 19:12
2f Ribeye Steak MR
The pantry station gets the salads, and the fry station gets the French fries. The time stamp and the expediter keep the order coming out on time. Ideally, the expediter tries to make sure that appetizers hit the table within 8-10 minutes of the time the kitchen received the order, entrees should be out within 12-15 minutes. Sometimes, however, if a table has ordered a ribeye well-done, the whole entrée order will wait until the steak is done. No matter what, that course is going to take twenty minutes.
I always asked my expos to flag these tables for me when they come up, because twenty minutes can seem like an eternity when you are trying to make conversation with your friend’s new boyfriend and there is no food on the table.
So, the expediter keeps the orders coming up smoothly and makes sure that the special orders go to the right tables.
Runner/ backwaiter:
Casual restaurants call them runners, fine dining calls them backwaiters, but the position is esentially the same. The runner/backwaiter is the person who physically brings the plates to your table.
Here’s the deal—the food should never be ‘auctioned’ at the table. EVER. The whole point of service is that the guests in the dining room should enjoy the company of their fellow diners and not be disrupted by the service. Unless the computers have gone down and we are in the middle of an alien invasion, a runner should never ask ‘who had the roughy?’ Remember those position numbers on the expo’s ticket? The Runner bringing out the food should know where the plates go based on those numbers. Most restaurants also place an ‘f’ after the position of any ladies at the table, because ladies are traditionally served first, and because it helps get the food down quickly. It really jacks up the runner if your party changes seats between courses.
The runner should place your plates in front of you with his left hand, from your left side. Since most people are right handed, this helps mitigate any interference by gesturing guests knocking plates, etc. Unless a party is seated in such a way that this is not possible (at a booth, or against a wall), in which case the plates should be placed in whatever way is least intrusive.
Sidework:
Sidework-wise, the expo and runners set up a garnish station in a steam table or ice bath (depending on whether the item is hot or cold), they clean the expo line, stock additional paper and ribbons for the ticket printers, stick to-go containers, and prepare ramekins of commonly requested side items (ketchup, hot sauce, ranch dressing, sour cream, etc.). In between orders, they typically polish plates, and ensure that the cooks are stocked with the plates that they need for the incoming orders and prod the dishwasher if necessary.
The industry:
Expos and Runners are typically paid minimum wage plus a percentage (usually between 4-8%) of the tips from the servers. A spectacular expo, however, will generally be paid more, up to $14/hr plus a share of tips, because it is such an important position, and a complete nightmare to train a new person to do.
Many fast-casual restaurants cut down on the runner/ backwaiter position as the cost of food and labor has increased over the last ten years. Runners in particular, are not revenue generating positions, they can’t sell anything to help offset the cost of their wages. So if the dinner service looks lean, most floor managers will cut the expo and expedite the service themselves, or cut runners and have the servers pick up their own plates.
The basics:
A server greets your table, advises of any specials, and menu items that are not available this evening. They will typically take a drink order first, then try to take the order for first and second courses at the same time, to keep your service smooth and prevent unnecessary intrusions into your conversation. The server should be able to answer questions you have about the menu.
When guests in the house, the servers’ primary focus is on the guests, so sometimes it appears to the rest of the staff, bussers/ runners/ cooks that servers don’t do much. But before service and after service, waitstaff have many tasks.
Sidework:
Before the restaurant opens, servers are assigned their station for the night. They inspect their tables, ensuring that they are set properly, are level, and that each item is polished.
Servers then check the service stations, ensuring that they will have everything they need once service begins—extra forks, knives, napkins, birthday candles, votive candles, lighters, sugar caddies, salt & pepper grinders, water pitchers, iced tea, etc.
Servers brew coffee and tea, fill creamers, stock loose tea, and check with the chef about specials or short items.
Before service begins, the front of house manager generally has a quick meeting (5-10 minutes long) to get the front of house team on the same page, ensure that everyone is familiar with new menu items, current promotions, and to make sure that everyone is sober, clean and ready to work. If the chef has a special to taste, it will be presented then. The whole thing is usually wrapped up with a qui of some kind, to get everyone to focus on the service at hand.
Money, money, money:
Servers are paid minimum wage. In states that permit tipped employees to be paid less than minumum wage, they are paid less. In Oklahoma, servers are paid $2.53 an hour, plus tips. In California, they are paid $8.00 plus tips. The tips that servers receive are not 100% their own, however. Servers generally ‘tip-out’ their support staff, bussers, runners, hosts, bartenders, etc. Tipouts can be as high as 40% of the server’s total tips depending on the set up of the particular restaurant. Some restaurants base tip out amounts on the server’s total amount of tips, and some base the totals on sales. This is where it can get hairy.
If a server has a table that required a lot of attention and ordered several bottles of wine, for example, but the guests only tipped 10% of the total of bill, the server is still on the hook to tip out the bartender or sommelier on wine sales, and the expo on the food sales. Under-tipping in that way can sap morale immediately. It’s not so much that servers pay taxes based on sales, or anything like that. where under-tipping gets into a server’s pocket is in tip-outs.
Say a server worked on a party of 5, for 3 hours. They had a great time, ordered three bottles of wine, and shut the place down. Total bill is $500.00
Say the host of the party, understanding that wine is marked up 100% in restaurants, opts to separate out the $250 in wine from the total bill, and tip only on the food. I’ve seen this happen several times.
The service was great, and the staff is probably expecting an 18-20% tip, $90-$100. But what is left on the line is $50.00
The server owes 10% of the tip her busser, 8% of the total food sales to the runner, 10% of the total wine sales to the bar, and 2% of the total tip to the host.
So, now the server is left with:
$50 -$25 (bar)- $5 (busser) – $20 (runner) – $5 (host)= -$5.00
a $50 tip, but $55 owed in tip-outs on that table. When you’re getting paid $2.52 an hour… that can crush your soul in a hurry.
the host in her natural habitat is accompanied by a phone and several menus....
The front desk can be your best friend or your worst enemy whether you are a guest, a server, or a front of house manager. The amount of information that a host is privy to and the logistical finesse required to keep service running smoothly is enormous.
The Basics
The restaurant host, first and foremost, answers the phone. The only way everyone else is able to focus on service is knowing that the phone, squealing like a hungry baby, is being tended to by someone else. The host makes reservations, cancellations, fields questions about the menu, directions, parking information, and screens calls for the managers/ owners. Simultaneously, she greets guests as they arrive, seats them in a friendly and efficient manner, slips a note to the chef/manager/server about any food allergies or special requests from each table. In some restaurants she hands the server a note for each table so he can greet the table with a “Good evening, Ms. Jones and Mr. Smith…”
The host keeps the front doors sparkling, the entry way clear. She polishes the menus and replaces soiled pages. She sells retail merchandise if there is any, and she checks bags and coats.
The Dining Room Diplomat
As a guest, you should make friends with the host of any fine restaurant you attend. Making friends can be as simple as being kind on the phone, and making your requests as nicely as possible. Shouting, insulting, belittling or otherwise making a scene will get you the minimal amount of service from a host, and may even get you 86’d depending on the hosts’ reputation with the restaurant’s owners.
The worst thing you can do with a host is point to another table you see in the dining room and ask if you can have that one instead. A good host is wrangling a ton of logistics simultaneously, and trying to make it look effortless. She always knows something you don’t. She knows a lot of things that you don’t, in fact. She knows that table might look enticing, but there is a draft from the front door and she noted that your date is wearing a strapless dress. She might know that the server in that station just got a very high maintenance table before you and your service might suffer in that station. She knows that a party of 20 is coming in half an hour from a college graduation and they will be right next to that awesome looking table. She could try to tell you this, but you probably wouldn’t listen.
She also knows that if the three other tables waiting at the front desk see you employ this little trick, they are all going to try it. And that would mean chaos.
If you make your requests in advance, even if you request “a romantic table” just before she walks you into the dining room, you are 100 percent more likely to be accommodated.
A host must be pleasant all the time. She is trying to seat the dining room evenly, to accommodate everyone’s special requests, and ensure that tables clear in time for the next seating. She needs to graciously field calls for the managers and owners, she must assign stations in the dining room to the front of house staff, take to-go orders over the phone, sell retail merchandise, give directions from any part of town, know the history of the restaurant and the chef, check the ladies’ room every thirty minutes to ensure it is clean and stocked, all while ensuring that the phone never rings more than 3 rings and that no guest waits un-greeted at the front door for longer than a minute….. and receive birthday cakes, floral deliveries, check coats and luggage all while wearing a cocktail dress.
If that were you, and guy standing at the front door without a reservation is demanding the table in the corner while taking up the whole aisle with his roller bag that he refuses to check, how likely are you to bend over backwards to ensure his requests are met? All you have to say is “I’m so sorry, sir, that table has been requested by one of our reserved guests tonight…. But we have a lovely table in the cocktail lounge……”
To Tip or not to Tip?
Hosts typically get paid a bit more than servers and other tipped staff because they don’t get as many tips, usually, and they have larger responsibilities. Yes, the servers ‘tip out’ the hosts, usually 1-4% of their tips from the dining room (usually $1-10 per server). So if the host checks your coat, tucks away your two heavy suitcases, or arranges for the flowers you had delivered to be set on your table prior to your arrival, tip her. Usually a dollar or two per coat or bag checked, and $5-$20 for any additional service. A dollar or two handed over when she packs up your dinner for four to-go, labels everything, and adds a couple of extra sauces is also good restaurant karma.
Demanding to jump in line on a busy night by offering a fifty dollar tip….? In some places that can get a host fired, so it is generally best to avoid putting someone in this position.
Bottom line: It is not wrong to tip the host for checking bags/ coats, or to thank her for taking care of your special requests. But try not to grease her palm in order to jump to the top of the waitlist.
tell tale signs of a bus boy-- water pitcher and dirty plates.
A dining room runs like a football team, every staff member has a position and plays a very specific role. It is only by having several positions with different areas of focus that you can ensure service is smooth.
For the first installment– let’s start with the foundation of the front of house staff: the bussing crew.
The Busser Job Description:
Bussers, sometimes referred to as Server Assitants, are the most entry-level dining room position. These guys generally do all the grunt work that the servers are too fancy to do. Bussers stock bathrooms, level tables, clear plates, fill water glasses, reset tables, sweep the floors, restock glasses and silverware in service stations throughout the shift. Bussers take care of bread service or chips/ salsa service if there is any. They are also the most frequent recipients of “additional duties as assigned by management.”
Additional duties can be anything from wiping down the walls in the hallway by the restrooms, counting all the silverware at the end of service, taking out recycling, watering the flowering plants on the patio, washing candleholders, refilling salt shakers, cleaning the staff locker rooms, replacing table legs and generally polishing anything that the night cleaning crew does not handle.
How it works:
Bussing is a minimum wage position. In some states it is permitted to pay bussers less than minimum wage to compensate for the fact that they are tipped employees. Bussers earn most of their wages by the tip-outs they get from servers. If, as a busser, you work closely with a server, reset the tables in her section quickly and thoroughly so her tables turn faster, you refill her guests’ water glasses religiously, ensure that the service station in her section is stocked with fresh silverware throughout the shift, then that server is going to hand over a nice amount of cash. The general principle is that the better the guests’ experience is, the more they will tip, so by supporting the servers well, everyone makes more tips. Server tip outs to bussers are typically from 10% – 15% of the server’s total tips for the night.
Lay left, raise right:
One thing to keep in mind as a guest– bussers cannot ring anything in to the point of sale system at most restaurants. Nothing is going to leave the kitchen or the bar without a ticket from the point of sale system, so if you would like another manhattan, it is usually best to order this from your server, rather than the busser who is clearing your table. You will generally get the items you request faster by asking the server.
A hot button issue is clearing your table– the classic rule is that food items are laid on your table from the guest’s left hand side, from the staff’s left hand. Since the majority of guests are right-handed, this cuts down on the possibility that a guest will bump hot plates and send soup splattering all over the table. Also, in services where guests serve themselves from trays, serving from the guests’ left allows him to more easily use his dominant hand to wrangle tongs or spoons. Beverages should be delivered to the guest’s right hand side from the staff’s right hand, and all items are cleared from the guests’ right side with the staff’s right hand, unless it is awkward to do so. The rule is “lay left– raise right.” I’ve seen several vitriolic Yelp reviews where people are screaming “Why can’t people remember to clear from the left?!?!?!“, so I thought this bore a mention…
So, when a busser is clearing your table, you can help speed this process by making sure you aren’t gesturing wildly with your right hand when he comes to take your plate. Also, it usually is not helpful to stack plates on your table (unless you are trying to make a point that someone should clear this), as a wayward butter knife or a wily fork hiding in the middle of a stack of plates can make it unsafe for him to carry.
Endangered Species?
High-volume, fast-casual chain restaurants like Houston’s and P.F. Chang’s have ushered in a modern style of dining room service that relies on a team-wait environment where Servers have smaller stations (3-5 tables each), and the servers bus their own tables and do all the necessary sidework. This has a lot of benefits, as the servers get to keep more of their own tips, and it cuts down on overhead for the restaurant, as every staff member that is on the clock is actively selling food and beverage. In states like California, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington, where the minimum wage for tipped staff is the same, the bussing staff is usually the first to be sent home on a slower shift, or to be excised from the dining room staff entirely.
The LA Times food section today featured a nice little piece on one new variable in dining rooms across the city, the potential hurdles that the presence of cell phones creates. A couple of additional things to consider:
For a restaurant, the cell phone truly is a hurdle to great service. It not only makes the table a minefield for potentially disastrous spills, but the cell phone in the restaurant is the culprit for more mis-orders than I can count.
I think it is some sort of psychological blip where a person talking on a cell phone makes up her mind about something on the menu, is having a conversation at the same time, has visual contact with the waitstaff, and somehow conflates all of these things together to a create a memory of having actually ordered a dish, or told the server that she is allergic to onions, when this information in fact never made it to our ears in the dining room.
It sounds impossibly bizarre, I know, but this happens all the time.
Business dinners aside, I would advise any diner to be wary of dining with anyone who has their phone out on the table.
They are planning not to pay attention to you.
Call me an armchair psychologist, but I’ve seen this in many dining rooms. The dates who suddenly have an “emergency phone call from their roommates,” or the “business email they absolutely have to answer right now.” The phone is on the table because it is their escape plan, or to illustrate how much more important they are than you.
The term “Reciprocell” coined by John Purcell and Katie Sticksell is a response to this phenomena. If someone at your table pulls out a phone and you fail to follow suit, you are ceding the win and letting them be comfortable in the knowledge that they are more important than you are.
If we’re honest, most of us will admit that our phones are security blankets. While waiting for a friend at a bar, my phone saves me from looking lonesome, but it also shields me from the possibility that I might interact with someone new. What if I kept the phone in my pocket and instead had a conversation with the bartender about that new whiskey he’s pouring? Or suppose took in the atmosphere that the owners, designers, and architect put so much work into creating?
It sounds scary, I know, but just might be worth it.
