Fed up

anchovy and garlic dip that I could practically drink. “Do you guys mind sharing the soup?”
    The lobster soup with spaghetti squash and toasted pumpkin seeds was another of my favorites. I certainly didn’t mind sharing a bowl with Josh and Digger.
    Josh added his request. “And I pick the shaved sunchoke salad with pickled mushrooms and frisée.”
    We spent a few more minutes deciding on main courses before placing our order and returning the menus to the waitress.
    “Digger, you’ve recovered fully from Monday’s fiasco, I hope?” I asked the chef.
    “Tough as an ox.” He thumped his chest with his fist. “I could’ve used a few days off from work though, so maybe it’s too bad I got better so quickly.” He grinned slyly.
    “Why? What’s going on there?”
    “Ah, it’s a wreck. The servers suck, and they’re totally obnoxious. Every night they let the orders sit out until they’re practically bone cold, and then they get sent back. It’s crap, I tell ya! I can’t even believe I’m off tonight. I’ve worked the past two weeks straight, except for last Monday, and the goddamn owner is on my case about keeping food costs down.” Digger took more than a sip of his wine. “Did you see the Mystery Diner’s write-up about us? Frickin’ hated the place. Hated everything about it. The food, the decor, the staff. Everything. And you know what? He was half-right, too. The service is awful, and the customers get treated like shit.”
    Digger’s colorful language reassured me that he’d recovered from any digitalis poisoning that he’d had.
    “I didn’t see that review.” Josh furrowed his brow. “Your food is great. What could the reviewer find to pick on?”
    Digger shrugged. “The usual stuff. This was too oily, * that was underseasoned, this wasn’t spicy enough. And my favorite? The portions are too small. It’s tapas for Christ’s i sake! Obviously the portions are small!”
    “That’s not fair.” Josh shook his head. “Some of these re- : viewers...” His voice trailed off.
    I had to agree. “I saw that Mar lee and Alloy got a pretty nasty review from him, too. That one might have been on target, but it was still vicious.”
    Digger continued. “That dude is one mean son of a bitch. Do you know how much power reviewers have? People come into a restaurant and say they read a great review, and so they wanted to try us out. Nobody comes in and says, ‘Hey, I just read a crappy review of this place, but I thought I’d give it a shot anyhow.’ The Mystery Diner may have been right about the service, but not about the food. And I’m not just saying that to be cocky. The food really is good. That Mystery Diner should be strung up, if you ask me.” Digger took another drink and then looked sheepish. “Sorry. But you know what? Bad reviews happen. And the review didn’t single me out. The reviewer just hated the whole place. It’s part of the business, and it makes the good reviews all the better. Still, I’m not gonna say it doesn’t sting like a bastard when I read the awful ones.”
    “And then you get blamed for it, right?” Josh gave Digger a knowing look. “The owner rides you for a bad review and takes all the credit for a good one. What’re you going to do? That’s the life we chose.” Josh lifted his glass in a sarcastic toast.
    “Actually, I’m looking for another job. That’s what I’m gonna do. When things reach a certain low, we chefs have to move on and find something better. There’s only so much punishment I can take on a daily basis, you know?”
    “Wow,” I said, stunned that Digger was thinking about quitting. “Do you have any leads?”
    “A couple. I got a headhunter I use. Actually I gave—”
    “The food is here,” Josh cut in.
    The waitress set down the cicchetti we’d ordered. I inhaled the aroma and couldn’t wait to taste the meatballs. As I knew from a previous visit, when I’d practically interrogated the server about the meatballs, they had been seared and then simmered in the oven with white wine. I popped one in my mouth. Heaven!
    Inevitably, we talked about the murder. Digger hadn’t known about the digitalis found in Francie’s system. “It’s a heart medicine,” I said. “It comes from a flower. Foxglove. Don’t some people garnish dishes with flowers?” I bit into a risotto ball.
    “Ugh, yeah. Nasturtiums and shit. Ick.” Digger blew a raspberry. “I’ve never done that, have you, Josh?”
    Josh shook