KITCHEN CONFIDENTIAL Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly

drugs. APOCALYPSE NOW THEY WERE ASSEMBLING MACHINE-GUNS for sale in the employee bathroom when I arriv ...

Sammy, "Do you know any more like you?" and Sammy had said, "Sure!" which is how I (and eventually Dimitr ...

there were simply two different kitchen doors leading to two different dining rooms. The chef, a mincing, fr ...

flashing the lights for last call at twelve-thirty. The permanent residents speak of New York and DC with ...

It was make-work, and I knew it. The Shadow called to let me know that he wanted me to create a brunch men ...

Gino's New York, unlike its little brother in Baltimore, was still busy— crazy busy—and in every way, an ou ...

cooking up freebase in a bathroom, it was a good thing. Expediting was done by whoever happened to be ...

couldn't have told them, if asked, what shade his eyes were, or anything else. With six different ...

of canning people, thus saving my master money. Every day I'd wake up, lounge around in bed for a while, come ...

I slept for three weeks. When I woke up, I was determined never again to be a chef. I'd cook. I had ...

manger man that if he didn't hurry up with an order I'd tear his eyes out and skull-fuck him, which ...

earnest efforts to help at every turn, enduring much nonsense from their visibly deranged partner. It w ...

around and chase girls. So my day-to-day was spent mostly with some genial gentlemen from an Italian Fratern ...

The Chicken Guy was not impressed. He spat on the floor, looked my boss in the eye and said, "Fuck you, assho ...

consecutive double shift—he was a goddamn Sistine Chapel of skin art. And where am I going to find a con ...

old man and his dreams of a poultry empire for his son? I can only guess. I worked at a Mexican restaurant o ...

Con Ed workers—something about the uniforms, I guess. And whenever they were doing electrical work or rep ...

I saw myself becoming like him, and I didn't like it. Okay, I wasn't cadging drinks for a living, liste ...

trash, not wanting my neighbors to see how far I'd fallen, how utterly paralyzed I'd become by my years of excess. ...

I don't care if you're turning the joint into Lutèce—it's too horrible NOW." A couple of '70s survivors w ...