Today I'm gonna share some more memories from my years as a server. These stories are in no particular order, and all have stuck in my memory for reason or another!

1) Who needs plates, anyway?- One restaurant where I worked served dinner from platters. We would bring one large platter with one clean dinner plate for each person at the table. The platter would contain the entree and potato side choices for everyone at the table. We would set the plates down on the edge of the table and transfer each person's entree and potato onto a plate using tongs, and then place plate in front of each customer, removing the platter and tongs once everyone was served. On one occasion, my depth perception was off, and I didn't push the plates far enough onto the table. I lifted the platter and down went the plates, crashing onto the floor and smashing into little pieces. Quite embarrassed, I was happy to at least have saved the food!

2) She Didn't Save The Food- I was on my way to the kitchen to pick up some food when a coworker passed me with a large oval tray of plated meals. As I neared the kitchen door, I heard a shreik, turned around and witnessed a plethora of food and china converge into a pile of ugliness on the floor. Our staff got the mess cleaned up, the kitchen remade the food, but unfortunately the timing of everyone else's meals in the restaurant was affected.

3) Mystery Pasta (You Might Wanna Check Your Plate Before Diving In)- After serving a table of two, I walked into the kitchen to get my next order to serve. My coworker who had picked up one of her table's food when I picked up the one I had just served was also back to pick up the order for another table of hers. We looked at the pastas we were about to serve and almost simultaneously, both of us realized that we had grabbed the wrong pasta for the previous table. I served her customer's Linguini with Shrimp to my customer, who had ordered Fettucini with Chicken. Guess what her customer who ordered the pasta with shrimp got? Right, the pasta with chicken. The sauces were identical, and I guess we both hastily grabbed the wrong dish. After serving the entrees we were picking up in the kitchen, we both checked in on the tables we had served the wrong pastas to. The customer at both tables must have been very hungry, because they were almost done and commented on how delicious their pasta was! I guess they both liked shrimp and chicken equally. Oops! My coworker and I didn't feel that it was necessary to spoil the pleasant dining experience for these customers, so we didn't leak out to them the minor mistake we had made.

4) Happy Mother's Day? - Our restaurant was open from 1 to 9 on a Mother's Day, and I worked the closing shift, coming in at 5. Boy how I wish I had stayed home that night! By the time I had arrived our kitchen had run out of sauces for the entrees. All of our sauces took hours to prepare, and apparently someone grossly underestimated the quantities needed to serve our customers that day. Our customers waited for hours, all of their checks were picked up by the manger and it was a miserable experience for all. One man, who was dining with his mother and his teenage son, asked me a question after already waiting for two hours for their meal. He sarcastically asked, "Sir, do you think that our food will be ready before he has to leave for school in the morning?" I sincerely responded, "Sir, to be honest with you, I can't make that promise!"

Oh yes- fond memories of restaurant days! For the most part, things ran smoother than this and we were properly staffed with proper amounts of restaurant equipment and supplies. Make sure you have enough products on hand- visit Superior Products where you can shop and save!

Superior Products Restaurant Equipment and Supplies offers a variety of restaurant supply linen and table covers for your dining room and patio seating. We carry Marko by Carlisle vinyl tablecloths in their Classic, Fashion and Designer Series lines. Many different colors are offered in each of the lines, and we stock some of the more popular colors in our restaurant supply warehouses.




In addition to vinyl tablecloths, Superior carries cloth napkins and tablecloths from both Marko and Snap Drape. Our linens are made from materials such as polyester and cotton/polyester blends, and come in a variety of colors. Vinyl table padding is also available for extra protection for your table tops.


Table skirting manufactured by Marko and Snap Drape are also offered by Superior Products. Skirting clips are available in velcro and snap-on styles. We also carry specialized covers, such as trash can covers and beverage dispenser covers, and offer such accessories as mobile skirt caddies.






To accentuate your restaurant table top setting, choose from a variety of candle, lamps and fixtures. Our large selection of china and glassware will help you choose the perfect restaurant dinner plates and restaurant glasses to complete your table top setting.   

Superior Products has been a leader in the foodservice supplies industry for over 75 years. With the majority of our products in stock and ready to ship, you will generally receive your order within 3 to 5 business days.

Setting The Table For Restaurant SEO: Menus

May 24, 2010 at 9:51am ET by Chris Silver Smith
 

STUFFED POTATOES

• 6 Large Russet Potatoes
• 1  lb. bacon
• 1 cup grated mozzarella cheese
• 1 cup grated monterrey jack cheese
• 1 large red onion, chopped
• 1 stick butter
• 1-1/2 cups sour cream
• 1 tbsp minced garlic
• 1/2 tbsp Lowry's seasoning salt
• fresh ground black pepper to taste

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
• Cook potatoes for 45 minutes to an hour.
• Fry bacon in skillet until crisp and use paper towel to absorb grease from bacon.
• After bacon has cooled, chop into small pieces.
• Mix cheese together in large bowl and remove 1/4 cup and set aside.
• Mixed chopped bacon, onion, sour cream, garlic, seasoning and pepper in separate bowl. Set aside.
• After potatoes are finished baking, remove from oven, and cut each in half, lengthwise.
• With soup spoon, carefully scoop out potato into bowl with cheese, getting as close to skin as possible without tearing skins.
• Set up skins on baking pan and set oven at 325 degrees.
• Mix in butter and bacon/onion mixture into potato/cheese mixture. Mash potatoes and mix until ingredients are well blended. Mixture should be solid, but moist. Add extra butter or sour cream to moisten if necessary.
• Fill potato skins by scooping potato mixture into skins. Sprinkle remaining 1/4 cup of grated cheese on tops of filled potatoes.
• Heat in oven for 15 to 20 minutes, until cheese topping is golden brown.
• Remove from oven, place on serving platter, or plates, and serve
   

• Mixing Bowls
• Commercial Baking Sheet Pan
• Commercial Cheese Grater
• Potato Masher
• Restaurant Dinner Plates

Posted 03/23/2010 03:00 PM ET