Appreciation post: the line cook at that dive bar in Pittsburgh

I was at a cramped sports bar near the Strip District last spring and watched a guy on the flat top handle a 50-ticket rush without breaking a sweat, flipping burgers and talking trash to the server at the same time. Anybody else ever pick up a trick from watching someone in a totally different kitchen environment?

2 comments

2 Comments

calebrivera13d ago

Watched a short order cook at a diner do that same thing during a breakfast rush. Picked up how to keep your station clean while moving fast and it made my workflow way smoother.

susan_nguyen13d ago

This is exactly what I was hoping someone would get into. That diner cook you saw, what was the one stupid little thing he did that made the biggest difference for you? I ask because I watched a guy at a Pittsburgh dive bar who never used a side towel, just wiped his hands on his jeans and kept going. It was gross but it saved him like two seconds every time. But I gotta know, was it the towel thing or something else that actually stuck with you in your own kitchen? Because those small habits are the real game changers, not the big flashy moves.