Some nights, one man’s loss is another man’s gain

I LOOKED AROUND the quiet little bar, and it dawned on me that we were now in our slow season. Every bar and restaurant has one.…

Not everything mixes smoothly at a bar

IT WAS ONE of those things — two couples, different in every way, sitting down almost simultaneously. Metaphysics, science fiction and esoteric cosmology might have cornered…

Not all ambassadors bring goodwill

“Hey Jeff,” said the day bartender as we were doing our daily shift crossover. Although we have both worked at the same bar for many years,…

Looking back on crumbled dreams

I remember it like it was only yesterday. It, of course, was not; it was years ago, the late 1980’s to be exact. I had been…

Summer Melons

I love summer melons. I don’t know exactly when that thought occurred to me, but it was sometime after the stunning brunette had seated herself at…

Sticky situations on hot summer nights

‘A HOT SUMMER night, fell like a net,” sang Robert Palmer, and on this particular night those lyrics fit perfectly. The summer heat did hang in…

Giving Dad what he wants

Today is Father’s Day, a day often referred to as a compliment to Mother’s Day, with both celebrations designed to honor parents. Never mind that Mother’s…

Rye discoveries on the whiskey trail

RYE WHISKEY is all the rage these days. It seems that every week a new brand appears on the market. Some are quite good: Michters, Bulleit…

Getting a taste for winning

I was reminded of the Roman poet Ovid’s saying, “A horse never runs so fast as when he has other horses to catch up and outpace,”…

Every bartender should also have a bartender

I WAS GEARING UP both physically and mentally for the Triple Crown of the restaurant business. Those first two weeks of May that includes Cinco de…