The Angry Waiter

Los Angeles actor Dominic Pace submitted his 2004 film short, The Server, to The Angry Waiter recently for your viewing pleasure.

It’s the story of a super-hero, The Server, and his busboy sidekick who track down poor tipping, overly-demanding customers.

Just so everyone knows, I’m trying to stay away from the “Customers Suck” theme of so many service industry websites and blogs out there. I’m also a little uncomfortable with some of the stereotypes portrayed in this video.

Dominic, who wrote and directed The Server, has a fairly extensive IMDb profile and The Angry Waiter is always happy to promote the work of people in the industry, so I’m going to assume Dominick was poking fun at those stereotypes and not promoting them.

[youtube width="425" height="355"]http://youtube.com/watch?v=o9eRPzNRHMc[/youtube]

Fans of art, music, photography and performance packed Plan B (1635 N. Milwaukee) Wednesday night for the first B-Side Art Show - a multi-medium show featuring bands, an original one act play, video art and an Amy Winehouse impersonator so dead -on I feared she’d be hauled away to the nearest rehab center before the show was over.

Two bartenders and a dj-turned-photographer were the real hit of the show, though.

Plan B’s own Jamie Reda (pictured), one of the event’s organizers, offered up probably the hottest exhibit of the evening, drawings of human nudes. But, these aren’t your run-of-the-mill nudes - rather than human heads, Jamie draws cartoon rabbit faces and heads on her figures.

Her work combines the beauty of the adult human form with the playfulness and unexpectedness of childhood. If you’re interested in seeing more of Jamie’s work, you can call her at 773-541-1310, but don’t expect her to answer…just leave a message.

Rodney Toler, a professional photographer who took the night off from his part-time bartending gig at T’s Bar and Restaurant (5025 N. Clark), showed six of his pieces - 20 inch by 20 inch photos shot with a 35mm camera, transfered to poloraids and then manipulated giving the photos a somewhat surrealistic feel. Viewers asked him all evening if they wear photos or paintings.

My favorite was a picture of Chicago’s skyline reflected off The Bean sculpture in Millenium Park and then manipulated so the buildings looked as if they were being blown sideways by the wind.

Ben Zeab, a dj and a photographer who chronicles Chicago’s nightlife scene, obviously has a talent for capturing the essence of his subjects. His portraits were hard to miss and few did. Maybe it’s all his years in the club scene - Ben obviously knows how to spot a pretty face and he knows how to shoot one too.

Let’s hope this is just the beginning for B-Side. The crowd has a good time, the entertainment was a blast and, as far as The Angry Waiter is concerned, it was great way for at least three people in the service industry to get some exporsure.

Word is Uncommon Ground (1401 W. Devon) in Edgewater is planning to host an Industry Performance Night on Mondays starting in June.

I don’t have all the details, but as I understand it, the idea is to provide a space for service industry people to come out and play their music.  Since so many restaurant, bar and coffee house people work nights, they miss out on a lot of opportunities to play.  This is Uncommon Ground’s answer to that problem.

This is exactly the type of event The Angry Waiter can get behind.  So, start practicing your guitar licks, warm up those voices and get ready to show your fellow bartenders, servers and baristas what you’ve got.

And, for those of you not in the service industry…don’t worry, you’re invited to come and play too.

As I said, I’ll provide more details as they become available.  Oh, and the picture here is of the original Uncommon Ground (3800 N. Clark St.) sorry for the confusion.

Last week, while hanging out in Chicago’s Lincoln Square neighborhood, I watched as an Orkin Commercial Services representative parked his truck and went inside a local business.

As I approached his truck, I saw what looked like a pro-life bumper sticker.  Sure enough, it was.

I don’t mean to make light of an important issue, but the idea of a guy who kills bugs and rodents for a living riding around town with a right-to-life bumper sticker on the back of his work vehicle struck me as more than a little ironic.

Yes, I have a sick mind…My first thought was, “I wonder how the mommy cockroaches and mommy mice feel about this guy?”

To be fair, I called Orkin’s media representative and he says Orkin takes no stance on abortion.  Also, he says the truck is a company owned truck, not a private vehicle, and that Orkin’s policy does not allow drivers to place their own bumper stickers on company trucks.

The bumper sticker includes a web address for VictoryWon.com.  From what I can tell, VictoryWon seems to specialize in selling all sorts of pro-life merchandise including models of fetuses in various stages of development, t-shirts and my favorite, abortion-related Christmas ornaments.

Obviously, this guy’s no Buddhist.

Looking for something fun and cheap to do tonight?

Get yourself over to Plan B, 1635 N. Milwaukee, for the B-Side Art Show.

The show features the art and photography of seven artists, including a few who work in the bar business.  There’ll also be dj’s and performances.

The show runs from 7pm to 2am,  it’s free, there’s no cover and on Wednesday’s Plan B offers half-priced bottles of wine and appetizers, $3 bud light drafts and $5 burgers.

Support your fellow service industry workers!

Eight days. That’s how long I’ve debated over what to write about the newest bar in Rogers Park, The Glenwood Bar (6962 N. Glenwood). And, as of today, that’s how long it’s been since the place opened.

My job here at The Angry Waiter is to write about the restaurant, bar and coffee house scene, especially the scene here in Chicago, from an insider’s perspective. I tap my sources in the industry - bartenders, servers, baristas, managers, owners - for information only they would know. When I tell those stories, I do it with a certain amount of professional distance.

That’s not possible with The Glenwood Bar.

My dilemma is that I’ve known the owner, Colm Treacy, for more than five years. He also owns T’s Bar and Restaurant (5025 N. Clark St.) and Sofo Bar (4923 N. Clark St.). (more…)

Just kidding.

Sandie Andersen, a Starbucks barista in Tacoma, Washington did indeed donate a kidney to a customer recently - the comment about the extra dollar is just a little joke.

Andersen, who also helped with the Katrina clean-up, served customer AnnaMarie Ausnes regularly for three years. The two women often made small talk while Ausnes counted out change to pay her daily $1.52 tab, but their friendship never really grew beyond that. Then, not too long ago, Andersen’s customer confessed she need a kidney transplant and no one in her family was a match.

Andersen got herself tested, found out she was a match and offered Ausnes her left kidney.

Now, the guys at my Starbucks are great. They toss me a free cup of coffee now-and-again, maybe a free cookie here-and-there. But a kidney? I doubt it. Plus, I have the feeling these guys hit the bars a little too often for me to want one of their kidneys.

I’ve bought drinks for regular customers hundreds, maybe thousands, of times over the years. I’ve given them money for cabs, I’ve even walked them home and poured them onto their couch, but I doubt very much I could bring myself to give up a body part for one of them.

Normally, I’d say this story is a bit too “feel good” for The Angry Waiter. However, the woman gave up a kidney…she deserves to be recognized. So, here’s to you Sandie Andersen. What kind of a pin does Starbucks give out for that?

[youtube width="425" height="355"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=30KKV1YHsbA[/youtube]