Editor’s note: Dooley’s Beef-N-Brew House has closed.
Staff members know the offerings at their restaurants, but not just because they have the menu memorized. All shift long, a restaurant’s front of the house sees and smells your dining experience – from the soupe du jour to your last scraped bite of dessert. But what does a server order while he’s rolling silverware or counting his tips? Here, an inside look at what the staff craves.
“Sliced brisket sandwich with sweet corn spoon bread and creamy mac-n-cheese.”
– Melissa Forck, cashier, PM BBQ
“Duke Calzone or one of the specials. Every time they whip up something new, I have to try it.”
– Blake Exline, delivery driver, Sauce On The Side
“Duck confit. It’s a little lighter and doesn’t sit heavy on your stomach when you’re working a whole shift.”
– Mike Tevlin, server, The Shaved Duck
“Louie Wings. You can tell a lot about a bar by their wings.”
– Dylan Clark, bartender, Dooley’s Beef-N-Brew House
“Reuben on sourdough. I’m not a rye person, and the BLT is just too big.”
– Tammie Siebels, head waitress, Crown Candy Kitchen
“Cheese quesadilla. It’s finger food. Don’t have to worry about diving into a bathtub after eating it. Not too heavy, not too light – it stays with you.”
– Pierre Jeanty, kitchen manager, Nachomama’s
“Lomo Saltado and red sangria. I’m usually a beer and whiskey kind of guy, but the sangria’s really awesome. Red sangria. Always red.”
– Andrew Arato, server, Mango
“Carpaccio of beef tenderloin or Wellington of beef. I go back and forth.”
– Cliff Pittman, server/bartender, Herbie’s
“The tomato bisque with the Royal Grille – that’s where it’s at.”
– Killian Wood, server, The Fountain on Locust
“Exclusive Beef Shish Kebab. I’m pregnant, so I just eat all day long. They feed all of us at the end of our shifts, but I just eat all day.”
– Savannah Hofstetter, manager/server, Cafe Natasha’s
“Yellow curry or Phad See Eew. They’re like comfort food to me – the first dishes I ate when I started working.”
– Emily Montgomery, server, Pearl Café
“Cuban sandwich and a chocolate milk shake with Oreos. The mojo sauce and Gouda are such a good mix. It’s heaven.”
– Sharon Denich, manager/server, City Diner at The Fox
This article appears in Guide to Beer 2014.