The Hope of D.C.'s Aproned Ranks

When Kim, 36, apprenticed under the famous Jean-Georges Vongerichten in New York, Vongerichten would clap his hands twice and shout, "Super soigne !" if a dish looked especially elegant. At Merkado, Kim is using a variation of his master's cheer, calling out, " Soigne !" to signal his approval.

"Miguel, that's soigne !"

Miguel raises an eyebrow. He has never heard the word before. "What's soigne ?"

"That is soigne ," Chef says, pointing to a skirt steak with mojo sauce that Miguel has artfully arranged on a plate.

"Oh, for real?" Miguel asks. "Well, anyway, papi , here's your medium-rare right here."

Beneath the Boom

Chef tells the owner he would like to postpone the opening by a night so his kitchen staff can get some sleep.

"I'm not interested in sleep right now," David Winer says. "I'm interested in paying my bills."

Money is on everyone's mind. The force of Washington's economic boom, now in its seventh year, is playing out most keenly in two extremes: the professional class and working class. Between 1999 and 2003, the number of food preparation and restaurant workers in the District grew by more than 8,000, to 36,840, Bureau of Labor Statistics show. The changing aesthetic of the city also has magnified the difference between the dining class and the serving class: In 1980, Washington had 15 Zagat-rated restaurants. Today there are more than 80, according to the Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington.

There are more janitors -- 13,140 in 1999 to 16,520 in 2003 -- more landscapers and more construction laborers. Of the 9,300 jobs added in the District between April 2004 and this April, the largest number went to hospitality workers, according to Stephen Fuller, a regional economist at George Mason University.

Although their ranks have grown, their earnings have not kept pace. Middle- and upper-income earnings in Washington have grown by about one-third since the 1990s; incomes among the working class have grown about 15 percent.

As a line cook with four years' experience, Miguel starts at Merkado at $14 an hour, or $560 a week, or $29,120 annually if he were to work every week of the year. He has no health insurance, vacation time or sick leave. He's never known the white-collar comforts of ergonomically padded chairs, lunch while sitting down or surfing the Internet on company time.

Even in this grinding reality, Miguel has pride, studying cookbooks and culinary encyclopedias. "I make a very nice steak tartare with avocado and chipotle," he says.