Work It!

Roasting (or sweating like a pig) while broasting

By Teressa Donovan

   Menopause? Hot flashes? Yes sir! I can totally relate to any woman that’s has experienced both, thanks to “Workin’ It,” at Bob’s Lounge. Okay, I can’t totally blame Bob’s Lounge. I blame the owner of Clare County Review for forcing me to go “Work It,” while I’m experiencing the onset of what felt like swine flu.

   I have to be fair, the combination of me not feeling well, and being next to the broasting machine and the deep fryer all played a part.  Bob’s Lounge is known for having one of the best burgers in town, and I can honestly say that I’m proud to have been able to be a part of why they’re so good.

   “Let me show you how to prep our burgers,” said Troy, one of the staff members. Before prepping anything, Barb, one of the owners of Bob’s Lounge kindly instructed me to wash my hands and told me where my apron was located.

   “If you’re going to serve any food, you have to put your hair up,” said Troy, as he went into detail about the different ways I could go about putting my hair up. “You can put it in one of those bun thingies or to the side,” said Troy as I chuckle at getting hair tips from a male.

   I proceed to stand in front of the broiler and weighed and made several hamburger patties. Speaking of patties, Patty was next to me making all kinds of different foods at once. When I asked her if I was in her way, she simply replied, “not yet.”

   I moved back and forth between the bar area, trying to do any and everything that I could possibly do. I was washing dishes, labeling food, and thinking how good a customers Burger and Budweiser look. I had to stop daydreaming and finish Workin It!

   Patty whipped up some Mexican food, burgers, pulled pork and all kinds of delicious looking items. This restaurant does it all. Fish fries, broasted chicken AND drink specials? It appears that I’ve died and gone to heaven.

   Upon entering Bob’s Lounge, I wondered if the big rooster out front had anything to do with fried chicken. Let me guess- their drink special will be watermelon-flavored beer or BBQ ribs on special.

   Let me back up a minute.  It’s December in Michigan, and as I’m approaching the bar, there is a young man walking down the street with no coat on, short sleeves and a Santa hat on and a few visible tattoos showing.

   Sure enough, suspicious Santa follows me into Bob’s Lounge. Suspicious Santa looked fairly familiar to me, but had the same effect on me as when you see a teacher outside of school, you wonder how they managed to leave the school.

   Barb,quickly introduces me to Santa. I instantly recalled that he’s Troy, one of the bartenders there. “You’re Theresa, right?” Troy asks. “Teressa”, I quickly correct him for the first and the last time.

   Mind you, I’m very people oriented as I approach the owner’s grandson who was busy watching the Slicer commercial on the television. I can’t believe that this infomercial is so frequently played this time of day.

I’m up against what feels like vertigo and trying to take on a task that I’ve never done. I get my first customer. “Hi! Can I take your order,” I ramble off as I literally sound like I’m talking out of a fast food speaker.

The gentleman orders something, and I forgot to take a pad of paper with me to write it down, and of course someone would have to ask me something while I was repeating in my head what the customer ordered. Go figure!

My next task was my favorite.

It was time to cure my vertigo, swine flu and menopause. DRINK TIME!!! I was smoother and way more skilled than Tom Cruise in the movie Cocktail. Okay, I poured too much vodka in the drink that I had to make, but hey—it was for me.

As I sit down to quickly provide myself with some relief, Bob walks in. The only thing I was workin’ on was my alcohol consumption. But, hey! I worked it!