A toast to getting in the mood
Valentine’s Day is this Sunday and with it comes a lot of heightened expectations. Along with overpriced flowers, heart-shaped chocolates and prix-fixe dinners comes the real…
It takes more than one word to avoid being a rube
“Manhattan?” she asked, presumably to me even though there was little indication of that. The one-word question — the very bane of the service person’s existence.…
The holidays bring out the amateurs
It was last year or maybe the year before, or even the year before that. It doesn’t really matter because this sort of thing happens every…
How to be a great giver
“The weather outside is frightful, but inside it is so delightful,” goes the old Christmas song. But ask anyone who works inside the week leading up…
Taking a tip from Paris
“Bonjour,” said one of the three waiters hanging around the front door. Two were paying attention and the other one was smoking. The world over, there…
Searching for the truth at Harry’s Bar
“Sank Roo Doe Noo,” is what I was looking for. Anyone up on bar lore will certainly recognize the phonetic spelling for the address of Harry’s…
Helping one who helps many
Odds are that if you’ve ever had pasta in an Italian restaurant in San Rafael, Ezequiel Guzman has cooked it. The 48-year-old cook has been at…
Good girls and good bars sometimes get a little dirty
“I can’t do that,” said the woman in the corner booth loud enough for everyone in the little bar to hear. “I’m a good girl.” The…
Being wrong can feel so right
The two men approached the bar and sat down. One rubbed his hands together vigorously as if warming them. “Do you have any Pappy Van Winkle?”…
How women got the right to bear booze, barely
The Classic Cat on Sunset Strip was a favorite haunt of celebrities.