When you know “what guys like”
A busy restaurant can have a hum to it, its own pulse, its own rhythm. Sometimes that rhythm has the slow familiar pace of the blues,…
When ‘drinking holidays’ are truly about the good, the bad, and the ugly
Occasionally the cocktail stars align and three of the biggest “drinking holidays” all fall within the same week. And when I say “drinking holidays” what I…
Barfly Podcast Season Four Episode Six
guest: restaurant marketing guru Andrew Freeman
True professionals don’t go gaga over celebrities
As afternoons go, this one was going pretty well. One of the great difficulties in the restaurant business is taking over for someone else. It can…
People don’t leave bad jobs, they leave bad bosses
It struck me as odd at the time. I was heading into work for the lunch shift, and the busboy was walking the other direction. But…
Long live the mimosa, the Queen of brunch cocktails
Named for a flower but made with a fruit, the late Prince Consort of Great Britain, Philip Mountbatten, once said of the mimosa, “Champagne and orange…
The willingness to engage is the thing
The two of them had obviously never met before. But nothing eases the awkwardness of first meetings like tinkling dinner jazz and soft lighting. Some bars…
These are not the canned alcoholic beverages of the 70’s
“Can the can” once sang rocker Suzi Quatro, way back in the 1970’s. Back then canned alcoholic beverages consisted of beer and the awful “Club” canned…
You may be the boss of someone, but not to me
He walked in like he owned the place. First, he ignored the hostess and walked up to the bar. Then, he stood in between the two…