Not all NYC kitchens are created equal

Since I moved to New York- seven, or so, years ago- I have observed the ins and outs of about a dozen restaurants by either working or "stageing" there. I have seen just about everything.

One of the first places I worked was closed on weekends and every Monday morning the staff had to sweep up any rats left dead from extermination. Occasionally we missed one. Unbeknownst to the guest, a napkin was draped over the animal until the guests paid and left. Just about any God-awful horrid restaurant thing you can think of occurred in this place: rats and roaches and expired milk. It was also where I learned the secret to their(and many other dingy places') success: marrying liquor. Customers loved the place because the drinks were always "strong." They didn't realize that at the end of every night, bartenders were instructed to pour Alexis Vodka into the Grey Goose bottles. And yep, you were charged double the price for the same crappy vodka. Despicable.

Fortunately that place was an anomaly and has since been shut down. I will tell you that just about every place bends health department rules and every place goes into a frenzy when a health inspector walks through the door. Common practices include skipping glove-wearing to speed up service, using the same cutting board for everything, and eating/drinking on the station.

My latest job is the strictest in terms of everything, really. After stageing at four different places, I finally settled with this one in corporate fine dining. There is no laid-backness, a selling point at all the other gigs. Just discipline and consistency. I suppose if I was far along enough in my career, I would appreciate a place that was a little laid-back where I knew what to do without any guidance. But, I'm still new to the game and after working in a place where we were not allowed to pee or eat, a little strict discipline doesn't frighten me.

In corporate dining, there is no shortage in the budget for fresh ingredients. If anything looks even a little questionable, it's thrown out, and gloves abound! Gloves for everything. With a small kitchen staff of carefully picked individuals, the kitchen is mostly quiet, with everyone focused on tasks at hand, and the occasional rant from the peeved chef: "Those onions need to be cut evenly, otherwise they won't cook properly!" "What do you mean you have no more cilantro?! We are not running a business out of the grocery store- if you need something, it has to be ordered ahead of time- how many times do I have to tell you that?"

Maybe in six months I will hate my job, but for right now all the order is kind of refreshing.