You're known for your pithy statements.

"I'm more voluble than pithy as a server. I err on the side of talking too much rather than too little. Most people seem to enjoy it."

Who are the best and worst customers?

"Food people are the best customers because they'll give you real feedback, whether it's positive or negative. Other people just [leave out] all the negative and only say positive things. You don't learn anything from that, but it's great for your ego. They'll say, 'Everything's great, thanks, yeah, great...,' with that smirky smile that's really kind of false, but then they leave three-fourths of their food on the plate--so you know either they're anorexic or they're just not enjoying it."

You must not have very many customers like that!

"No, they're rare, thank God. I'm a good waiter and I have a customer-service ethic a lot of servers don't have nowadays. I'm interested in my customer having a pleasant overall experience. It's not just like, 'Get their order; bring them the food; make sure their water is filled.'"

Has your customer-service ethic been nurtured at your other job, serving crack addicts [for Seattle/King County Department of Health]?

"I had a customer-service ethic long before the needle exchange job; and it's more heroin addicts than crack addicts. I'm an education specialist with the county health department, working on HIV prevention for IV drug users."

Sweet potato bourbon pecan pie à la mode or marionberry sorbet with a sprig of mint?

"That sorbet is our one good 'girl dessert.' [But] I'm all over the pie!"