Meet The Team / Monika Bartyzel

When you go out to eat, do you ever wonder what the waitressing world is like behind the scenes?

There is a new food documentary making the festival rounds called "Dish: Women, Waitressing & The Art of Service." Filmed by documentarian Maya Gallus, the doc looks into life for women in the service industry. Traveling between Toronto, Montreal, Paris, and Tokyo, the film investigates how waitressing changes (or doesn't) from country to country, and what customers expect when a woman walks up and asks for your order. Hint: it's a heck of a lot more than prompt service with a smile.

While Hanna Raskin's column "What Can I Get You Folks?" looks into the opinions of one server, "Dish" turns the focus more on the industry and patrons, revealing a massively diverse collection of experiences. But they all share one striking similarity: As much as we like to think of restaurants as welcoming places that cook the food for us, there's a whole undercurrent of struggle and performance that goes well beyond crazy customers wanting their tea made with boiled Evian or their fruit salad sautéed (sadly, both are real examples).

For years we've welcomed spring by biting through the sugary skin of chicks and bunnies to get to the soft and sweet marshmallow Peep inside. But this Easter, things are looking especially bright: Peeps manufacturer Just Born has let loose a new horde of sugary holiday snacks, housing their classic marshmallow flavor in both milk and dark chocolate. No, we're not talking about a little Peep nestled in an outer chocolate shell.

These guys aren't exactly like their classic brethren. Dunked into melted chocolate, these chicks -- no bunnies allowed in this club -- come in individually wrapped packages. Second, these new Peeps are lacking the crackling outer coating of sugar. Instead, to give the candy that classic Easter color, Just Born has colored the tasty 'mallow inside a nice pastel yellow.

Can chocolate bring new life to the beloved Easter treat, and match the piles of bunnies and chicks that find their way into eager Easter baskets, culinary adventures, and movie dioramas? Can you bear to bite into a Peep without its colorful skin and white center? We'll leave that answer up to you:

Chocolate-covered Peeps: yay or nay?

Related: Chocolate Covered Peeps Drop In Time For Easter

Meringues are one of the most elegant treats in the cookie kingdom. Stunning in their simplicity, they are beloved by many for being not only rich and delicious, but also tantalizingly low in calories, offering sweetness without health-breaking badness.

Since they are simply an airy, whipped mix of egg whites and sugar -- ingredients that just need a little time in a stand mixer before being piped and slowly baked -- they are perfect for impressive, last-minute projects. Meringues are malleable, easy to work with, and can suit any holiday need, from classy adult appetizers to cute kid treats. Perfect for any tastebud or gathering, they are the holiday treat that can't be beat.

You simply cannot have Christmas without candy canes. Like Santa, reindeer and twinkling trees, they are an iconic part of Christmas, with their carefully spun stripes and crisp, refreshing minty flavor.

But while they look like something that could only come from the metal hands of a special machine -- or at the very least, those of a seasoned professional -- they're one of the most fun concoctions you can make over the holiday season.

The fortune cookie has always been the classic finish to American-style Chinese food, with its ubiquitous scrap of paper offering charming fortunes. The cookie itself is a crisp and sugary nibble -- an everyday sort of treat, good for a quick laugh and sugar rush. But these folded soothsayers can also be whipped into a delightful holiday treat -- one that will wow guests and lucky gift recipients with its unexpected charm.

Starting from scratch, the whole world of divination can bend at your whim with self-made fortunes, perfectly flavored cookies and a festive chocolate coating perfect for Christmastime.