Cocktails with all the taste, but none of the booze

According to Forbes magazine, 6.5 million people globally are expected to take part in “Dry January” this year, up from an estimated 3.9 million in 2020.…

How bad could it be can quickly become apparent

It was ten months of my life, which in the greater scheme, barely registers now as employment. Was there a probationary period? I don’t remember one,…

Don’t leave your heart in San Francisco

During this pandemic I have now found myself in Los Angeles three times. Sometimes business is unavoidable, whether it’s going in to work, or whether it’s…

Hair of the dog? Not if that dog is from 2020

In a normal world, six days after New Year’s Eve would not be the time for hangover cures. But 2020 was not part of a normal…

One person’s joke, is another person’s affront

It was an unspectacular morning, the kind of morning that doesn’t usually stand out in one’s memories. The skies weren’t particularly clear, it wasn’t too cold…

2020: Goodbye and good riddance

I was voted “Best Bartender” for 2020. By the readers of two different publications. Great. It’s not that I am ungrateful, but…2020? Isn’t that like being…

Last minute gifts, that support local businesses, and local bartenders

You can still have a SIP with your favorite local bartender, just not necessarily at your favorite local bar Restaurant and bar folks are a resilient…

Come on and zoom, zoom, zooma, zoom. Zoom.

There I was, standing in my kitchen with no pants on. I had on shorts, mind you, but shorts are not pants, at least so I…

Hard work should not be its only reward: an ode to the essential worker

I ran across the parking lot frantically waving my arms as the steam from my breath exited through the sides of my facemask like an old…

Novato filmmaker creates wine and liquor documentaries

Well it certainly seems that an evening out featuring dinner and a movie are off the table, at least for a while. So is going out…