During one summer off while in college, I worked as a waiter in a tacky chain Mexican restaurant. And for the first two weeks, I was terrible at it. Just awful. Triage was impossible for me. I wouldn’t have lasted half-a-shift at the restaurant in this book. My manager was very encouraging but one of my co-workers just had it in for me. She berated me, belittled me, basically made my life hell because I was a lousy waiter.
I eventually got better and by the end of summer was really good. I had learned the tips of the trade and had gotten into a good rhythm. And unsurprisingly, the mean colleague was suddenly nice to me, wanting to have long conversations with me, encouraging me as I ruminated about college.
I don’t care for that person and was relieved to ditch them as a Facebook friend a long time ago but I think about them often because there is a special creature who just loves and embraces food service in all its chaos and ugliness. Because make no mistake, it is chaotic and ugly.
Sweetbitter was the book of the summer back in 2016. I didn’t read it then, and just bought it on a whim the other day because stories of people trying to make it in New York City are 100% my thing. And I loved it, not just for its accurate and damning portrayal of restaurant culture but also how New York City sucks the life out of you, where you have to keep hustling just to avoid splitting a cold water flat in a neighborhood not yet fully gentrified.
The romance angle was whatever but again, I appreciate how it played out. Tess could talk about being a lifer at the restaurant all she wanted but underneath, a desire for normalcy would creep in. And thus, her weird relationship with Jake and Simone made sense. They’re full blown creatures of this world. She is not. Take it from someone who just wasted a hot summer doing the job, Tess: get out while you can.
I know the expectations for this were through the roof; I do remember its ubiquity eight years ago. I came in with very few and was pleasantly surprised. This book is a good book because it understands a certain culture and centers that at the behest of other things. Your mileage may vary as to if that makes it readable.