Jobs

Bartending jobs here in the city can be hard to come by if you don't know the "right" people. By "right" people, I mean knowing someone on the inside of the place you want to bartend at. It seems like this city is filled with a ton of bartenders and not a whole lot of bartending positions. Every place that I have ever bartended at, I have known someone on the inside first. Craigslist is a great idea, but realistically people in this industry don't hire anyone off the street. It's like this weird insider thing. Bar people feel more comfortable hiring someone they know or who has been recommended to them.

I have responded to a few ads on Craigslist calling for bartenders. Not once have I ever gotten hired from one. Those ads usually generate cattle calls for local bartenders or people who wish to be bartenders. You generally have to wait in line outside of the establishment and one by one you are summoned in for a brief interview and chance to drop off your resume. It's great interview experience, but I don't need interview experience. I need the job!

This is one industry where you have to know someone who knows someone in order to get your foot in the door. Networking and persistence. Eventually, someone will hire you. Seriously.

Bartender School Instructor?

I am thinking about becoming a bartending school instructor during the day, three hours a day, five days a week. I have a friend on the inside and he told me I should do it. I am seriously considering it. Sounds like it could be a fun gig in addition to the bartending.

Hey, I have always wanted to be a teacher. At least this way, I don't have to go through the lengthy procedure of getting certified. My work experience seems to be good enough. Plus, this would help me network more in the San Francisco bar industry as well. Not bad. Not bad at all.

A Must Read For Bartenders

If you are a bartender, I highly suggest you read, "The Joy of Mixology" written by Gary Regan. The book was recommended to me by a fellow bartender. I started reading it last week and haven't been able to put it down. This book has everything one would ever need to know when it comes to bartending. This book discusses the history of cocktails and mixed drinks, what every bartender needs to have or be able to do, the theory of mixology, foundations of the bar (garnishes, mixers and supplemental ingredients), bartending tools, glassware, a very clear explanation and chart of cocktail and mixed-drink families and hundreds of recipes.

Do yourself a favor and don't just skip to the recipes chapter. Really read this book from start until finish. I have read a few different bar books and I feel like this book really gives it's reader the whole spectrum of how things work and function behind any bar. I have been bartending for a few years and thought I knew a lot about bartending and cocktails already. Now that I am reading this book, I am realizing that I still have a whole lot more to learn. I love books that expand my horizons!

The book itself is easy to read and hard to put down. It isn't super long either. I wish I had known about this book when I first started bartending.

Getting Up Early

It sure is hard to get your butt out of bed early in the morning and get it into the gym for an hour long workout when you work nights. But once that workout is done, it feels so wonderful and rewarding.

Don't: Bad Bar Service

Last night, I had really bad bar service. I am not going to name names or point fingers. I am not in the business of bad mouthing. The service (or I should say lack of) should reflect more on the individual than the establishment so I will just leave it at that. I just wanted to note the experience here as a major "Don't". For those of you who already work in the industry or have ever had any sort of customer service type of job, common sense would tell you that this sort of experience should never happen to any customer in any sort of business. Period.

A group of five of us walked into the bar and were deciding on what to drink. Everyone in our group worked in the industry at some level (server, bartender, barback and a dj). We are all pretty well versed in the bar scene and have a pretty good idea on the cocktails we like to drink. Our bartender came up to us and wanted to take our order right away. He acknowledged our presence and was efficient in wanting to take our drink order. There were a couple of us in the group who hadn't quite decided what we wanted to drink yet. The bartender became irritated and quickly moved on to someone else in the group who was ready to order. I can understand this sort of behavior in a busy atmosphere, but at this point, we were the only patrons at the bar so I didn't understand the rush.

I ordered a beer because I didn't feel like I even had a chance to scan the specialty cocktail menu. Plus, I didn't want to irritate our bartender anymore than I needed to. Mental note-the customer should NEVER have to worry about irritating the bartender. That's bad customer service. My boyfriend on the other hand hadn't decided what he wanted to drink at that point. The bartender fetched my beer and immediately asked my boyfriend again what he wanted to drink. He still hadn't really had a chance to decide on what he wanted to drink. I told the bartender to give us a few minutes so he could decide. The bartender told me he couldn't leave until I paid for my beer. What? Was he seriously afraid of me walking out and not paying for the beer I ordered? I looked at him and asked, "Really?" He looked at me square in the face and said, "Well, that's how it works. You order and you pay." I told him I was a bartender and I understood how it worked. He thought I was agreeing with him, but I wasn't. Obviously he has never worked in a busy enough atmosphere where he has had to take multiple orders before. All I wanted was to give my boyfriend some time to think about what he wanted to drink and then pay for our drinks together, all at once. Seeing that this wasn't going to happen, I paid for my beer and reluctantly left him a dollar tip.

When my boyfriend finally decided on what he wanted to drink, the bartender questioned his order. He asked something like, "Are you sure you want ginger ale in that?" What!?! I just wanted to tell him to shut up and make the damn drink. We even thought about just getting up and leaving at that point, but I kept my cool. I have taken some abnormal drink orders in my day, but never have I had asked a customer, "Are you sure you want that?". No matter how weird or outlandish an order might seem, you take the order, you make it and then you charge the customer appropriately. Bartenders are not in the business to judge someone's drink and question their orders. They are in the business to provide good customer service, make delicious drinks and make them in a timely manner.

After we ordered our drinks, the bartender kept coming over our way with a scowl on his face. I felt like we were inconveniencing him in some way just by being there. I didn't feel welcomed at his bar by any means. I even watched as another customer came up and requested something in her drink. It looked like she said it didn't taste right and wanted a little more of something added to it. The bartender added whatever she asked and then replied in a snotty tone, "Your Welcome!". I was shocked. I had seen the whole transaction take place. The customer was polite and had even said thank you. I could tell from the look on her face, she was just as shocked with his service as I was. What was this guy's deal?

Later on in the night, we watched as another bartender and the crappy bartender had gotten into it with each other behind the bar. We couldn't hear what they were saying, but their body language spoke loud and clear. It was obvious that we weren't the only ones who thought this guy had a major attitude problem. The crappy bartender ended up either getting sent home early or had gotten fired because we didn't see him for the rest of the night.

I want to believe that this guy didn't give crappy customer service on purpose. I want to believe that maybe he was just nervous and through his ignorance, just didn't understand the natural follow of things behind the bar which ultimately lead to his poor customer service. I know we all have our bad days and off nights. We are human and it happens, but when it comes to a service industry job such as bartending, you have to leave the crap at the door and put your game face on for your entire shift. The customer may not always be right (especially when there is alcohol involved), but all customers deserve a certain level of friendliness and respect.

Without customers, you have no need for bartenders. Period.

The Pressure To Drink Behind The Bar

This post is more aimed at those who work behind the bar.....

Do you ever feel the pressure to drink while at work? Working in a restaurant/nightclub/bar is a very different kind of work environment. Your job is to not only serve good food and/or tasty drinks, but you are responsible for entertaining your guests. With that said, the entertainment is usually focused around alcohol. Go figure.

I know a lot of places out there forbid their staff to drink while on the clock. And with good reason. I have seen many people abuse the drinking privilege (yes, being allowed to drink on the clock is a privilege not a right) in every single bar I have worked at. Some people can't control themselves and let themselves get carried away with the shots. Some people can't control their liquor. Some people just can't control themselves. A lot of people can get carried away with the night and forget why they are there in the first place.

I am a bartender that likes to always be in control of the situation, no matter what type of situation it is. I always want to be of sound and mind when I deal with cash, balancing my drawer, dealing with intoxicated people, breaking up nasty conflicts or having to cut someone off. A bartender always has to be ready for anything-the bad situation, the rush and the clean up. I always like to ready stone cold sober.

Don't get me wrong. I have had my moments. We all have. I remember bragging about back in the day when I went through my whole 6 hour shift on 12 shots of Fernet and finished with balancing my drawer to the penny and was still able to stand up. But that isn't something I am necessarily proud of. I certainly wouldn't do that to my current employer or my body today.

I feel like no matter which bar you work at, there are always pressures placed on you to drink. Even if there is a no-drinking policy put into place. There are pressures from co-workers who slip shots throughout the night to one another. There are pressures from customers who want you to drink with them and try to buy you shots. As an example, I had this really nice customer the other night who seemed to really vibe off of me. He insisted on buying me a glass of champagne (my favorite BTW) even though I told him I couldn't drink it while I worked. So I poured a glass, charged him for it, thanked him and then had to stare at the glass for the rest of my shift. What a waste, but I appreciated the gesture.

If bartenders drank with all the customers who wanted to drink with them, could you imagine what that night would be like? Or how about the next morning for the bartender? Yup, I have been there too. That's how I became an expert at disguising my shots. Coke looks like a lot of dark liquors. A mixture of juices can pass off as an sort of fruity shot. Water looks like vodka. You get the idea.

So my question to you is how do you deal with the pressure to drink while at work? Are you one of those bartenders who caves in easily and says "F It?" and drinks anyways? Are you one of those bartenders who stands your ground and refuses any drink that might come your way? Or are you one of those bartenders who plays along and tricks the customer into thinking you are drinking with them when you really aren't?

Let me know. Post your stories....

Sparkling Wine vs Champagne

Yesterday, we went to the Domaine Chandon winery and took a tour and did a special tasting. The special tasting was awesome because it was just us and the tour guide tasting the different champagnes and one of their still wines (the pinot noir). In this kind of setting, I was encouraged to ask as many questions as I wanted to. The first question I asked was one that I never quite understood-what is the difference between sparkling wine and champagne?

Honestly, the only difference between sparkling wine and champagne is the name-not the way it is produced! Originally, I thought that only grapes used to make champagne from the Champagne region of France could be called champagne and that everything else in the world was called sparkling wine. Part of that is true actually. The Treaty of Madrid made it so that most countries in the world such as Italy, Spain and Africa could not call their champagnes "champagne". The treaty made it so that all of the countries who signed agreed that champagne produced in the Champagne region of France could be called "champagne". That's why is Italy its called spumante, Spain its known as Cava and in South Africa its called Cap Classique, for example. The reason why the United States can get away using the term "champagne" is because during the time when this treaty was put into effect, the United States was in the middle of Prohibition. We didn't sign the treaty, hence we didn't have to follow the rules. How very American of us! The reason why Chandon refers to their champagnes as sparkling wines is out of respect for the French. Their parent company (Louis Vuitton) is French. Go figure. The French are VERY protective of their language so the explanation makes sense.

Whatever you want to call it (sparkling wine or champagne), after our tour and tasting yesterday, I now have a deeper appreciation for the bubbly stuff! Did you know the foam you see in the glass when you pour it from the bottle is called the "moose"? It's the same as the "head" in a beer. The more moose you have, the better the quality of champagne you have. The bigger the bubbles in the glass though, the bigger the headache.

As for what to look for in a good glass of champagne, there are three things: the moose, the bubbles and the taste. You should never judge a bottle or glass of champagne on the price alone. Just because a bottle of champagne is $100 doesn't mean its going to be amazing. You must take into consideration the size of the moose, the size of the bubbles and how it tastes. If you don't like the taste, it isn't going to matter what you spend on it. As a rule of thumb when it comes to champagne, the most expensive is not necessarily going to be better. It really comes down to your own personal taste.

Did you know that "Extra Dry" means that there is extra sugar? The order of sweetness from least sweet to most sweet is: Extra Brut, Brut, Extra Dry, Sec, Demi and Doux. Also, do you know what makes a "Rose" a "Rose"? It's just a mixture of champagne and pinot noir. That is what gives it the blush color. There are also three types of grapes used in producing champagne: red pinot meunier, red pinot noir and chardonnay.

When it comes to champagne in general, the basic rule of thumb is to chill it and then kill it. Once the yeast is pulled from the bottle and the contents are corked, its ready for consumption. The aging process for champagne ends when the yeast is extracted from the bottle. So the longer you wait to drink a bottle, the lower in quality it becomes.

I now have three new champagne cocktail recipes to try this week at work!