Side Work Podcast

Let's talk money. When you're a server how are you still broke even though your pockets are flush with cash?? We discuss all the ways in which having a serving job could earn you financial freedom..... as long as you don't spend half of your tips at the bar next door, which is exactly what we all do. It's a vicious cycle. Then, Alan Starzinski stops by the pod den to talk about how serving at Applebee's really prepped him for bigger things in life: waiting tables at Dave and Buster's.

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Summer jobs means summer money, baby! Today we discuss the sweaty, hectic hustle of seasonal work when restaurants double in size and garden patios around the country stay slammed for three months. But first we go off about a recent epidemic of bad hostesses and "dork font" on menus. Then, David Crabb stops by the pod den to truly horrify and delight us with stories of utter debauchery he witnessed as a bartender and server for nearly sixteen years.

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We recorded this episode at the very end of May during Mental Health Awareness Month but we need awareness every damn day - particularly in the service industry. We go deeper into why this line of work breeds and invites self-destructive behavior, examine our own issues over the years while waiting tables and living that vampire life, AND manage to be funny about it. The good news is there is a real shift in the industry happening with healthier environments being fostered from the top down. AKA chefs are checking their shit and getting sober. Yay! Did you know there are recovery groups specifically for chefs and servers? We talk about that too. Then our dear friend Alea James drops into the pod den as our first official back of house guest but she gets a pass because she did wait tables at an internet cafe before going to culinary school and becoming an uber talented pastry chef.

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We can't believe we are well over twenty episodes strong with more on the way and great guests coming up! Let's celebrate the past ten or so episodes with off the wall, mostly off topic moments with a side of service industry! Reappearing in this episode is Eliot Glazer, Jackie Zebrowski, Jordan Carlos and Jen Kirkman. Here's a tip: If you enjoy Side Work, please subscribe, smash that 5-star icon and write a little review!

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Today we explore the comforting existence of American diners. We discuss the origins of a "diner car" morphing into the long, compact establishments we love to stumble into after a night out and why diner waitresses are cut from a different cloth. Diners remain a meeting place for people of all stripes and are refreshingly unlike modern restaurants and dammit they intend to keep it that way. Then, Brooke's dad, a retired police officer calls in to fondly remember midnight shifts spent at The Nugget drinking free coffee and being treated to off-menu items while keeping the local riffraff in line.

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When you send back food do the waiter and chef both spit on it? Is it safe to go out for seafood on Mondays? Do all servers hate all customers? We confirm, confess, and deny to the best of our knowledge! Lots of "ewwwww" this week with Eliot Glazer sitting in for Kyle, who once again briefly died. Then, potato chip connoisseur, former waiter and friend Mike Burns drops by to tell us how he learned to party like a gay man thanks to his restaurant job.

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Mother's Day is upon us and what do we say to the God of Death? "Not today". Servers, steel yourselves for the busiest day of the year when dysfunctional families descend upon you to feast, fight and celebrate mommy dearest. It's a doozy of a service day where statistically your restaurant is going to run out of at least fourteen items that you promised to customers, that customer being a mother pushed to the brink. The girls go for it and talk about the dark origins of this holiday, "Mom-mosas", and work out their own personal mommy issues.

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In today's episode we sound off about customers with dietary particulars from being vegan, to the dreaded over-modifier.  We break down the growing trend of people claiming "allergy" to get what they want and how it's very stressful for a kitchen and can cheapen the safety of people with actual deadly allergies. We decide that y'all are crazy and should maybe just stay home. Then, our favorite friend and comedian Giulia Rozzi drops by the podcast to recall her days as a server but mostly talks about all the restaurant workers she hooked up with on the Jersey Shore.

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Brunch: reviled and feared by servers and chefs alike, this meal for amateurs is only growing more unstoppable each year. The gals from Side Work break down why it's the worst shift and why you're worse off for eating it. If hearing "bottomless mimosas" is triggering, be warned as this episode contains graphic terms like "hollandaise", "bloody bar" and "Sunday funday".  We then welcome Eliot Glazer into the pod den to tell us about waiting tables at crab boils in Long Island and the carnage that ensued. As a special treat, we've also included the new single "Brunchin'" by Brooke Van Poppelen and Julian Velard off of their new comedy & music EP Comfort Zone that dropped today!

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In this episode we are a house divided: dinner theater lovers and ... dinner theater haters. We explore all the ways in which food is definitely the understudy and performance is the star, from 1950's diners and insult themed restaurants, to Medieval Times and the Magic Castle. We then talk with Josh Cheney about being a server/ performer at now defunct back talk restaurant Ed Debevic's -where you paid for a side of "shove it" with your french fries.

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