Kitchen counter

Calle Ocho (“8th Street”) is on the Upper West Side (446 Columbus Ave between 81st and 82nd Sts, 212-873-5025), far away from the hopping Miami street after which it was named. But it’s bustling nonetheless: On a recent Friday night, 21 servers, runners and busboys whizzed around the room, accommodating more than 300 customers despite thunderstorms and the kind of heat that sends a lot of people fleeing down the LIE for the weekend. Tossing on one of the restaurant’s signature guayaberas, I observed a night shift on the floor of Alex Garcia’s Nuevo Latino eatery, and learned how an evening there adds up.

1The newest employee at Calle Ocho, Kayla, has worked at the restaurant for one month, while longtimer Pedro has five years under his belt. The average NYC waiter works at the same place for two years.

2Server Carolina has worn through two pairs of sensible shoes in the seven months she’s worked there.

3.9The average number of miles a server walked during the six-hour shift. The busboys put them all to shame, though, hiking an average of 7.11 miles. Bussing tables: the new Bikram Yoga.

$4.60The state-mandated minimum hourly wage that a server gets before tips (compared with the $7.15 mandated for workers in any nontip industry). Nationwide, tips make up about half of a server’s income, but some high-rolling NYC waiters clear $100k a year. The servers on my shift made $157 each, while the busy cocktail waitresses earned $225.

550The number of plates the kitchen had used by the end of the night—every one scraped and cleaned by the restaurant’s two dishwashers. Only five dishes were broken—about average for Calle—making it a mostly butterfinger-free night.

31 The number of pitchers of the restaurant’s popular sangria ordered throughout the shift, at $40 a pop. There are 16 quarts per vat, and ten different flavors. Only one clumsy guy managed to spill a drink on himself.

37The average number of diners each server had during the course of the night. At around 9pm, 26 of those diners were in couples either gazing into one another’s eyes or holding hands across the table.

17The number of customers who responded “sparkling” when asked about their water, forking over five bucks for a bottle. Wholesale, sparkling water is sold at about half of that price.

57 The number of people who ordered dessert. Everyone watching their waistline was sabotaged anyway, as the restaurant gave away 330 sugar-dusted chocolate-chip cookies, a plate of which went to each table with the bill.

$155.50The total amount of the biggest bar tab of the night. The restaurant’s liquid gold is the mojito: 176 of the minty drinks were poured during my shift, a good chunk of the total 675 drinks served. On average, liquor sales make up 40 to 50 percent of a restaurant’s total profits.

$683.44A party of 12 dropped $683.44 on the biggest check of the evening, which included a $25 Cuban steak and the $28 paella, the most popular dish on the menu.