For many people, the idea of bartending conjures up thoughts of Tom Cruise in Cocktail. In reality, it’s not quite as glamorous. There is a lot less bottle twirling and a lot more glass washing.
Like many, I’ve done my time behind the bar, albeit nearly a decade ago. As rusty as I may be, that experience came in handy when I spent an evening guest bartending at Nathanael Greene’s Publick House in Downtown Greene.
I’m not going to lie; I was looking forward to the experience. I figured I’d get to do all the fun stuff that goes along with bartending (the socializing, the putting tips in the bucket ...), without any of the real work. I was the “guest” bartender after all. If I was expecting an evening of leisure, I was sadly mistaken.
The second I walked through the door on the night of my little adventure, I was put to work. Bernadette, the bartender I shadowed (you can interpret that as “got in the way of”) all night, said a quick hello, showed me where to stash my things, then pointed to a customer seated at the bar and told me to get him a beer. Good thing I remembered how to pull a pint.
I thought bartending would be like riding a bike, and figured I’d be able to pick it up again quickly. One of the pub’s regulars apparently did not agree. Within minutes, he did a rather convincing Donald Trump impression and told me I was fired.
I thought this was a bit harsh, considering I hadn’t even served him. Not to mention the fact that I didn’t actually work at the establishment.
Fear of immediate dismissal aside, it was pretty smooth sailing from there on out. It didn’t take me long to get the lay of the land, so to speak.
Suitably attired in one of Nathanael Greene’s signature black tees, I was soon serving up mixed drinks, glasses of wine and bottled and draft beers to both patrons at the bar as well as the pub’s dining customers. (All while secretly praying no one would order anything more complicated, like a cosmopolitan or a daiquiri.)
When there wasn’t a drink to be made, I occupied myself by wiping the bar, washing dishes and chatting up the patrons at the bar, as a good bartender should.
Once I got into the swing of things, it felt pretty good. Until, that is, someone wanted to order food.
I’d done a pretty thorough survey of things behind the bar, but I hadn’t really looked at the menu, which is loaded with great appetizers, sandwiches and entrees. I’d apparently walked right by the special board and hadn’t paid adequate attention to Bernadette when she tried to show me how to operate the point of sale system. Luckily she was there to walk me through it all the first time.
It was a Saturday evening and before long, the dining room filled up and Bernadette was called upon to pick up a couple of tables. This left me behind the bar by myself. Well, not all by myself. Enzo Olivieri, who owns Nathanael Greene’s with his wife Irene, wasn’t far off.
As the night progressed, the crowd at the bar started to feel more familiar. Probably because many of the barstools were taken up by friends and acquaintances who had read my blog and knew I was making a guest appearance. They were good sports, and didn’t even laugh too hard when I ended up wearing a Malibu and cranberry (light ice) instead of serving it.
Although I have to say that some of them need to cut back on the popcorn consumption. You know who you are.
At closing time, my feet were sore from standing all night and I had a major case of dishpan hands, but I had a smile on my face and a few extra bucks in my pocket. I owe a big thanks to Enzo, Bernadette and the rest of the Nathanael Greene’s staff as well as everyone who came down and supported me.
I’ll definitely be back to Nathanael Greene’s, but next time I’ll be sitting on the OTHER side of the bar enjoying a beverage and some of those amazing wings.