Pears

My favorite thing about working in restaurants is the camaraderie among colleagues built upon the unending hours spent together. You quickly see someone’s mettle tested by the daily stress, but it is the far-ranging and often banal conversations in the calmer times that deepen relationships.

My favorite example of this is the “either or” game. This game is played by simply asking someone if they prefer either A or B—either carrots or parsnips, either shrimp or scallops, either iceberg or romaine. As I write this I can’t believe that we would spend hours asking each other these silly questions, but, alas, there were hours to be had and only so many topics to be covered. Plus, it does tell you a remarkable amount about a person if they choose potatoes over rice.