Maybe you’ve seen that little blue house just off Cold Spring Road — the one with the long driveway and the pond nestled to the left. Perhaps, if you passed it in the fall, you might have seen the water reflecting the season’s colors, wrapping the property in its arms and screaming Gilmore Girls and small-town charm.

The sign on the road reads “Mezze Bistro + Bar.” It’s a contemporary, cozy restaurant with a prix fixe menu. The place that’s always accompanied by an “Ooh, lucky you,” if you tell a friend that you have a reservation. 

I joined the Mezze staff as a backwaiter at the beginning of this semester. Within this unassuming blue house, servers and backwaiters like me carefully coordinate each meal, hoping to create a pleasant evening for everyone who dines with us. 

Here’s an inside look at my shift last Thursday:

3:50 p.m. I finish my last class of the day — “Experimentation and Statistics.” I hurry from Wachenheim to the Health Center parking lot and start my car. 

3:58 p.m. I walk through the restaurant’s entrance and say “hi” to the manager, Maddy. I ask Maddy if there are any “builds” tonight — gatherings of more than four people, where we have to push tables together, add chairs, or get more plates. 

4:01 p.m. I clock in.

4:02 p.m. My pre-shift work begins. I turn on the bread warming drawers. I pour olive oil into dipping dishes and finish them with a sprinkle of flaky sea salt. I turn on the bread oven, fill the cabinets with fresh linens, and check the bar to see if it needs ice. Someone’s already filled it for me. How kind! I fill up the water pitchers and chat with tonight’s servers — in between tasks, of course. I build tables for a party of six, eight, and seven. 

4:30 p.m. The staff gathers at the bar for our daily meeting. Maddy goes over tonight’s wine and cocktail changes, and Kevin, the head chef, goes over the menu. I make a mental note to try the orecchiette primavera — I’m enticed by its pistachio pesto. He walks us through allergens, ingredient sources, and flavor profiles. Maddy chimes in with wine recommendations for each main dish. 

4:46 p.m. I leave to put some bread loaves in the oven. It’s a Thursday night, so it won’t be too busy. I throw in two loaves. Phil, a member of the kitchen staff, calls from across the room, “Hey, Audrey, how’s it going?” as I set a 15-minute timer on my watch for the bread. 

5:00 p.m. Service begins. No reserved tables until 5:45 p.m., meaning more time for us to prep. 

5:02 p.m. I remove the bread from the oven and slice it into one-inch pieces before transferring it to the warming drawer.  

5:39 p.m. I clean glasses and utensils. Before any glassware or silverware makes it to the dining floor, it must be polished by a team member to ensure quality and elegant presentation.  

5:52 p.m. Phil teaches me how to fold tortellini.

5:53 p.m. Phil refolds my tortellini.

6:00 p.m. The first large party of the night comes in. I fill their glasses and grab a slip of paper with the WiFi password on it for one of the guests.

6:27 p.m. Courtney, a server shadowing bartender Mandy tonight, assists me in bringing pots of oil to the table of seven. I follow up with our freshly baked bread. 

6:42 p.m. I bring bread and olive oil to a party of two, and ask if they would like anything else — perhaps some butter?

6:43 p.m. I bring them butter. (They said yes.)

7:01 p.m. After sweeping the dining hall to fill empty glasses and provide refills on bread, I put another loaf in the oven. 

7:21 p.m. Bread is ready! I slice it and reorganize the warming drawer to accommodate the freshly-baked loaf. I tell Courtney about the article I’m writing. She said she’s excited! 

7:24 p.m. Mandy and I polish wine glasses and talk about the recent White Lotus episode. 

7:48 p.m. I clear the first table, change the linen tablecloth, and reset the table with glasses, utensils, napkins, and bread plates. 

8:07 p.m. The final reservations sit down. I pour water, bring bread, and check on other tables for any needed refills. 

8:28 p.m. Maddy and I lament about the season finale of Severance, and I put in my dinner order: steak frites. I feel like I deserve it.

8:43 p.m. My dinner is ready! After checking the dining hall for anything to tend to, I eat my delicious dinner. 

8:52 p.m. More silverware is ready for polishing. My co-workers give me a hand. Courtney offers a bite of her dinner, countneck clams. 

9:50 p.m. The dining room is empty. I clear tables, change linens, and reset tables. I toss the remaining bread into our pig food bin — it won’t go to waste! 

9:52 p.m. I beg Phil and Kevin for a picture. Phil is holding a large bunch of kale. “Do you want to hold the kale in the picture?” I ask. “Nobody wants to hold the kale, Audrey,” he jokes. 

9:56 p.m. Maddy tells me that I’m good to go — “It’s a school night.” I put my apron away, thank the staff, and walk to my car. 

9:57 p.m. I clock out.

10:18 p.m. I get home and check my watch. 15 thousand steps today. Not bad.