Sweetbitter by Stephanie Danler. “Sweetbitter is a charming story about a young woman who moves to New York in her early twenties and happens into a job at an unnamed restaurant (which is actually The Union Square Café). She climbs the ladder from the lowest level of employee to the inner circle. It’s a very nostalgic story of coming to New York as a young person in the 80’s”. "A fictional portrayal of the life of a young woman moving her way up the ranks of New York City’s hottest restaurant based on the author’s experience at the Union Square Cafe. “Sweetbitter” is a wild ride through grueling 80 hour work weeks, backstabbing co-workers, and drug-fueled ragers going into the early morning hours. The depictions of post-9/11New York and every trend (“I’m obsessed with Campari right now”) are spot on. Danler is a technically gifted writer, which allows a story that may seem insipid on its surface to be surprisingly deep".
