Service Included

Service Included
Author: Phoebe Damrosch 228 pp
My rating: 3*
Started September 20 2009, Finished September 22 2009.

This book, subtitled “Four-Star secrets of an Eavesdropping Waiter” is touted as the story of the author’s experiences working at Per Se, one of New York’s most highly regarded fine dining establishments, during its first two years of operation. I found the parts of the book in which Damrosch recounts the insider’s view of such a palace of privilege -- the culinary imagination, attention to detail and vast amount of effort required to be the best -- to be quite revealing; without having eaten there, I have a pretty good idea what a meal at Per Se would be like. However, despite the successfully execution of its stated objective, the book was much less than it could have been since so much of it was devoted to the ostensible filler of the author’s life outside of the restaurant . It feels as though the author and her editor realized they did not have a book length of primary material available so rather than do more research they decided to pad the work by letting us get to know the author; the sections in which the author pointlessly describes a café where she spends many of her off hours seem intended solely to build page count while the various chic-litty sections detailing the author’s love live are intrusive enough to be annoying but not probing enough to be interesting -- I started and finished this book much more interested in the restaurant than the author.
  The shame of it is that Damrosch is fairly engaging writer from whom this reader at least would have been happy to learn much more about the restaurant itself e.g. I would have been quite interested in more detailed descriptions of the many other jobs performed at Per Se and the inside perspective of those who perform them. As one who routinely bemoans the indifferent food preparation and service of the eating establishments I tend to patronize, I was fascinated by the near fanatical preparation (including weeks of training for the entire staff before the opening), solicitousness and attention to detail of the Per Staff. A fair amount of get-a-life entertainment was provided by the entire organization’s preoccupation with identifying the New York Times’ undercover restaurant reviewer and ensuring that his experiences at Per Se (he visited six times while forming his four star review which by itself seemed to ensure Per Se’s success) were even more perfect than those of all other patrons. Ultimately the book left me quite impressed by the level of professionalism and pride demonstrated by the Per Se staff ; I was encouraged to learn that Americans still excel at something.

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“She’s fabulous,” she would tell her guests with a grand gesture toward me, as if recommending a house specialty. The guests looked at me skeptically, waiting for me to be fabulous. (181)

Not liking to discuss my writing with strangers, I had been privately auditioning possible conversation stoppers … “Actually, I’m writing a biography … About a man in Alaska who makes foie gras from penguins.” (207)