Gratuitous Advice, Rants, and Revelations

With the advent of the Internet and the blogosphere there has been a surge in sites that allow waitstaff to vent and whine at will, while they provide the reader valuable insight into the inner workings of restaurants in general. A number of excellent sites are available for lurkers, and the ones that are specifically waiter-centric can be particularly entertaining.

BitterWaitress.com

This site's motto is "Revenge is best served in a black leather Amex folder." Often-hilarious rants against bad customers, lousy celebrity tippers, malevolent management, and more. Highly recommended, especially its accompanying forum "Would You Like Fries With That?" (http://p066.ezboard.com/bwouldyoulikefrieswiththat).

ShamelessRestaurants.com

This site is the voice of struggling bar and restaurant workers, especially stinging toward the weasellike and snarky tactics of bad restaurant employers. Great links, especially the restaurant worker's glossary.

WaiterRant.net

Their motto: "Do you want pommes frites with that?" Rib-splitting tales from the restaurant table front lines.

DinerSoft.com

A full-service site for restaurant workers, lurkers, and the curious. Be sure to check out "Fine Whines" and "Restaurant Lingo."

WaitersWorld.com

Dedicated to making waiting a respectable profession; a truly impressive list of entertaining links.

And ...

If you've never visited ChowHound.com or eGullet.org, they are both of the highest-caliber food and restaurant writing, illuminating the inner workings of restaurants and very worthy of your time. Lastly, if you still haven't read Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly by Anthony Bourdain (Harper Perennial, $14.95), we can only wonder why not. It reveals the restaurant world with remarkable clarity.