Slinging Turkey at Shenanigan's

A chill is in the air here in the Crescent City as the holiday season is upon us. I hope that my legions of readers all had an enjoyable Thanksgiving. My celebration and gluttony was relegated to the later hours of the evening as I had to work at the restaurant, ensuring scores of families had an enjoyable holiday meal.

I've taken to referring to my place of employment as Shenanigan's in homage to the restaurant portrayed in "Waiting", starring Ryan Reynolds. Those of you who have spent time in the hospitality industry should give the movie a screening; overall the movie is just ok, but you'll recognize the archetypes of the servers and managers and may find (like me) you've worked with all of these people at one time or another.

So yesterday at Shenanigan's was a typically over-hyped affair. We had lots of reservations on the books, which meant management freaked out and overstaffed the floor. I was fortunate to do fairly well money-wise and had gracious tables with no major meltdowns. My schedule impeded my typical litany of holiday phone calls, but friends and family were on my mind as the day progressed. I am very fortunate and grateful for the people in my life, and I realized that I can do more to demonstrate and communicate my appreciation for them every day, not just on holidays.

After work I stopped for a much-needed libation en route to Peaches for a delightful repast. Peaches hosted an intimate gathering of friends earlier in the day, and I was happy to see that there was plenty of food left for me to enjoy (although considering the size of the bird he purchased at Rouse's this week I knew there would not be a shortage). Everything was delicious and we chatted and laughed as I ate and helped with the clean up of the kitchen, delighting in the music and magic of the Living Legend as is typical of our holiday (or any day)gatherings. We called it an early night as I was tired from work and needed some rest before entertaining an early morning visitor today.

This weekend the city hosts Bayou Classic, which I understand is the ignorant cousin of Essence Fest. I doubt that we'll get much traffic out of it at Shenanigan's, which is fine by me as the group we had in-house last week was ill-mannered, cheap and rude. I love the international travelers who still feign ignorance at our system of gratuities in the service industry; more than once last week I was prepared to hand back the 2% tip and let the customer know that it was obvious they needed the money more than me, but I decided better of it. Even with my disenchantment at Shenanigan's, work is work and money is money, and until I figure out the next step in my career path I need to make sure I keep the lights on and the rent paid. In fact, looking at the clock I see that it's almost time for a shower so I can go and sling again. Here's hoping for a profitable weekend...