Steve - a tribute to a great man
This post is dedicated to Steve. He's the waiter that I have known for 7 years, or so. He works at my favorite restaurant inside the Mall of America.
My friends and I always eat at the same place and we always ask for him. His level of service is par excellance. But on top of that over the years we have become friends as well.
Steve is a huge Star Trek fan. He and I love to geek out and chat Trek. He also loves to tell me about his garden, his family, and his dessert baking. He always wants to see the latest pictures of our families (including my puppies).
It took him several years but after a while he felt comfortable enough around us to let us know he was gay. He doesn't date. Doesn't want to date. But after he told us that so much more of his personality and of himself seemed to come out during our visits.
Steve had to have a triple by-pass not too long ago so he was absent from the restaurant for a while. It just wasn't the same. We still ate there but it was as if the place was missing it's soul. It was no longer our place, it was just a restaurant.
I might have mentioned it but a few months back I was at the mall walking around and he was working. I stopped to say hello and give him a hug. He dragged me to the back and shared with me some of the cookies and bars he had made. They were delicious and I was touched that he would do that. His friendship and camaraderie are real. It’s not just because I am a tipping customer.
Last night for work we went there for dinner. Steve was our waiter. As always the service was excellent. Some of our guests didn’t take the dessert they offered. So I asked Steve to grab me one of the pieces so I could take it home to the hubster. He grabbed me all the pieces that didn’t get eaten. It was a lot of dessert and the hubster was thrilled when I brought it home.
The gentleman that helped Steve with our table was also a very sweet man. He packed up all of the leftovers for me. Adding sauce to one dish because he thought it was a little “Dry”.
Overall this has always been an exceptional restaurant. But with Steve it’s the best on earth. I enjoyed last night immensely because his kindness and his professionalism just glows.
I am always amazed at the places and situations in which we find our friends. And anyone that dismisses people due to their chosen profession misses out on many amazing people.
I have always lived with the philosophy that you can tell a lot about a persons character by they way they do two things:
Treat animals
And treat service professionals
If you ever come to Minnesota I’ll be sure to take you to dinner with Steve. I know you’ll love him as much as I do.
6 comments:
There is a waitress at the local Western Sizzlin here that is down right famous for her personality and service. Everybody in town knows her and loves her. She has been offered jobs by owner of fancy restaurant from all over. California, Texas, Florida, you name it they've made offeres. She could make lots and lots in those places, but she just stays right here. She turned down management positions too because it's not what she wanted. So the owner created a "lead waitress" or something like that position for her.
I totally agree. Those two things tell you more about someone than almost anythign else.
That being said, I've been known to follow waiters and waitresses when they move to a different restaurant, even if it's to a cuisine that I've never tried. I figure if they think its worth working there, it's probably worth trying.
That is awesome. Good service is so hard to find nowadays, and frienship through service even more rare I'd assume. Everyone is so busy being busy that we rarely connect with one another. That's why the ratio of friends each person has keeps dropping. Sometimes when I'm in B&N or out getting coffee I think, "What if I just struck up a conversation with a stranger? Could I make friends?" But it seems so unacceptable now. Which is probably why I have none, save for you and a few internet ones.
I'll keep hoping I meet another "Steve" in Florida. It would renew my faith in people and service for sure. :)
I loved that you said that when Steve wasn't there it was just a restaurant. That's so telling and so true. There's really only one place that we like to go where we know the servers and they know us. Otherwise, eating out is just a place we go to eat. I think that's why we're such a fast-food society.
If I'm out that way, I'm definitely eating there, after we go to the bookstores and see your puppies.
He sounds like a very nice person, in addition to being a great waiter. And I agree, we DO find friends in the most unexpected places. Those are usually the best.
Jay - When you love your job and where you are sometimes all the money in the world isn't worth switching to the "unknown" I don't blame her.
Mike: I'd follow steve to a fish place - ok, so I wouldn't eat when I was there, but I'd go for drink and maybe dessert.
Tink - a friend of mine and I were saying that it seems to get harder and harder to have freindships that aren't more work than they are worth.
Kell, just say "when" - we have a nice comfy spare room and everything.
Trish - who would of thought blogging would create some great friendships?
Scott - the place is called Tucci Benucch, it's country italian. I believe that there is also one in Chicago - but that one doesn't have Steve.
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