First day of work

 Jen here -

(I wrote this on my first day of work)

Today I started at the Swiss Grill and Café, a small, upscale restaurant on the waterfront that during in its busiest time seats about 115 people (right now it only seats about 30 people at a time). It serves Swiss food….. well, it serves Weiner Schnitzel, an entrée (appetizer) called, “Alpine Ziovioi”, and a main (entrée) called, “The Swiss Twist.” The rest of the menu really isn’t Swiss at all, unless the falafel in the “Arabian Nights Salad” is secretly imported from Zurich.

Regardless of the lack of complete Swiss authenticity, it really is a quaint and charming little place. Tables are snug and close together. Red candles light every table as the evening darkens. The smell of red wine fills the air and the presentation on every item that comes out of the kitchen is “just so”. 

Mmmmmm. Quite nice.  And there are only three other people who work there; Kelly, the Kiwi owner; Paini, the Maori chef; and Nami, the part-time German waitress. 

But as the Kiwis would say, “One problem, mate!”

I know NOTHING about wine.

I could tell you that a Riesling is white, a merlot is red, and a Chardonnay is technically a white but is actually this weird pink color.  Strange.

But that’s probably about it.

Today a customer asked about the body of the wine she were about to order and I thought to myself, "Body?! WHAAAAT?!.......Like, a tall body? A short body? A skinny body?!  And old, fat, balding body?! WHAT are you talking about?!" 

AHHHHHHHHHHHHH……..I would rather just have a beer.

So hopefully, over the next few months, Liz and I will learn to “truly appreciate wine.”

Hopefully.

Hopefully.

On a better note – the owner, Kelly, is WONDERFUL. So nice. So, so nice. She’s really patient and kind, but wants things done correctly and the right way. And Paini, the chef, is always sneaking me food on the side.  It’s great, although at this rate, I’m going to be about 300 pounds by Christmas time.