Roofie
1oz of Bacardi 151
10z of strawberry pucker
splash cranberry juice
shake over ice
serve straight up
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Saturday, July 10, 2010
Don't fruit the beer
Don’t Fruit the Beer.
The saying don’t fruit the beer has been made popular in the last few years because of the ever so popular super bowl commercials produced by a certain beer company. If asked, almost any bartender in the world will tell you that breaking a man law is not the only reason that one shouldn’t fruit their beer. Working in the bar and restaurant industry for the past 15 years I could give a dozen reasons on why a person should not order fruit in their beer at a bar. In fact I would never order fruit in any drink ordered at a bar, not even the Mohijto.
One should know that in most bars and restaurants, and in every bar and restaurant that I have had the pleasure of working in over the last decade, the day bartender is the person responsible for cutting the fruit that is served with drinks in a bar. The only exception to this rule is when the night bartenders run out of fruit they then cut more fruit to replenish the stock. The fruit cut by the night bartender is much worse for the customer than the fruit that is cut during the day. The fruit is usually cut on a cutting board behind the bar while the bartender is doing the rest of their cleaning and stocking duties for the day. The day bartenders are watched more closely than the night bartenders, they are usually required to wear gloves and have a clean fruit cutting environment. Night bartenders however cut the fruit on the “fly”, and most of the time they cut the fruit with dirty bar hands.
A dirty bartender hand is not the only reason fruit should not be ordered with a beverage at the bar, here are a few more:
1. The fruit is usually only changed out every couple of days.
2. The fruit is not always rotated leaving the fruit in the bottom of the tray for sometimes as long as a week.
3. Bartenders cut their hands all of the time when cut fruit... while this is usually cleaned up, I have experienced first hand that it is not always the case.
4. Olives, cherries, oranges, limes, and lemons are usually stored together cross contaminating one another. There is always olive juice in the cherry container.
5. When the fruit is stored at night it is stored in the fruit tray, not in separate containers or covered well.
6. Fruit flies breed in the fruit trays in any hot, humid, or outdoor bar.
7. The bartenders/servers handling the fruit use their hands to put it on the drink… no gloves or pokers.
I once worked in a bar where a bartender cut the tip of her finger off and had to leave and get stitches in the middle of a Saturday night. In all of the madness with trying to get her off to the hospital we forgot to change the fruit out.
I once worked with a server who handled the fruit after cutting incident and a few months later we found out that she had hepatitis. We all went and got vaccinated, the customers never knew.
I have seen fruit get dropped on a dirty bar mat, picked up and put in the drink. It was the last orange and the customer really wanted it. So it was covered in the entire overspill from drinks served that night.
I once worked with a girl who had a skin disease on her hands; she usually had us put the fruit in her drinks for her. When in a hurry this server would dip her fleshy hands right in the lemons and serve em' up to the customers.
I personally have cut over 5,000 (guess-ta-ment) lemons and limes while bartending, I have only worn gloves maybe 3 times.
I have worked in bars where I have served fruit all evening, at close cleaned out the tray to discover bugs and/or mold in the containers.
Some bars do not have dishwashers and sink wash all glassware and fruit trays. The fruit trays are never fully clean.
I have also worked with some very dirty bartender… need I say more.
I will say that while for the most part I would never order fruit with an alcoholic beverage at the bar. I have eaten my share of fruit from the trays. I am not a germaphobe and I take my chances all of the time. However, I do know the risks that I am taking when I eat a fruit cocktail concoction from the tray. So before ordering a drink: buyer beware, the fruit is not always as refreshing as it appears to be
The saying don’t fruit the beer has been made popular in the last few years because of the ever so popular super bowl commercials produced by a certain beer company. If asked, almost any bartender in the world will tell you that breaking a man law is not the only reason that one shouldn’t fruit their beer. Working in the bar and restaurant industry for the past 15 years I could give a dozen reasons on why a person should not order fruit in their beer at a bar. In fact I would never order fruit in any drink ordered at a bar, not even the Mohijto.
One should know that in most bars and restaurants, and in every bar and restaurant that I have had the pleasure of working in over the last decade, the day bartender is the person responsible for cutting the fruit that is served with drinks in a bar. The only exception to this rule is when the night bartenders run out of fruit they then cut more fruit to replenish the stock. The fruit cut by the night bartender is much worse for the customer than the fruit that is cut during the day. The fruit is usually cut on a cutting board behind the bar while the bartender is doing the rest of their cleaning and stocking duties for the day. The day bartenders are watched more closely than the night bartenders, they are usually required to wear gloves and have a clean fruit cutting environment. Night bartenders however cut the fruit on the “fly”, and most of the time they cut the fruit with dirty bar hands.
A dirty bartender hand is not the only reason fruit should not be ordered with a beverage at the bar, here are a few more:
1. The fruit is usually only changed out every couple of days.
2. The fruit is not always rotated leaving the fruit in the bottom of the tray for sometimes as long as a week.
3. Bartenders cut their hands all of the time when cut fruit... while this is usually cleaned up, I have experienced first hand that it is not always the case.
4. Olives, cherries, oranges, limes, and lemons are usually stored together cross contaminating one another. There is always olive juice in the cherry container.
5. When the fruit is stored at night it is stored in the fruit tray, not in separate containers or covered well.
6. Fruit flies breed in the fruit trays in any hot, humid, or outdoor bar.
7. The bartenders/servers handling the fruit use their hands to put it on the drink… no gloves or pokers.
I once worked in a bar where a bartender cut the tip of her finger off and had to leave and get stitches in the middle of a Saturday night. In all of the madness with trying to get her off to the hospital we forgot to change the fruit out.
I once worked with a server who handled the fruit after cutting incident and a few months later we found out that she had hepatitis. We all went and got vaccinated, the customers never knew.
I have seen fruit get dropped on a dirty bar mat, picked up and put in the drink. It was the last orange and the customer really wanted it. So it was covered in the entire overspill from drinks served that night.
I once worked with a girl who had a skin disease on her hands; she usually had us put the fruit in her drinks for her. When in a hurry this server would dip her fleshy hands right in the lemons and serve em' up to the customers.
I personally have cut over 5,000 (guess-ta-ment) lemons and limes while bartending, I have only worn gloves maybe 3 times.
I have worked in bars where I have served fruit all evening, at close cleaned out the tray to discover bugs and/or mold in the containers.
Some bars do not have dishwashers and sink wash all glassware and fruit trays. The fruit trays are never fully clean.
I have also worked with some very dirty bartender… need I say more.
I will say that while for the most part I would never order fruit with an alcoholic beverage at the bar. I have eaten my share of fruit from the trays. I am not a germaphobe and I take my chances all of the time. However, I do know the risks that I am taking when I eat a fruit cocktail concoction from the tray. So before ordering a drink: buyer beware, the fruit is not always as refreshing as it appears to be
Friday, July 9, 2010
Drink of the day
Scooby Snack:
.75oz of malibu rum
.75 oz midori
pineapple juice
whipped cream
shake over ice and serve straight up
.75oz of malibu rum
.75 oz midori
pineapple juice
whipped cream
shake over ice and serve straight up
Thursday, July 8, 2010
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
A Smile is Worth a Thousand Words, or $500.00
It still amazes me everyday how affective a smile or a kind word is when it comes to changing someone’s day. I have learned through my years of bartending that sometimes the best way to receive a tip is to put on a smile. I ran a bar for over 18 months and everyday when I started my shift I would say to all of the bartenders, smile even if you don’t mean it. We as bartenders hide behind this smile most every day. There are some bartenders who have not or cannot achieve this simple gesture while slinging drinks for the masses. But the ones who have will tell you, that their smile could have easily been what has put them through college or paid their mortgage. The smile for me though is not only about getting good tips, although it does help significantly. I have learned over the years that my smile has helped me form connections and relationships with bar regulars that have lasted a life time.
In the monetary since my smile has truly paid my bills, put me through college, and paid for almost any great thing I have accomplished. I have been offered because of my smile cars, clothes, credit cards, and trips around the world. In fact this past weekend I was offered a trip to Tokyo. I have for the most part declined these types of gifts throughout the years because I feel that I would have been taking advantage of a kind and drunken person. I have accepted smaller gifts throughout the years like a crystal necklace from an old lady who wanted me to have it. Or I have received CD’s and other gifts that were made for me. I feel like bartenders have plenty of opportunity to take advantage of their bar regulars when it comes to filling in the tip slot on the credit card at the end of the night, no need to take more. Although sometimes I look back and think how nice it would be if I had that Jeep Wrangler or apartment in NY.
My smile has gotten me more than just money and gifts while bartending. I believe that because of my lack of willingness to take advantage of my bar regulars I have received a wonderful collection of people, whom have become my surrogate family. One of the best relationships that was spawn from my smile was with two bar regulars named Granny and Sid. I worked at a sports bar for a 2 ½ year stint while going to school. I worked at this bar an upwards of 60 hours a week at some points. We had a game unit at this bar that allowed the bar regulars to play free poker and trivia while they drank. Granny and Sid were an old lesbian couple who were lesbians before it was even heard of, and who loved to play some trivia and poker. They were a little on the bitter side and did not like just anyone. After smiling at them and serving them margaritas for a couple of months Sid said to me, “I have never met someone who has smiled so much that they have smile wrinkles at the age of 25”. It broke the ice, from that day on they smiled back, and not just at me. These ladies became family to all of the bartenders at the sports bar. Fortunately I worked with a few other bartenders who were just like me, so Granny and Sid became family to them as well. Sid eventually grew extremely sick and Granny was distraught. I and some of my fellow bartenders helped take care of their animals and apartment while Sid was in the hospital. We got a phone call from Granny hours before Sid died; she wanted us to be there with her because we were the only ones who could make her feel better. The bartenders were not only included in the funeral ceremony but also asked to carry the casket for Sid. After her death we each received a small gift from Granny of something that had belonged to Sid. I still have that gift and I will always keep it. These ladies changed my life and I took part in changing theirs.
So for the bartenders, please remember to smile even if you don’t mean it. Not just for the tips, do it because it just might change someone’s life, even your own. For the bar guests, please keep in mind that it sometimes can be the hardest task a bartender has to achieve in a bad days work, the smile. So if they are smiling, let them know how much you appreciate it. For the bar regulars I have served over the years, I knew you liked smile, Can’t get enough! :) P.S. I have enjoyed all of yours as well.
The largest tip I have ever received and was told it was because of my smile was $500.00. A business man in Detroit had had a rough day, I made him laugh and he tipped me for it… Keep that in mind!
In the monetary since my smile has truly paid my bills, put me through college, and paid for almost any great thing I have accomplished. I have been offered because of my smile cars, clothes, credit cards, and trips around the world. In fact this past weekend I was offered a trip to Tokyo. I have for the most part declined these types of gifts throughout the years because I feel that I would have been taking advantage of a kind and drunken person. I have accepted smaller gifts throughout the years like a crystal necklace from an old lady who wanted me to have it. Or I have received CD’s and other gifts that were made for me. I feel like bartenders have plenty of opportunity to take advantage of their bar regulars when it comes to filling in the tip slot on the credit card at the end of the night, no need to take more. Although sometimes I look back and think how nice it would be if I had that Jeep Wrangler or apartment in NY.
My smile has gotten me more than just money and gifts while bartending. I believe that because of my lack of willingness to take advantage of my bar regulars I have received a wonderful collection of people, whom have become my surrogate family. One of the best relationships that was spawn from my smile was with two bar regulars named Granny and Sid. I worked at a sports bar for a 2 ½ year stint while going to school. I worked at this bar an upwards of 60 hours a week at some points. We had a game unit at this bar that allowed the bar regulars to play free poker and trivia while they drank. Granny and Sid were an old lesbian couple who were lesbians before it was even heard of, and who loved to play some trivia and poker. They were a little on the bitter side and did not like just anyone. After smiling at them and serving them margaritas for a couple of months Sid said to me, “I have never met someone who has smiled so much that they have smile wrinkles at the age of 25”. It broke the ice, from that day on they smiled back, and not just at me. These ladies became family to all of the bartenders at the sports bar. Fortunately I worked with a few other bartenders who were just like me, so Granny and Sid became family to them as well. Sid eventually grew extremely sick and Granny was distraught. I and some of my fellow bartenders helped take care of their animals and apartment while Sid was in the hospital. We got a phone call from Granny hours before Sid died; she wanted us to be there with her because we were the only ones who could make her feel better. The bartenders were not only included in the funeral ceremony but also asked to carry the casket for Sid. After her death we each received a small gift from Granny of something that had belonged to Sid. I still have that gift and I will always keep it. These ladies changed my life and I took part in changing theirs.
So for the bartenders, please remember to smile even if you don’t mean it. Not just for the tips, do it because it just might change someone’s life, even your own. For the bar guests, please keep in mind that it sometimes can be the hardest task a bartender has to achieve in a bad days work, the smile. So if they are smiling, let them know how much you appreciate it. For the bar regulars I have served over the years, I knew you liked smile, Can’t get enough! :) P.S. I have enjoyed all of yours as well.
The largest tip I have ever received and was told it was because of my smile was $500.00. A business man in Detroit had had a rough day, I made him laugh and he tipped me for it… Keep that in mind!
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