Server Shout Out: Glo’s

Oh, boy. Snagging an open table at Glo’s felt a little like winning the breakfast lottery. The Capitol Hill diner is tiny and there’s almost always a line out the door brimming with hungover hipsters and senior citizens and everyone else in between willing to wait for one of the best damn morning meals in Seattle.

And, sure enough, almost as soon as I sat down, the dozen tables were filled again, a lone server taking care of the whole room with utter efficiency.

It was a flat-out pleasure to watch her work, topping off coffee mugs, doling out menus, taking orders. She had the air of a seasoned pro, certainly old enough to call patrons “hon,” but she didn’t lean on that crutch of faux friendliness. She greeted regulars and unfamiliar faces equally, in the kind of no-nonsense tone that assured the hungry and bleary-eyed we were going to be fed soon. There was absolutely no need for her to assure anyone she’d be taking care of them. It was understood.

Even the kitchen crew noticed: “You’re doing a great job today, Janie.”

In decades of going to all sorts of restaurants, I don’t think I’ve ever heard a compliment lobbed from the back of the house in such a public display of affection. It further elevated my glowing opinion of this swift server, especially when she delivered my smoked salmon Benedict, ensuring my morning was about to get a heck of a lot brighter.

I don’t know what those cooks do to make Glo’s hollandaise so spot on. I don’t even want to know. Because then I might be tempted to make it all the time at home and pour it all over everything. It’s super rich and velvety, that excellent emulsion of butter and egg, but, at Glo’s, there’s a twist: a citrus-y punch that lightens it up.

Looking around the small space, it’s easy to see I’m not alone in my blissful state of satisfaction. And, just like she read my mind, there’s Janie with the pot of coffee, warming me up one last time, making me reflect: How many times has a good meal been made even better when a terrific server is involved?

We routinely gush over a well-executed dish, take food-porn photos, Instagraming the most satisfying bites. But how about a shout-out to the server who gets it to the table while it’s still warm? Yes, I tip accordingly, but I also try to say something to the manager on the way out the door if a server has been very good (or very bad).

At Glo’s, one of the line cooks was standing near the door and on the way out, I lobbed a compliment at him because Janie was busy taking care of the room: Our server was awesome today.