Your Table Is Ready: Tales of a New York City Maître D'

4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars | 2,420 ratings

Price: 17.71

Last update: 01-11-2025


Top reviews from the United States

Constance Dunne
5.0 out of 5 stars Not for the kiddies...
Reviewed in the United States on April 19, 2024
In the same vein as Kitchen Confidential, without the snark overload. Cecchi writes well and is entertaining. Much of what was described is the reason that we don't do "fine dining" any longer. As a former foodie, I still enjoy the well-prepared meal, offered by properly paid staff, able to adjust to disturbances in the universe without looking for large numbers of Andys, Ulysees, or Bens to assist making boat or Bimmer payments and/or to supply powdery nosegays. Most of us want food, drink and ambiance and will pay for non-tweezed and unfussy fare that tastes good and makes us comfortable...Sorry, Michael.
B. Smith
4.0 out of 5 stars Some insight and a bit of a shock
Reviewed in the United States on January 13, 2024
If you've ever dined in New York, you will love this book. It answers so many questions most people are afraid to ask. Is the bartender really drunk? Do customers actually scream at the staff in a crowded eatery? Does sewage back up into the kitchen when food is cooking? What's it like to sit a table where you can watch people end it all by jumping off the Brooklyn Bridge? The answers to these questions and more might make you never dine in NYC again. But the author hopes you'll make an exception for his own place. This is a truly fun read, and shocking as some of its revelations are, they aren't enough to stop you from picking up the phone (or sitting down at the computer) and begging for a table by the window even if you're not George Clooney.
Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars The 80s at its best
Reviewed in the United States on February 25, 2024
This book is frankly a masterclass in memoir. Funny, interesting, naughty, and salicious filled with conflict and friendship.

We've had "Misadventures in the Screen Trade", Alison Ripley-Cubitt, misadventures in many trades - now we have misadventures in "Front of House".

In this memoir spanning from his boyhood in the late 1960s to Covid, Michael recounts his rise from waiting a table all the way to Maitre'D and manager. In New York's River Cafe and Raouls he recounts the famous people he meets along the way most of whom tip $200 just for being seated.

This was before the rise of HR in restaurants, and the debauchery and behaviour is eyebrow raising.
There was much to learn and yet Michael never repeats himself.
Megan
3.0 out of 5 stars Spot on from one who knows!
Reviewed in the United States on January 25, 2023
This is an easy, fast reading, funny and truthful account of the “front of the house” of a New York restaurant written by a seasoned Maitre d’. Having worked in his shoes at a similar restuarant on the west coast, I can tell you every word is the way it is. The author, clearly has a love/hate relationship with the biz as most do, after all, it is “show biz” and addictive. He minces no words in his style, so be prepared, but this in itself is part of the color of behind the scenes!
Kevin Raffay
4.0 out of 5 stars Good memoir of a unique career
Reviewed in the United States on November 17, 2023
Humble and endearing writing about a career in the New York restaurant scene in its nadir. Those days of professionals in the biz are gone except for a few exceptions. I was lucky enough to have some fine meals in the city during the author’s reign including lunch at the River Cafe with views of the Twin Towers. Good times.
Eric Selby
5.0 out of 5 stars A Fun Read Packed with Information
Reviewed in the United States on March 29, 2024
I am a retired high school and later college teacher as well as a high school drama coach who has worked as a server from Vermont (Middlebury) to Florida (Key West). So I have spent my time reading this laughing often because he is so "spot on" about what it is like to work in a restaurant. But I don't think you need all of my background knowledge to love this book. Restaurants draw a very unusual crowd of employees, often ones well on their way to becoming alcoholics if they haven't arrived there already. The memoir is almost like a series of mini plays as the reader is provided with the experiences the writers has had, beginning as a kid living in New York City with his single mom. They lived in near poverty. I worked in a Greek restaurant in Key West where the handsome and married 30ish owner (he was very handsome) was also the chef. Often during the evening dinner rush he'd get a call from one of his many "lady friends" who was in need of sex. And off he'd go on his scooter, telling the two wait staff, "Hey, you can handle the rest of these orders on the grill." Oh, yes, behind the scenes of a restaurant. Bravo!
Holly Hayes
5.0 out of 5 stars Enthralling. Couldn't put it down.
Reviewed in the United States on April 26, 2024
I am not a server, just a Louisiana eater! In fact I have never been inside the kind of establishments the author speaks of in unsparing detail. I merely enjoy reading about the experiences of others. I now feel I have an insider's view of the world that was/is the author's life. Thank you for the peek!
jAAir
4.0 out of 5 stars Very enjoyable read
Reviewed in the United States on March 3, 2024
This was a very fun ride. It got a little repetitive at times, but I looked forward every day to winding down and reading a few chapters.

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