I spent the time from 7:30 to around 11:00 tonight trying to find a topic for tonight’s post.

It was a quiet night. A mundane night. Nothing out of the ordinary. No one upset. Only one recook right at the end of the night. We cook steaks there’s always one or two a night.

I carry a piece of paper around with me. I take notes on things I see that need to be addressed with the staff. Stack your dishes neatly in the dish area. Use a tray for drinks. Remember to let the host know when your tables are reset. Don’t pull the candles off the table until everyone is gone.

I also take notes on the crazy things our guests do. If I don’t, I never remember to write about them.

I have a folder with these papers in them. Probably 60+ pages. With organized notes. With scribbles.

Some don’t even make sense anymore.

Tonight’s paper had three notes on it. All about servers. Nothing about guests.

And I was contemplating this, when a server walks up to give me his check out. This server, we’ll call him Bob, because that’s his name, was the last to leave. His 6 top had the full experience. Apps, entrees, drinks, wine, and the subject of my post tonight: after dinner coffee and tea.

Specifically tea.

In the history of restaurants, both past and present, no one, and I mean no one has invented a way to execute hot tea in a streamlined, easy manner.

And I do mean no one!

Tonight’s 6 top ordered 3 hot teas.

One hot tea takes forever. 3 is an eternity.

So here is what happens when you say you want a hot tea.

First you have to get them to select a flavor, which often means bringing over the tea box.

And in the history of the world the restaurant never has the flavor they want.

Then the server has to find a tea pot.

No restaurant in the history of restaurants has enough. There is always a struggle to find them.

If you find a tea pot, you can’t find a lid, you can’t find a creamer, there aren’t lemons cut, there are no spoons.

Next they’ll only drink the tea if you have Splenda but all you have is sweet n low and equal.

Before you protest, that this is a supply issue, I promise it’s not. I could bring in 12 cases of tea pots tomorrow and when table 36 orders tea tomorrow there will be 2 pots, no lids, only earl grey, not 1 spoon, and no trays to be found anywhere.

At my last restaurant we used loose leaf tea. But the tape always came off the container so no one ever knew what flavor was what.

Two restaurants ago we used fancy China tea pots, but the heat from the dishwasher would crack them.

Another restaurant had a million pots but absolutely no lids.

Even when I did corporate restaurants with super casual service there were never any of the silver hot water pots.

If you ask a server what the worst thing someone can order is they are going to say hot tea.

Seriously folks ask your server friends.

My server friends on here please confirm what I’m saying.

HOT TEA IS THE FUCKING WORST.

That is all.

PS. I’m thankful for mundane days, but I know that if they were all mundane you wouldn’t be reading this.