I want to be like SuperWaiter
Wednesday, January 4, 2012 at 9:55PM by Alison DeLory 
Halifax's Le Bistro restaurant, photo by Janice LandryIn the late 1980s, my friends and I regularly visited a Halifax restaurant called Le Bistro. It had a casual-yet-cozy atmosphere, with red, checkered tablecloths, candles shoved into empty wine bottles, and tasty, affordable food—potato skins, Cesar salad, crepes, mussels, and a delicious frozen yummy lemon pie.
The meals were always satisfying but the best part of the experience was sitting in SuperWaiter's section. SuperWaiter purportedly had a law degree but continued to wait tables. It appeared to be his true calling. When you sat down, regardless of how many months it had been since you'd last been to Le Bistro, he'd remember your last meal. "Good evening! Can I get you a Cesar salad to start, followed by the mussels?" he'd ask. You felt welcomed and valued in Super Waiter's section. We eventually learned he had a real name (Peter! thx Angela Murray for reminding me), but for years we referred to him as Super Waiter. (If the French apron fits, wear it.)
Sadly, Le Bistro closed in the 1990s and although various other restaurants opened in its space, they never had same charm. Then, last month, Le Bistro reopened! I ate there tonight with six of my oldest and closest girlfriends, all of us nostalgic for the hundreds of hours we spent chatting, eating and sipping coffee there as teenagers. I had hoped to see SuperWaiter again, although by now he'd be in his mid-50s. Unfortunately, although most of the menu items had returned, SuperWaiter had not. Perhaps he decided to put that law degree to use after all.
Remembering SuperWaiter got me thinking about New Year's resolutions and the fact I hadn't made any. It's not that I don't think I could improve, I just hadn't articulated how. Then it came to me. I want to be more like SuperWaiter.
I want to greet people with a friendly, genuine smile. I want to remember their faces and preferences. I want to do work that I enjoy, even if it defies expectations. I want to commit fully to whatever it is I do, and do it passionately. I want to treat everyone (even it's a group of girls who tip poorly because their only income comes from baby-sitting) with equal respect. I want people to remember the personal and excellent customer service I offered, even 20 years after I provided it.
I ordered the Moroccan chicken crepes, which were served with curry sauce, mandarin oranges and a side green salad, and tasted exactly as I remembered. The tiny white lights were again strung on the potted trees, and the black cat motifs, miniature Eiffel Tower and antique clocks were all back in their places. The baguettes are now whole wheat—an improvement in my opinion—and our waitress was a lovely woman who accommodated my hurried departure by cancelling my crème brûlée and bringing my cheque promptly when my sick kid called and asked me to come home right away. All in all, it was an exceptionally pleasant evening, even without SuperWaiter.
Time marches on, restaurants come and go and sometimes come back again, people change jobs, move or drift apart. I accept that. But tonight I found myself in one of my old favourite places, with friends I've known for 30 years, revisiting happy memories and making new ones. And I found my new year's resolution. In 2012, I resolve to be more like SuperWaiter. And to go back to Le Bistro for that cancelled crème brûlée.
Le Bistro is found at 1333 South Park St. in Halifax, N.S., (902) 423-8428.
Alison DeLory
A day after posting this, I was beyond excited to open a surprise email from Peter Ripley (aka SuperWaiter). A former Le Bistro server who worked with Peter in the 1980s read my post, deduced who SuperWaiter was, and forwarded it to him. It turns out he's been living and working in Tokyo for the past 23 years as a marketing professional. "Everything I learned from customers at the Bistro became valuable knowledge and it remains a happy memory," Peter wrote. The former Le Bistro community is apparentely still close knit, despite its members now living all over the world. I was so pleased to connect with Peter after all these years and he claims to remember me, but then again, he's SuperWaiter with a steel-trap memory and exceptional customer service skills so of course! On another note, if someone has left an impression, even if you barely know them, why not take the opportunity to tell them? Peter told me my blog post was one of the nicest gifts he'd ever received, and I was pleased to be able to give him that.
Reader Comments (10)
Hello Alison,
Thank you for joining us for dinner. The crepes are my favorite dish as well!!! I am so pleased that you and your friends enjoyed Le Bistro and look forward to seeing you again. Our creme brulee is definitely a huge favorite. Here's to old memories and the new ones to be made.
Yours in Hospitality,
Liz
Le Bistro
1333 South Park Street, Halifax
Thank you Liz, for reopening Le Bistro and staying true to the original. I will certainly return.
Those crepes sound delicious. I'll have to check them out.
Thanks so much for this, Alison! I thought that you would have been too young to have spent much time there as Art & I did in the early years of our marriage (and we were married old). Can't wait to get back there and to see Liz again. Thank-you to her for re-opening! Patty
Hey Alison,
I was a waitress at Le Bistro in the mid-80s and the superwaiter I worked alongside was named Peter. I learned a lot from him during my time there. We were not permitted to write down orders for our customers unless it was a large party with separate cheques. This really made you focus on your customer and listen intently.
I have many fond memories of the place and the great people I met there who are still friends today. I will certainly check it out soon.
Angela
Ahhhh - Le Bistro! All of us "ladies of a certain age" have fond memories of it!
I, too, spent many an evening there, but my memories are intricately interwoven with dessert. (And brunch. Yum.) I think the dessert guy's name was Chris and we always sat in the section with (if I recall correctly) the high, white iron chairs by the window where we could watch him prepare the desserts. He was quiet but brilliant. White chocolate bombe, chocolate pate, profiteroles, the lemon dessert... Le sigh. I died a little inside when it closed... I'll definitely be checking it out again soon - thanks for the reminder!
Jodi
Wow, what a cool story! Le Bistro was a little before my time so I'm not familiar with it, but that's fascinating that they have reopened - I mean, how often does that happen?! I will have to check it out sometime...
And that is the coolest that Superwaiter found you and sent you a note!! You're so right that you never know when you are making an impression on someone and it's important to keep that in mind when you feel forgettable or lonely - someone somewhere is thinking of you or thankful that you exist :)
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I love that a reader knew the waiter and this story reminds me that I need to make plans for dinner with my friends. :)
I was so excited to hear that Le Bistro is back! Great post Alison, can't wait to revisit. :) ..and speaking of time flying by...30 years? xo