Got Sauce?

Feb
14

5 Reasons why your service may suck on Valentine’s Day

Posted by the saucy server at 1:32 pm

1. Claustrophobic much? In preparation for the onslaught of countless couples dining out on V-Day, restaurants add about a billion two tops to their floor plans. The result? A sea of effing deuces within 6 inches of each other. Um, that’s romantic……..

2. Everything takes forever. You try and wait on 6 tables at once when the kitchen and bar are slammed out of their minds, and then come and talk to me.

3. The food is inconsistent and over-priced. Rolling out a prix fixe menu, a.k.a. food the cooks aren’t used to cooking, especially at high volume, CAN’T be a good thing. It’s just not logical.

4. Stress. The owners and managers have been obsessing about Valentine’s Day since last Valentine’s Day, which means they’ve been running around, micromanaging the servers for weeks. Re: did you get the memo about the TPS reports?

5. Jaded servers. It’s basically server code to automatically hate people who eat out on Valentine’s Day. It’s amateur night. It’s a ton of stress and extra work for the same money. Going out to eat on Valentine’s Day is like asking for vegetarian options at a steakhouse. Yes, we can accommodate you, but we are going to crack countless jokes at your expense, and make fun of you relentlessly behind your back while doing so. Don’t worry, nine times out of ten you won’t be able to tell. Look, I don’t make the restaurant rules. I just work in one.

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Feb
13

Lunchin’ at Lottafrutta

Posted by the saucy server at 11:31 am

As per the suggestion of a new, old friend, I finally made it to LottaFrutta for lunch. I’ve passed the space for years, marveled at the colorfully decorated Lottafrutta-mobile parked outside as I hurried off to work or to the bar or to wherever I happened to be headed that day. Better late than never I suppose. I found my way through Old Fourth Ward on an unseasonably warm Wednesday, only slightly hungover and ready to be wowed.  (more…)

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Jan
06

Best barbecue in Atlanta

Posted by the saucy server at 4:08 pm

Folks will go on and on about who does the best BBQ in Atlanta. There are a billion articles trying to define and qualify what constitutes the “best” and what styles of the genre garner the most merit. Fox Bros. vs Fat Matt’s vs. Daddy D’z vs. Rolling Bones. Carolina vs. Texas vs. Kansas City…it’s dizzying. In the grand scheme of food and in the words of Tripper Harrison, it just doesn’t matter. We all have our favorites that we know and love and will defend with vigor. And here are mine. My three favorite barbecue dishes in the city, tied for first place and for all the peanuts: Pulled Pork (and brisket) from Community Q, Heirloom Market’s Georgia Sampler, and the newly discovered Bulgolgi á al Octopus Bar.

(more…)

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Dec
21

Origins of Atlanta’s Fernet obsession

Posted by the saucy server at 12:42 pm

 

Are Greg Best and Andy Minchow (of Holeman & Finch fame) single-handedly responsible for the recent proliferation of Fernet Branca throughout Atlanta’s bar scene? Probably. Just five years ago, casual enthusiasts of the popular digestivo would be hard-pressed to find the bitter liqueur stocked in any of their local drinking establishments…

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Dec
07

Give the gift of homemade booze

Posted by the saucy server at 1:17 pm

So it’s that time of year again. The time for holiday spirit and cheer and goodwill towards mankind and stuff. But aside from all the Kumbaya blah, we all know what this time of year is mostly about: buying a bunch of crap for a bunch of people you care about. Giving gifts is awesome, that is, if you can afford it. But some people ::ahem:: just don’t have it like that. Be it tough times, the economy, bad spending habits; a healthy relationship with Fernet Branca perhaps? Whatever the case may be, lack of funds always manages to put a damper on the spirit of the holidays. Or does it?

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Nov
26

Ghosts of gigs past: Home grown

Posted by the saucy server at 2:57 pm

Once upon a time, I thought it would be a good idea to get a day job to make some extra cash. Lucky me, chef Kevin Clark was just getting ready to take over Mammy’s Kitchen on Memorial and turn it into his passion project: Home grown, a local ingredient driven breakfast/lunch spot right in his own backyard. Maybe this is just me, but if I’ve ever worked at a restaurant, even after my time there comes to its inevitable end, I still feel invested; like on some level, I’m an employee for life. Once you’ve swept the floor of a joint and killed some time talkin’ smack with the dishwasher in an odd dialect of kitchen spanglish, while waiting for the rush to hit, your relationship with a restaurant changes. It’s pretty cool. I would eat at Home grown even if I hadn’t worked there, but every time I go back (which is frequently, hence all the pics), I feel special because I know how the BeSt sandwich got its name…and why there’s a salmon patty on the menu. Anyway, enough about work. The point of the story is that I used to work here so I’m probably biased, sue me. full disclosure. (more…)

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Nov
24

Thanksgiving wine haul

Posted by the saucy server at 12:38 am

Forget the green bean casserole…here’s what I’m bringin’ to Thanksgiving dinner…shout out to my homies at Le Caveau Fine Wines for helping me choose a selection that even someone as financially challenged as myself can be proud of. Certified to pair well with turkey and stuffing by ME, your favourite lush The Saucy Server.

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Nov
22

Servers are people too

Posted by the saucy server at 9:05 am

CBS ran a piece entitled “Waiters are people too,” which features an anonymous server who gives people tips on how to treat servers. More of the same…I told you; constant déjà vu. Favorite quote:

“Sure, my life may seem glamorous, what with the fancy uniform and jet-set hours and all that cash. But when you look a little closer you’ll see honey mustard stains, sleep deprivation signs from closing the restaurant one night and opening it for breakfast the next morning and that huge wad of cash is very often: all singles. Plus my hair sometimes smells like fajitas.” LOL!

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Nov
21

Server appreciation? There’s an app for that

Posted by the saucy server at 11:11 am

It’s always nice when you go out for a meal and the service doesn’t suck. What’s more disappointing than a would-be-wonderful dining experience foiled by an uncaring and inexperienced server? Ew. Luckily, there is just as much potential to have a memorable experience as there is for an awful one. Dining out becomes a genuine pleasure when your dinner service provider is a true professional; someone with the ability to guide you through the evening in an attentive, yet unobtrusive way. Good service can be transcendent, and good servers should be rewarded. Right?

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Nov
19

Hollis Gilespie’s five worst Thanksgiving dishes

Posted by the saucy server at 9:04 am

Our favorite hometown honky bitch, author Hollis Gillespie, came up with “The 5 Absolute Worst Thanksgiving Day Dishes” for her Shocking Real Life Writing Academy newsletter. Now we all have our own weird little food quirks, but very few sound as unappetizing as Thanksgiving sushi. Thanksgiving sushi? Really? That’s just gross.

1. The Bacon Mug
This is a giant mug made of fried bacon and filled with melted cheddar cheese. Feed this to annoying family members whose arteries have yet to harden to your liking.

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Nov
18

A good tip is better than Prozac

Posted by the saucy server at 12:14 pm

The title pretty much says it all. I was browsing through the Young Broke & Beautiful: broke-ass stuart’s guide to living cheaply and it struck me. The very first chapter is called “Eating.” Apparently this Stuart character has been a server forever, and like everyone else that waits tables, has a lot to say about restaurant etiquette. Most notably, on how to tip. BTW, why the hell are we still having this “sufficient tip” conversation? It’s 2011 brah, leave 20%. Yeah, I said it. I’ll say it again: TWENTY PERCENT. (if you had a good time, and your service didn’t suck. obviously.) It baffles me that people still don’t know to do this! Maybe they do, and just don’t do it? I don’t know. I just don’t know.

Anyway, back to Stuart’s broke-ass. In the “Eating” chapter, he includes a section entitled “How to Behave in a Restaurant.” I read things like this all the time. It’s deja effin vu at this point, but apparently some people aren’t getting the memo. (It’s true. I encounter these clueless, inconsiderate individuals on a weekly basis.) I just want to let the world know about the awesome power of a good tip. (more…)

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Nov
12

Snapshots from Shoya Izakaya

Posted by the saucy server at 9:12 am

“Mouth to fin” Mackerel This is like poetry on a plate. Ok, that sounded lame. Regardless, check out what this little fishy looked like 20 minutes earlier, along with other things we put in our mouths that night, after the jump. (more…)

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