Dear Pros,
You've got Kat here one last time in 2023. Was the year as weird for you as it was for me? On the platform that I now reluctantly call X, @pleasebegneiss perfectly encapsulated the awkward ethos in a viral post saying, "reservations are so embarrassing like hi i'm here for my spaghetti appointment" to the tune of 450k likes. I, for one, felt very seen.
Friends of mine who work in hospitality know that much of their customers' strange behavior can be chalked up to their collective lack of socialization for a big chunk of time, as well as them getting used to the fundamental changes that many restaurants have made in order to survive and evolve. They also understand that those of us babbling on the other side of the host stand are all (well, most of us) trying our best to be better customers — even if we stumble sometimes. The stories we publish on F&W Pro are meant to help bridge that gap.
It's our mission to share insight into some of the practices and policies that restaurants and their teams use to bring an excellent experience (while not going belly-up along the way), and for diners to understand what kind of impact their behavior makes on the human beings who are serving their meal. And we're thrilled to say that our readers are paying attention, clicking and lingering on stories about why dishes cost what they do (even a $20 avocado toast), the reasons incomplete parties can't be seated, and how it's plain old snobby to turn your nose up at chain restaurants.
These are the 11 most read F&W Pro stories we published in 2023, so take a seat and settle in. Your Bitchy Waiter (aka frequent contributor Darron Cardosa); chef Lee Anne Wong; and F&W staffers Daniel Modlin, Amelia Schwartz, and Oset Babür-Winter will be right with you.
As for me, I'm just grateful to get to work with writers and human beings of their caliber, and have the privilege of collaborating on this newsletter with Amelia and Oset, the production team of Maggie Bear and Mikayla Morris, and our great boss fella Hunter Lewis, who will be ringing in the new year with the next installment in early January.
Until then, may all your pens remain unstolen, your path to the restroom evident, your food free of hair, and your water glasses eternally full.
Be well, more stories (and a chance to catch up on our podcast!) below. | 
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