Book Review: Service Included

Service Included: Four-Star Secrets of an Eavesdropping Waiter by Phoebe Damrosch

This is the book that piqued my interest in Thomas Keller's restaurants. Of course, I was already awed by the supremacy of the restaurant group, but this book provided something I hadn't seen before: an inside look at Per Se, one of Keller's restaurants.

Phoebe Damrosch is a writer struggling to make it in New York City--a cliche that she takes head-on instead of skirting the fact that every waitress in New York City is a starving artist. She argues that "I wasn't working in restaurants to support my art like most of my co-workers; I was posing as an artist to justify my work as a waiter." Damrosch lands a job in Per Se, an incredible (if I haven't mentioned that already) restaurant run by Thomas Keller the great. 

Damrosch takes the reader all the way from basic training to being the captain of the table for the New York Times food critic. Along the way, she explains everything about Per Se--where the food comes from, how the menu is designed, the meaning of the decor, and anything else you needed, or didn't need, to know. She does this all with a conversational and light writing style.   

Half of the book floored me with its excellent imagery and description. I loved the glimpse that Service Included gave me into the world of Per Se. I was fascinated by the intricate detail of setting a table, and I enjoyed reading about all the practice that goes into being a waitress. Of course, the food descriptions were unfathomably great. I also enjoyed how Damrosch went outside of the restaurant in sections of the book--for example, the part where she and her co-workers go on a bone-marrow tasting excursion through New York City, or the time she and her flame visit a farm where many of Keller's ingredients come from. 

However, I was disappointed by the other half, which Damrosch solely dedicated to her affair with a sommelier. The affair fits in with the Damrosch's whole aura. She's a writer/waitress in the romantic New York City, and then, perfect! She is swept off her feet by a dashing sommelier. However, I don't need to hear about her insecurities about being the "other woman" (this is an affair, after all), how she goes through her beau's email, and how she argues with him about bulldogs vs. whatever dog she wants. And this is half the book! 

Overall, I would say the book was tolerable, pleasant at best. It's a lovely light read if you're looking for something food-related and are willing to wade through the sordid story of her relationship.