They don't think I'm a bitch in New York City. My propensity for speaking directly and not wasting time with meaningless pleasantries about the weather doesn't count against me there at all. It's appreciated. New Yorkers, in my experience, tend to be efficient in their approach to most things. I love it there. It's my spiritual home. There is a sense that no one has time to waste. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the service in New York restaurants. It is, in a word, professional. And while we have food in Northern California that rivals New York in terms of ...