Side Work Podcast

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...

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...

Today we talk kids: the "good", the bad, and the very bad scenarios servers find themselves in waiting on children. We throw it back and talk about our experiences going out to eat as wee little rug rats then move into present day where it seems entitled little tots and clueless parents are the name of the game. It's a tough topic so we've got advice for servers and parents on how to make it a tol...

Our history of women in the service industry continues as we explore the beautiful world of gender and race discrimination within the job. In short: it was a woman's job, then it wasn't, then it was again while men were at war, then men came back and kicked us out of the job, then it was our job again after some legislation passed, but then we were pushed out of fine dining and potential to earn g...

We are back with some more hungover history of women and their role in the service industry in America. Kyle's ghost makes some appearances throughout the episode and we talk about The Harvey Girls who are pivotal to women becoming self-sufficient wage earners in the West! Then our girl Renee Gauthier, a floor captain, top server, team manager and BOSS BITCH when it came to waiting tables and bart...

We decided it was time to look into the origins of American women in the service industry and discovered that for nearly 150 years not only was it illegal for a woman to work in a restaurant or bar, we weren't even allowed to be in one. V COOL. We dive into the always brilliant laws men create to keep a lady down, but don't worry we are the queens of subversion! Our hungover research will stretch...

We explore the world of unsung food service heroes - counter workers! Brooke, Andrea & Kyle recall definitely being exploited as teenagers at an array of bagel, ice cream, and coffee counters for about $5 an hour. The trend of waiter-less restaurants taking over Los Angeles is debated - especially how you tip at some of these places. But really, in this episode we step aside to let comedian an...

Side Work podcast has officially made it past 10 episodes which is something to celebrate! This week we are comping you some extra content featuring interview moments that didn't make it into episodes, an update on one of our guests, and additional discussions from your servers. Thanks again to Matt Braunger, Brandy Barber, Jason Woolfolk and Aaron Sine for the bottomless stories and opinions rega...

We talk about all the ways in which the service industry breaks you down physically and emotionally which makes sense because restaurants seem to be constructed of glass, knives, fire, sharp corners, slippery floors and dim lighting. We thoroughly discuss how effed up our feet are and will be for the remainder of our lives. Then our buddy Renee Felice Smith (of NCIS fame!!) drops by to discuss how...

We jump right in and discuss the mind blowing noise levels of modern restaurants that blast their speakers -- are we old or is this trend really annoying? We share another server submitted story which launches us into a tirade on aristocratic customers. Then we return to the topic of dating your co-waiters and how this always always always goes down in grease fire flames. Fabulous writer, director...

In this very special episode we discuss what Valentine's Day means to servers. Hint: It's not good. Whether you call it V-Day, The Valentine's Tip Massacre, Amateur Hour for Love.... it's a dreaded shift for a multitude of reasons and no amount of chocolate dipped strawberries and cheap champagne will make us change our attitude. Then Beth Stelling, aka Sweet Beth drops by and talks about a solid...

Today's Special: sleeping with your co-workers. It was time we speak of it and turns out this topic will be a mini-series. Then we put some funny #serverlife tweets on blast. Writer, comedian and former lunch server at Stir Fire Grill, John Roy stops by to talk about the chicken brain we all inhabit while waiting tables, and the oldest known ketchup on Navy Pier in Chicago. --- Support this podcas...

We share our first server submitted story! We then explore all the ways a server gets slammed, overwhelmed, and deep into the WEEDS. When you're subjected to the PTSD of being in the weeds over and over and over again that leads to.... server nightmares, AKA waitmares. Then our good buddy James Dunn drops in to talk about working every back of house position at a restaurant before being promoted t...

Restaurants are gross, people are gross and the two combined together make for some gross topics of conversation. We are here to ruin every day restaurant items you never gave a second thought to while dining out. Also - tips for servers not to be slovenly such as: WASH YOUR APRON. Then, our good friend, long time server, bartender and now GM of LA's most "Irish-ish"bar drags himself out of bed af...

The ladies launch into the "charade" of service from elegant table crumbing, to pepper grinding, to pretending you give a sh*t about someones birthday. We interview our sound engineer Brian Lucas who recalls a very distinct night when he kept his restaurant open 'til 6AM for Kiefer Sutherland. This story is EVERYTHING. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/side-work-podcast/support See Priva...

We jump back in talking about our frustration with customers: the life blood of the industry, the ones who are "always right", AKA the most soul-sucking people on earth. Then we speak with comedian Nick Turner who was a server at the TGI Friday's in Times Square NYC. Enough said. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/side-work-podcast/support See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy a...

In Episode 03 Pt. I (Already going into the world of two-parters??)We are dishing some dirt - edible dirt in this installment! The girls talk about the non-server, the plebe, THE CUSTOMER. What makes them good or bad, considered a regular, or a professional scam artist? We drop celebrity customers names like a tray of drinks! Then, after discussing nightmare restaurant owners in the last episode,...

In Episode 01, the girls dish about the awful dishes they served at their first restaurant jobs and, since it's the holidays, the Battle Royale that breaks out between servers when the Christmas and New Year's Eve schedule gets posted. Comedian Matt Braunger stops by to talk about eight years in the trenches. We learn about LA hipster waiters, "onion slivers", impromptu drum circles, and an illici...