The Bar Blogger

I received this question this week at http://thebarblogger.com/askbarry:

We run a very popular restaurant w/an 20 seat L-shaped bar and a service area at the end for servers lets the 3 bar tenders working any shift roam up & down with no assigned section nor one of the 3 designated for service exclusively.Sometimes the wait is long for servers and bar patrons/customers.Is it not sound business to assign them a section of the bar with responsibility for that area primarily?

Here are my thoughts on this: [...]

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A recent crackdown on the use of raw eggs in a bar in New York by a local health inspector opened a can of worms in the bar world. The thought of removing such favorites as Pisco Sours, Eggnog and Flips from the Cocktail Lists of the city’s bars was almost too much to handle.

Fortunately it looks as if the crackdown is being scaled back (for now at least), no doubt in part due to the backlash,  however the victim of a recent bust, Pegu Club in SoHo, has stopped serving its MarTEAni, a drink featuring egg whites to balance out tannin-infused gin, after a health inspector issued the bar a citation and summons to court for serving the drink without checking to make sure the patron knew he was exposing himself to salmonella.

Is this really the worst thing that a customer is being exposed to when they dine out? Having worked on both sides of the bar and kitchen, I’d be less worried about the contents of a sealed shell, than the food handling procedures in some of the kitchens I’ve seen.

It would be a shame for this age-old ingredient to be removed from use due to a technicality. It appears that the bar in question listed egg as an ingredient on the menu but because the patron had ordered without seeing the menu, the inspector pounced…!

Let’s worry about more serious health concerns. It ain’t the egg that will kill us.

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An open letter to the bartender who “served” me last night.

Dear Bartender, ( I use this term loosely),

I would like to draw your attention to the incident last night when polite company and manners prevented me from dressing you down publicly as would have befitted the occasion.

When I ordered a Mojito from you, I had a basic level of expectation as to what I was going to get. After all a Mojito is not a vague guideline, but a specific recipe.

I was not expecting a tall hurricane glass with three large ice cubes floating around the top, a withered piece of mint drowning in a solution of 90% cane rum, topped up with a splash of still water…

However, everyone can make a mistake and it’s not about the mistake, but how you handle it that will cement my impression of you. Alas, this opportunity was wasted on you when I asked for a replacement.

Telling me that you have done this for years and know how to make a Mojito did nothing to improve the flavor of the poor excuse for a cocktail I was trying to return to you and will certainly not endear yourself to me. Asking two other customers at the bar if their Mojitos were the yummiest they had ever tasted in a clear attempt at embarrassing me in front of my friends and your customers for returning your “masterpiece” makes you look foolish and even more incompetent.

While wisdom normally comes with age, clearly the years that have contributed to your greying hair were years spent avoiding education and skill. Here’s hoping the years between grey hair and white hair will be more educational.

Unfortunately I won’t be back to sample your skills whatever your hair color, because you had your chance and blew it. Big time.

Sincerely,

4 customers who are going elsewhere tomorrow

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I came up with this list a few years back when working with a client that couldn’t seem to hire the right staff and always had the worst bartenders!

What is the difference between a Good Bartender or a Bad Bartender? We’ve all been upset at poor service but equally I know when I get good service, I remember it! So what are the things that annoy or impress us?

A good Bartender: [...]

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I went out on Saturday night for a few beers (Strongbow Cider and Schneider Weiss, if you must know…) and watching the bartender reminded me why there is no place for Ego in business. Certainly not if you’re a bartender.

Before you construe this as an attack on the noble profession, nothing could be further from the truth. Having spent many years behind the bar, I consider no profession more respectable and I believe that a great bartender can make your bar.

On the other hand, a bad bartender can break your bar. A stuck up blond bartender with an ego and an attitude can be devastating. That is what I had the “pleasure” of experiencing on Friday. [...]

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