Austin Food Service Tip – The Music Playlist

Austin Food Service Tip number two: Prepare to hear a handful of songs repeated endlessly at the restaurant you frequent.

When repeatedly visiting a restaurant, either to work or eat there, often the radio is under absolute control, or no control at all. These can both be horrible things. A manager very grounded in their tastes might blast Iron Maiden or Ronnie James Dio for hours on end, or you might just find yourself riding the endless teacup ride of local or college radio. Maybe some people can table this well and get on with their meals, but I think a great food experience is associated with alluring atmosphere, so shouldn’t your music be new and exotic to complement your food?

I get it, there are cliquey atmospheres everywhere. Dive bars play The Sword and Godspeed You! Black Emperor, coffee shops play Thievery Corporation and smooth jazz, and local hipster restaurants blast a lot of R.E.M., The Talking Heads, and 90s alternative rock. It might be more noticeable to a back of house peon performing the same task repeatedly in a trance, but when I’m eating I don’t like Eddie Vedder’s voice funneling into my ears and reverberating off the tines of my fork. As one of the back of house zombies you find yourself singing along once you’ve heard a playlist or song 100 times, but that doesn’t mean you’re not ashamed of it.

To read more about Austin, checkout Untapped Cities’ recent Austin Spotlight. For more of the artist’s work, check out Pat Davis’ Illustration.