Thursday, July 8, 2010

FINALLY... A BREAK?

It seems as if we're finally seeing some relief at the end of the tunnel as the temps are down to a more manageable 85 degrees. However, the humidity is still pretty high so we're not quite out of the woods just yet. My weather gods tell me that the worst is behind us and things should only get better from here.

PUB TRIVIA made a great comeback last night as we hosted an astounding 17 teams for last night's competition. While you had many of the diehard regulars in attendance for last night's competition, we also had a large number of "newbies" who seemed to enjoy themselves.

I also got a visit from one of my former college classmates, JEFF and his lovely wife KAREN. They currently reside in Memphis, TN (where yours truly was born, btw) and were in town to celebrate their 10th Wedding Anniversary. It was great seeing the both of them and I was honored that they took time out of their celebration to stop by, say hi and play a few rounds of Trivia!

Check out the pics from last night on our FACEBOOK page!

MORE ATHLETE SIGHTINGS: For the second night in a row, we got a visit from a pro athlete. On Tuesday night it was LANCE NIX of the Cincinnati Reds; Last night, we got a visit from ERIC OLSEN, former Notre Dame standout offensive lineman, recently drafted by the Denver Broncos. This guy was HUGE! Pretty nice fellow, though he doesn't take very kindly to being compared to NY Jets lineman NICK MANGOLD (they look a lot alike apparently). Good luck in Denver!


BARTENDER'S GRIPES

The life of a bartender is interesting, to say the least. It's a great job if you have the personality and patience for it. Some of the pluses of being a bartender include having the creativity that goes with making drinks, meeting new people and of course, getting to "meet" new people (if you know what I mean).

On the flip side, there are minuses to the job, as there are with any profession. You are dealing with people all the time, which means that you always have to be "on". You often have to have a thick skin and deal with eccentric personalities. There are those folks who are always looking to get over on you, so you always have to be wary without appearing wary. Let's just say that being a bartender isn't as glamorous as it looks. It can actually be draining at times. Here are some of the common gripes that bartenders have:

- "Low talkers" who don't speak up when you say "What?"

- Customers who order from a mile away.

- Patrons who order a specific number of dollar drafts, then wait to hear how much it is before fumbling in their wallet/purse for the amount. (One dollar = One dollar!)

- Drunk customers who ask you to put their drinks on their tab when they never opened one in the first place; More annoying is when they insist that they have a tab when in fact they never opened one.

- When someone orders a glass of water and don't drink it.

- When your drink comes with a coaster and the customer consistently places their drink next to it.

- (***) When a customer asks for (or even worse, DEMAND) a buyback. More annoying is when they expect a buyback as if it's a state law. Even more annoying is when they ask for a buyback without ever tipping.

-When a customer asks to close out a tab and you can't find it because the idiot gave his first name.

- After waiving frantically for your attention, you finally get to them only to have them turn around to take everyone's drink order. Have your order ready!!!!

- When drunk male patrons kiss the hands of the female bartenders. Creepy.

-When you ask a customer what they want and they say: "Can I have a beer"? OR "What drinks do you have?" OR "Make me something good".

- When a customer addresses you with "nicknames" such as "Chief", "Boss", "Yo!", "Sweetheart", "Darling", etc.

- After asking how much their bill is, tossing a crumpled wad of bills at you so you don't see that they didn't leave a tip.

There are more priceless gripes that bartenders have, but I'll save them for a later post. Trust me, there are plenty of gems!


NEW TO THE BEER ROTATION: LAGUNITAS IPA and OMMEGANG HENNEPIN!

In our never ending quest to broaden your beer tasting experience, we've brought onboard two new brands: Lagunitas IPA, based out of California (Petaluma), is an American IPA that's fiercely popular out west and is slowly making inroads in the NYC area.


Ommegang Hennepin is a Farmhouse Saison beer, based out of upstate New York (Cooperstown), which packs a nice punch (7.7 % ABV). Widely considered as one of the best all-around beers in the U.S. (if not the world). Great balance in aroma and taste, a must-have; one that I've personally been eager to bring in for quite awhile. We purposely held back on doing so until now- we think you're ready to take your taste buds to the next level.

You can't go wrong on either selection; Try them both out and let us know what you think!


That's it for now. Join us tonight for THIRSTY THURSDAYS, featuring $4 domestic drafts (5-10pm). MLB baseball on tap with the NY Yankees playing out west vs Seattle and other games on tap, thanks to the MLB EXTRA INNINGS package. Oh, and if you are one of those individuals who are salivating over what Lebron James is going to do, we'll air "The Decision" on ESPN live at 9pm.


That's All I Got.

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