NYC Fashion Week

I am sitting at the host stand of the restaurant where I work, bored, counting minutes before the last annoying couple finally gets a room, when a woman wearing a waist-length fur coat, leather pants and latest Louboutin's, walks in. I am immediately mesmerized, not so much by her obvious beauty, but her clothes and shoes. She commands my attention right away. Although she just wants to use the toilette, my mind is no longer bored. I am thinking, if this was last year she would have probably worn black tights and brown boots, but this year that's passe. Short furs are in and all the fashionistas are wearing them. That, in essence, is what Fashion Week is about when the city gets invaded with fashionistas and everyone else who is, or wants to be, a part of this innovative industry.

Naturally, when you work at a trendy hip restaurant which is part of an even trendier hotel, during the Fashion Week (one in September and other in February), you get bombarded by designers, models, magazine editors, photographers and lots of wannabes who for at least a New York minute want to feel like they belong.

My first encounter with Fashion Week was as a server. Our managers prepped us for the onslaught of masses soon to descend on our restaurant. They did come and many of them. Lots of them very famous and even if they were just wannabes, they were all good looking. There was an abundance of gay men and really skinny girls. So much coke was on the toilette paper holders, that I think the Colombian drug lords plan ahead for these events, almost as much as Anna Wintour. And for all that hoopla the restaurant did pretty much the same numbers as any other week. The problem is that nobody eats. Yes, the alcohol consumtion goes up, but if you consider that you are doing 25% more covers than any other week and your sales haven't budged, the obvious answer is that nobody is eating. Funny though, you would think that the models are the ones starving themselves, not at all, its the entourage, the groupies and the wannabe models who are sharing an order of crostini among 6 of them.

So, the obvious question is what do you do to boost your sales or change the approach to these grand happenings. Nothing, look at it this way, for a crazy week, if you are lucky enough, your place is the center of attention, bustling with beautiful people and everyone else who wants to be a part of the beautiful group. All you can hope for is that when the party is over, some of those people continue coming back. As far as I am concerned, I love it and I hope that one day I'll own a place that will be the trendy destination during Fashion Week.

Until then, I am gathering courage and psyching myself for next week to write about the holy grail of the restaurant industry, the chef. My friends, give me strength.