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Christopher Kimball’s Milk Street Radio

Cellar Rat: A Sommelier's Restaurant Confidential

5/29/202651 min

Former restaurant server and sommelier Hannah Selinger shares stories from her tell-all memoir, Cellar Rat, featuring run-ins with critics, strategies for spotting bad tippers, what she considers the stuffiest restaurant in New York, and how she thinks the industry may one day reform. Plus, Özlem Warren gives us the true taste of Istanbul and Kim Severson explains why America is breaking up with the calorie.

Listen to Milk Street Radio on: Apple Podcasts | Spotify

Clips

Secret Liquor Swap Confession
Kitchen Abuse Line Defined
Ottoman Food Taster Legacy
Charming Istanbul Traffic Standoff
Verbal Tippers: Praise, Then 10%

Transcript preview

First 90 seconds

  1. Christopher Kimball· Host0:00

    Hey, Christopher Kimball here. We have an interview coming out soon about restaurant gap relationships, and we wanna hear your stories. Do you spend all your time scrolling through reservation apps while your partner couldn't care less? Or maybe you dump your date [laughs] for being a picky eater, or maybe one of you loves to eat out and the other doesn't. So to share your story, please leave us a voicemail. The number is 617-249-3167. One more time, 617-249-3167, or send us a voice memo to radiotips@177milkstreet.com. [upbeat music] This is Milk Street Radio from PRX, and I'm your host, Christopher Kimball. For over a decade, Hannah Selinger was a server and sommelier in New York's finest restaurants. Today, she tells all, like the time Vogue food critic Jeffrey Steingarten quizzed her about ice cream.

  2. Hannah Selinger· Guest0:58

    He kept asking [laughs] me question after question.

  3. Christopher Kimball· Host1:02

    She also shares signs of a good tipper versus a bad one.

  4. Hannah Selinger· Guest1:05

    Sometimes people are what we call verbal tippers. "You've been so amazing. Oh my God, we're gonna request you every time."

  5. Christopher Kimball· Host1:13

    10%.

  6. Hannah Selinger· Guest1:14

    10%.

  7. Christopher Kimball· Host1:15

    [laughs] And she reveals the stuffiest restaurant in New York.

  8. Hannah Selinger· Guest1:19

    You were meant to be quiet both in the dining room, like, as a diner, and also in the dining room as a server.

  9. Christopher Kimball· Host1:25

    Hannah Selinger's Restaurant Confidential, that's coming up later in the show.

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