Archive for the ‘Bartenders’ Category
August 9th, 2006
Bartender profile
Dylan Black was a Central Square ruffian who started busing tables on the other side of Cambridge, at Upstairs on the Square, when he was 17. He worked his way up the ranks in various restaurants to waiter, bartender, and, finally, bar manager before coming back to his old ‘hood and buying this beloved, old institution in January 2006. He has maintained the quality of food for which the former Green Street Grill was known. More importantly, he and his crack team of bartenders from among Boston’s best have improved the variety and quality of drinks.
Dylan is unabashedly excited to be running his own place, and his good vibe is infectuous as he greets everyone who walks in the door. But he’s casual and doesn’t overdo it. He’s like that cool kid in high school who threw the best parties by somehow attending to everyone’s liquid, musical, and social needs while being completely at ease and enjoying a few games of quarters.
If you catch Dylan during a lull in business, ask him to mix you a Daisy Black (Old Overholt rye, fresh lemon juice, honey syrup) — an homage to his great grandfather’s bartending nickname — and tell you about the history of the establishment. You’ll learn that Green Street has Cambridge’s oldest operating liquor license, issued in 1933, that the original proprietor saw fit to embed three bottles of Angostura Bitters in the brick outside the front door (see photo above), and that there is a “huge” old sign in the attic for Charlie’s Tap, which occupied this space in the 1940s. With a glint in his eye, Dylan muses over “what has been going on in this room before me.”
Hometown
Cambridge, MA.
Past bartending jobs
Redbones, B-Side Lounge, Chez Henri.
First drink you ever had
A Foster’s “oil can.”
Favorite bar in Boston other than your own
Reggie’s bar at the Blue Room.
The drink you most like to make
Negroni. A perfectly balanced cocktail full of flavor.
The drink you least like to make
White Russians in a pint glass.
What you drink at the end of your shift
Cold beer or the open wine from the shift.
If I weren’t a bartender, I’d be…
Making license plates for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
A bartender’s best friend is…
A great chef.
A bartender’s worst enemy is…
A drunk chef.
People drink too much…
Olive juice.
People don’t drink enough…
Water.
Drink for a hot summer day
Iceberg (1 1/2 oz Plymouth gin, 1/2 Ricard, shaved ice, sprig o’mint).
Drink for a cold winter night
Belle & B (1 1/2 oz brandy, 1/2 oz Belle de Brillet in a snifter).
The best thing about drinking in Boston
Drinking on the Charles. I love to drink along the River, on any of the benches, under any of the bridges, I don’t care, I love the River!
The worst thing about drinking in Boston
The cops may arrest you for drinking on the Charles.
Posted in Bartenders | 1 Comment »
August 4th, 2006
Bartender profile
With his custom-made Ray-Ban eyeglasses, artfully mussed hair, and vintage, “daddy-o” shirts, Max Toste (“toasty”) looks like a guy you’d as soon see on stage at T.T. the Bears as behind the bar. Like a fair number of bartenders in Boston, Max actually is a musician. But I’m glad he’s dedicated to his day job as co-owner of Deep Ellum, the only combination beer bar-cocktail lounge in Boston. Back when he tended bar at Bukowski Tavern-Cambridge, and now at Deep Ellum, Max treats me like the Lady of Beer Manor. He will proffer a beverage or two he thinks will interest me; he knows my taste is all over the map, so he might offer me a Moylan’s Hopsickle (ridiculously hoppy double IPA), a mellow stout, or a German lager that happens to come in a can. He knows I rarely come in with my beer order on the tip of my tongue, that I always peruse the specials blackboard, and that I like a little banter — call it beer foreplay — before I commit myself to a selection. I’m no bartender’s pet, though. Max waits on all the ladies — and the gents — with similar attention to their tastes and personalities.
Believe it or not, this is only his second gig behind a bar. “Before Bukowski, I was not very interested in bartending. I worked in fancy places [e.g. Locke-Ober] where being table-side guiding people through wine lists was much more interesting than cranking out apple-tinis and Cosmos. I was terrified of being trapped behind a bar, stuck talking to some golf enthusiast.” But, he has found that his “customers, for the most part, are very receptive to trying new things and maybe hearing a story about what they’re drinking.”
And since he’s been at Deep Ellum, Max has developed an ambitious repertoire of classic cocktails, including four different Manhattans.
Hometown
Tiverton, Rhode Island, a very small rural coastal New England town. Lots of farmers and fishermen. My grandparents on both sides were farmers from Portuguese heritage. The love of food and drink is a big part of my family’s personality.
First drink you ever had
A glass of Seagrams VO whiskey my grandfather had stashed in the door of his MG. My second was stealing a Bud can from same grandfather’s garage fridge. He knew how to live! And I can thank him for my love of whiskey and beer.
Favorite bar in Boston other than your own
The DeLux. The other is the bar in my house.
The drink you most like to serve
I like to try to figure out just the right beer or drink for every customer at my bar. What I like doesn’t really matter. It’s their mood or taste at that moment that I try to cater to. I like turning people on to their new favorite thing.
The drink you least like to serve
Something people order because they think it makes them cool.
What you drink at the end of your shift
At the end of the night I like a whiskey and a cold beer.
If I weren’t a bartender I’d be…
A cook.
A bartender’s best friend is…
The customer who wants to have a good time. A bartender’s worst enemy is the other guy who doesn’t!
People drink too much…
Fucking diet soda. Have a beer with your lunch like a civilized person!
People don’t drink enough…
Local craft beer.
Drink for a hot summer day
Pacifico Clara or Smuttynose IPA out of the bottle.
Drink to ward off the cold
Unibroue Trois Pistoles [Quebecois strong ale], Sam Smith Imperial Stout, or three fingers of an Islay scotch.
The best thing about beer in Boston is…
The presence of more craft (and local craft) beers in your average bar and liquor stores every year.
The worst thing about beer in Boston is…
That drinking good beer is a status symbol, and not just natural!
Posted in Bartenders | 9 Comments »
July 17th, 2006
Bartender Profile
One of the best things about bargoing in Boston is that your favorite bartender is less likely to be a struggling actor than an ivy league graduate student. Misty (yes, that’s the name her parents gave her) Kalkofen started tending bar while earning her master’s at the Harvard Divinity School. Her plan was to go for the PhD and teach, but student loans of Biblical proportions — and the prospect of professorial earnings too meager to pay them off — pushed her into pouring drinks full-time.
The thing is, she got to liking her new career. “I can’t imagine doing anything else,” she says while sipping an iced coffee with Patron XO Cafe (tequila with coffee essence) at B-Side, a bar where she used to work and still frequently hangs out. Before landing at Drink, she was bar manager at another beloved Cambridge bar, Green Street, which her friend Dylan Black (also a B-Side alum) opened in 2006. These establishments are cool but genuine hangouts that happen to serve consistently well-executed and interesting food and drink. Misty’s a perfect fit for both. Her non-showy mastery of mixing drinks, her comfort behind the bar, and her full-throated laugh make you forget about all the sullen waifs who’ve ever served you a glass of underchilled Ketel One and called it a martini.
Hometown
Born in Mexico, Missouri. Grew up in Green Bay, Wisconsin.
Past bartending jobs
Lizard Lounge, West Side Lounge, Tremont 647.
First drink you ever had
I was always a “Can I have a sip” kind of kid… Probably don’t really remember the first one, but I would regularly sip from my father’s post-work blended Scotch on the rocks.
Favorite bar in Boston other than your own
Any bar where John Gertsen [currently of No. 9 Park] is behind the stick.
The drink you most like to make
The one that I’m going to drink!
The drink you least like to make
If there is a drink out there that is a version of a Long Island Iced Tea that has Blue Curacao and Pucker Schnapps in it, that is my least favorite drink.
What you drink at the end of your shift
Although there are nights when I’m craving something involving the use of a shaker, the truth is that after 10+ hours on the bar there is nothing finer than cracking open an ice cold Budweiser.
If I weren’t a bartender, I’d be…
Homeless… just kidding, but barely. Reading the New Testament in Greek, teaching young impressionable people to do the same, and barely scraping by in the process.
A bartender’s best friend is…
Competent co-workers and good regulars.
A bartender’s worst enemy is…
Bar rot. And that guy who said to me, “You know what I like about you, your boobs… and your ass ain’t half bad either.” (True story.)
People drink too much…
Vodka.
People don’t drink enough…
Gin, vermouth, bitters.
Drink for a hot summer day
Gin with lillet, mint, and lemon juice. YUM!
Drink for a cold winter night
Bourbon, rye, scotch… alone or in a toddy.
The best thing about drinking in Boston is…
There is now more than one bar you can go to and ask for (and receive) a well-made, well-balanced cocktail.
The worst thing about drinking in Boston is…
The bars close early and the T stops running even earlier…
Posted in Bartenders | 8 Comments »
June 15th, 2006
Bartender Profile
This is what kind of bartender Jackson Cannon is: As we were leaving Eastern Standard after having dinner at the bar last New Year’s Eve, Jackson asked, “Are you going to another bar or to a party?” “Another bar,” we answered. “Would you like me to call ahead and see if there’s room for you?” We chuckled nervously in response, because we didn’t think he was serious. But he was. We felt like Myrna Loy and William Powell. Call ahead to announce our arrival at another bar? That’s the kind of old-school service everybody assumed was extinct, but guys like Jackson are intent on reviving it. (For the record, no phone call was necessary, since we were heading over to Bukowski Tavern’s traditionally uncrowded “Fuck New Year’s” Party.)
And that’s only one of the perks of sitting at Jackson’s bar. If you ask him about the ingredients of a cocktail he’s mixing for you, you’ll get the complete story of that particular libation and its history of usage in drinks — all by the time he has emptied the contents of the shaker into your cocktail glass. He provides these details without being nerdy or overbearing; it’s just another part of his job, like slicing limes or uncorking wine bottles. Perhaps the best thing about Jackson is that he’s not just a one-man show, but the leader of a highly competent team of barmen and women. You can consistently get a great drink and great service from any of the ES bartenders. That’s a wonderful thing.
Hometown
Born in California, grew up outside Washington D.C.
First drink you ever had
We used to get thimbles of beer in our high chair when I was growing up.
Favorite Boston bar other than your own
B-Side Lounge.
The drink you most like to make
Sazerac.
The drink you least like to make
Called-for vodka with soda, splash of Sprite and cran, garnished with a lemon and a lime!
What you drink at the end of your shift
Ice cold beer and a shot of Fernet.
If you weren’t a bartender, you’d be…
A musician.
A bartender’s best friend is…
A strong back.
A bartender’s worst enemy is…
A bad manager.
People drink too much…
Vodka.
People don’t drink enough…
Vermouth.
Drink for a hot summer day
Whiskey Smash.
Drink for a cold winter night
Washington Style Toddy.
The best thing about drinking in Boston is…
The emerging identity of local craft bartending.
The worst thing about drinking in Boston is…
Early closing times.
Posted in Bartenders | 3 Comments »
June 15th, 2006
Bartender Profile
The lounge at this Cuban-French restaurant is small but always packed. Scott Holliday runs the place like one of those weary, jaded proprietors of a village café in France who, when you take an interest in that hand-labeled liqueur behind the counter, perks up and dotes on you like a long-lost uncle. Scott describes himself as the “curmudgeon” of a group of classic cocktail revivalists and fellow bartenders called the Jack Rose Society, explaining that he doesn’t have all day to make a drink — “I have to work for a living!” That said, the man has extensive knowledge of vintage potions like the Seelbach Cocktail, and will mix them enthusiastically for those who ask. Whatever your taste, and no matter how busy the place is, Scott will make you a good drink quickly, and if you decide to pounce on an empty bar table and order a complete dinner (because the food here is really good), he’ll accommodate you without fuss.
Hometown
Newburyport, Massachusetts.
Past bartending jobs
Franklin Cafe, Washington Square Tavern, The Good Life (Boston).
First drink you ever had
The first drink I clearly remember was CC and ginger. Afternoons my grandmother would sit in her rocker in the kitchen listening to WBZ news on the radio while dinner was on the stove. She often had a drink next to her in one of those plastic mugs that was burlap-looking on the outside and pastel pink on the inside. When I was probably 10 or 11 years old I took a quick sip — just once — but the strong, spicy, fizzy drink confused and shocked me so that I never forgot it. It was probably a decade or more before I had another, but that second highball brought the whole episode flooding back and this time having acquired a taste for strong drink I loved it. I’ll still a have whiskey and ginger anytime I feel nostalgic for the tastes and smells of summer evenings in my grandparents’ kitchen.
Favorite Boston bar other than your own
I have too many friends behind too many bars to name just one, and just like I couldn’t possibly name a favorite drink I have favorite bars for different reasons. No. 9 Park for when I want to feel like an old-time Boston Brahmin for a few hours and steal (learn) anything I can from Professor John Gertsen. Eastern Standard to see the well-oiled excellence of a large bar gracefully churning out Jackson Cannon’s ambitious cocktail program — it’s a glimpse at what bars of the gilded age may have looked like in action. Green Street for the all-stars and warm souls Dylan Black has assembled at his excellent new restaurant (including Dylan himself). And lastly, the DeLux Cafe in Boston. I don’t know anyone working there anymore, but this quirky, genuine, band box of a bar always makes me smile. It’s very like the bar I own in my fantasies.
The drink you most like to make
It changes with time of day and season, but I’m particularly proud that I’m known for my Sazeracs from a few regulars and have been complimented by Kentuckians incredulous that a Yankee could mix a proper mint julep.
The drink you least like to make
Long Island Ice Teas. It’s a crappy, confused drink for people just looking to get drunk quickly (and who frequently insist they can’t drink gin, whiskey, tequila or any spirit other than vodka).
What you drink at the end of your shift
It changes with how much energy I have and what mood I’m in. Lately I’ve been sipping Punt e Mes on ice with the juice from a quarter grapefruit squeezed on top. I love the layers of bitterness and sweetness, especially when our good friend and customer Adrian has stopped by with fresh-off-the-tree grapefruits from his house in Naples, Florida.
If you weren’t a bartender, you’d be…
A gentleman farmer or a 19th-century inventor of dangerous, impractical household contraptions and pseudoscientific medical devices.
A bartender’s best friend is…
Open-minded, engaged regulars. They set the tone for the entire bar. At their best they can be catalysts for general conversation, assurance for newcomers and witnesses to the insults we sometimes endure. At their worst they can be boorish but hey, even my charms wear thin after repeated watchings.
A bartender’s worst enemy is…
Needy, indecisive customers. A complete stranger asking a bartender, “What do I want?” is not the way to get what you want, and we can’t help anyone in the room until you can help us at least narrow the options to things you might like. Chain restaurants and people with ulterior motives use suggestive selling for a reason, and it’s not to give you what you want.
People drink too much…
of the same drink all the time. A well timed and well chosen drink can accentuate life. It can kick off a great evening or solace you when cold and tired. In various forms it can help celebrate, stimulate, relax, reflect, console and comfort. If it’s the same drink every time (or too much of any drink), it’s not a deliberate enhancement of life — it’s just drinking.
People don’t drink enough…
Gin, whiskey, rye … Where do I begin? Alright, how about bitter cocktails? Don’t you get a little tired of sweet & sour or sour & sweet? Do yourselves a favor and try a Negroni or an Americano, or if you can find someone who knows how to make one have the beautifully herbal Greenpoint.
Drink for a hot summer day
Salty gin rickey.
Drink for a cold winter night
A Tom & Jerry (if you’re very lucky).
The best thing about drinking in Boston is…
It’s a small town in the sense that you keep running into the same great people when out, yet there are so many excellent places to get a drink. If you go to the “genuine” bars it’s really a warm, welcoming place.
The worst thing about drinking in Boston is…
some places feel they have something to prove. I wish more bars and restaurants would just lay it out like they know they have the goods and trust the customer to get it. If you have to sell the customer on “we’re good-special-different-the only bar doing this outside New York, etc.” it comes across like someone explaining why their joke is funny. Be honest, be good, be yourselves and keep quiet about it so we can enjoy you in our own way.
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