Back of The House by Kathleen Young

The heat of the desert faded into darkness as we savord our last bites at Davey's Hideaway in Palm Springs. As we left and walked around to the back to get our car, I took this photo. It reminded me that everything good about our experiences at a restaurant happen first in the back of the house.

George Orwell wrote in "Down and Out in Paris and London" about working as a dishwasher in fine dining restaurants. He said the front was merely a stage where the performances of staff and cuisine art played out. The real cast was in the back where food stock was taken in, the creating, cutting, dicing and prep work took form. How well the cast got along and regarded the owner always flowed out through the wait staff. Such it is with all great dining places. You never see the entire act but only experience the wealth of the results.

When things really click at a place the staff almost becomes family often staying to the virtual end of a restaurant's existence. This is true at Davey's. There always seems to be a rumor of the place selling or closing for good. Still, Susie continues to wait on our table telling us stories from the 20 years she has been there, Daniel continues to play "99 Miles from LA" on the piano and the velet Jeseph rising from his chair to find our car. He asks us to come back.

Kathleen Young