CELEBRITIES

Most bartenders and waiters seem to have a "most famous person ever served" list.Then again, sometimes it's more of a "wish list," instead of a real list.
I've seen and served quite a few of the famous, (and also the infamous), and it's not really a big deal anymore.
Working at Duke Zeibert's Restaurant was one of the best places for celebrities.
Duke's was definitely a sports mecca. Redskins headquarters. George Allen always came in on Sunday night when they won a home game. Then Monday afternoon, Duke's would take a victory cake out to Redskins Park. Sonny Jurgensen was a regular. Also Billy Kilmer.
Those days were old-school Redskins.
Also remember Hubert Humphrey coming in, and Peter Lawford from the Rat Pack.
Peter Lawford drank a brandy and milk, with brown granulated sugar on top. When I asked him how his drink was, he said: "Terrific!"
It was also an honor to see CBS commentator Eric Severeid there.
Ay Mel Krupin's Restaurant, I remember Charlton Heston coming in with his wife. He drank Remy Martin.
When the new Duke's opened at Connecticut and L Street, N.W., it was still a sports mecca.
Morrie Siegel, legendary sports writer, had his regular table in the front.
Jack Kent Cook also had a regular table.
When Mark Rypien came in, the staff besieged him for autographs. Randy Zeibert had to tell us to leave him alone. But hey, the Redskins were hot stuff then!
John Travolta came in and had his photo taken with the staff. Funny thing is, he was the only one looking at the camera. The entire staff was looking up and staring at him. He was very gracious.
Ted Kennedy was in a lot, as also former House Speaker Tip O'Neill. Tip often got "chicken in the pot" to go.
Had my photo taken with Al Gore. Vice-President at the time.
Pat Sajak and Vanna White. (Vanna, gorgeous as ever!)
When Jewish comic Jackie Mason was in for dinner, I asked him for an autograph for my wife. My shirt must have been wrinkled. He look at me and said: "Does your wife do your 'shoits' for you?"
Actor Jerry Lewis was in for dinner. He ordered lobster. He also signed an autograph for my wife. I took a photo of him with Duke. For the photo, Jerry put the lobster claws in his nose. Terrific photo op!
Heavyweight boxing champ Riddick Bowe was in, and everyone was calling him champ. Which he was. And a perfect gentleman he was also.
Paul Shaffer from the David Letterman Show strolled into the bar one night. I took a photo of him with one of my customers. Paul then asked me if I wanted one too. "Hey, why not!" I said.
One classic photo I took was actor Tony Curtis standing in the foyer of the restaurant. I was using black-and-white film, with available light. It came out beautiful, one of my favorite portraits I ever took.
(I guess you've gathered that I'm also a photographer.)
Harry Caray, famous St. Louis Cardinals and Chicago Cubs sports announcer was also in one night. Two very beautiful "arm ornaments" hanging on to each side. He ordered a Budweisser, which we didn't carry.
Actress Cybill Shepherd was there, looking very stunning.
Tending bar at Signature's Restaurant was very political. Everybody on the Hill seemed to be a regular there.
But Hollywood and music also.
Arnold Schwarzenegger came in. When he came up to the bar, I shook his hand, and he ordered a Tanqueray Martini for one of his associates.
Mickey Hart, drummer for the Grateful Dead was in for a sushi dinner. I went up to the table and asked him for an autograph. I called him Mr. Hart. His dinner companion said to him that I was the third person that day who called him Mister. He was very gracious and polite. He also looked great (I mean, he is, or was, one of the Grateful Dead.) He looks the opposite of Keith Richards.
Miss America was in one night. She had photos taken with customers and staff. The restaurant manager came behind my bar, and asked two guys who were sitting there if they wanted their picture taken with Miss America. They replied: 'We're not "star f____rs." I told them they were better off coming behind the bar and having their picture taken with me.
At the Oval Room Restaurant, Hillary Clinton was in for lunch. I took some photos of her leaving, and I remember the Secret Service asking the White House photographer who I was. (I use professional equipment.)
Also got a photo of President George Bush (the first pres), with the owner. He told me to snap away!
Wolfman Jack, of "American Grafitti" fame, was there one time. He looked like Orson Wells.
Lanny Davis, special counsel to President Clinton, was a somewhat regular at my bar. He outlined his book, "Truth To Tell," on my cocktail napkins. Lanny is one of the nicest guys I've ever met. He gave my family and I a private tour of the White House. I felt very honored to have got that.
Lanny is also a great jazz pianist. Seriously! I've heard him play on the Oval Room bar piano. His wife was with him, and sang along. She is a fabulous vocalist.
Chief fund raiser Terry McAuliffe often droped by after work with his staff for cold Amstel Lights. When President Clinton called him on his cell phone, Terry would get up off his bar stool, walk over to the side of the room, and say: "Yes Sir, Mr. President."
(Things you never see or hear in Omaha!)
But for the top of my "most famous person ever served" list, the honor goes to:
John F. Kennedy, Jr.
He came in the Oval Room for lunch one day. About a year before he died. One of the very few days that I ever worked lunch. I've always been a night barman.
He came in incognito. Sunglasses, very preppy, with a back pack slung over his shoulder.
He was by himself, and ordered a ginger ale. He was waiting for two other people. He was very polite, very quiet and reserved, and was a real gentleman. No airs about him.
When his guests arrived, they went into the dining room for lunch.
My fifteen minutes of fame.

Celebs now are old-hat to me.
After seeing so many of them, I barely give them a glance anymore.
They put their pants on the same as I do: one leg at a time.
Now that I think of it: there's more celebrities in jail than bartenders in jail!

But there is one famous person who I would absolutely flip over:
Paul McCartney!
If I ever get a chance to meet Sir Paul, I would get on my knees and start bowing!
No, I'm not a Beatle fan, I'm a Beatle FANATIC!

SAZERAC

History (or more likely "legend") has this cocktail invented circa 1850 by New Orleans bartender Leon Lamothe.
The recipe originally called for brandy, but was changed to rye whiskey during the 1870's.
To mix properly you need two old-fashioned glasses.

3 oz. straight rye whiskey
three-fourth oz. simple syrup
Peychaud's bitters (depending on taste, but be liberal)
Herbsaint
one lemon twist

Take one old-fashioned glass, and fill with crushed ice.
In another old-fashioned glass, muddle sugar or simple syrup with bitters. Then add ice and whiskey to the bitters mixture, and stir to chill and slightly dilute.
Discard the crushed ice from the first glass, and rinse with Herbsaint.
To rinse, pour a small amount of Herbsaint into glass, swish around to coat, then discard.
Strain the chilled whiskey into the Herbsaint rinsed glass
Garnish with a lemon twist.

If you are not a purist, you can add crushed ice to the Herbsaint rinsed glass before straining the whiskey into it.

To really enjoy this cocktail, please be seated (and I do mean seated!) at an outdoor patio somewhere in the French Quarter of New Orleans.

RAMOS GIN FIZZ

Forget the Bloody Mary for a hangover cure. Contrary to what Hemingway would say. Your stomach (not to mention your nerves!) needs something soothing and relaxing. What better way than to imbibe some concoction with cream in it. I'm not talking about any old concoction. I'm talking about a classic cocktail from the late 1800's. The Ramos Gin Fizz.
If you can't import a bartender from New Orleans to mix it for you, here's how:
("Here's How" was actually a common toast in the 1920's and 1930's. Instead of saying "cheers" or "heads up," or "here's to ya," people would say: "Here's How!")

RAMOS GIN FIZZ

In a large shaker, without ice, pour:
one-and-a-half oz. gin
one-half oz. fresh lemon juice
one-half oz. fresh lime juice
one oz. simple syrup
3-4 dashes orange flower water
2 oz. fresh cream
white of one egg

Shake vigorously for 3-4 minutes
add ice, then shake for another minute, until cold and frothy
pour into Collins glass or large tumbler
top off with club soda

When drinking this classic when nursing a hangover, remember that there are more old drunks alive than old doctors alive!

THE BRONX COCKTAIL

Here's a recipe that will separate professional bartenders from the novices.

The Bronx Cocktail

Created by bartender Johnnie Solon around the turn of the century (early 1900's). Johnnie had just returned from the Bronx Zoo. A customer requested from a waiter named Traverson, that he wanted a special cocktail. Traverson relayed the request to Johnnie Solon, the bartender. Being that he had just returned from the zoo, Johnnie said that a lot of customers had told him that they saw different animals after drinking excessively. Johnnie also said that some of his customers reminded him of animals he had seen at the zoo!

Bronx Cocktail

2 ounces gin
1/4 ounce dry vermouth
1/4 ounce sweet vermouth
1 ounce fresh orange juice
2-3 dashes bitters (orange bitters may be used, depending on taste)
Shake with ice. and strain into a chilled cocktail glass
Garnish with orange twist

Now here's where a real professional barman comes into play:

Silver Bronx:
original recipe, but add egg white

Golden Bronx:
original recipe, but add egg yolk.

Recipe for a perfect Sunday:
1) church service with a good sermon
2) a stroll through the zoo (or do the stroll! a popular dance for those of you too young to know what the stoll was)
3) Bronx cocktails while watching a beautiful sunset!

Where NOT To Order Cocktails

There are certain places, I mean bars or restaurants, where you just don't order a particular type of cocktail.
For example, where is the worst place to order a Margarita? Usually, a Mexican restarant. Especially the chain restaurants. The reason is simple. They sell so many of them, they have to pre-make them in order to keep up with the large volume of orders. They're usually poured out of a large jug which contains about 20-30 pre-made Margaritas. Then there are about 20-30 of those large jugs stashed behind the bar. Or even worse, they could come out of a super-sized slurpee-like machine. Nothing like a frozen, slurpee-like Margarita. You could go to a local 7-11 and get a cup of crushed ice, go home and pour some cheap tequila over it with some super-sweet sour mix out of a bottle and get the same thing.
Now, there are exceptions. An up-scale Mexican restaurant, not part of a chain, would probably have a well-made, properly mixed Margrita. An experienced, professional bartender would definitely be an asset.

Another place you may be ambivalent about ordering drinks is where the bartender has to look up recipes in full view of the guests. A local restaurant in the DC metro area has large computer-type screens around the bar where the bartenders can look up recipes when stumped. I really don't want a cocktail from a bartender who has to search for recipes. It looks very unprofessional. I want my bartender to be a professional who knows about cocktails.

I appreciate a well-made Martini or Manhattan. But I've found few and far between bartenders who can actually make these two classics the proper way. With Martinis, there is either too much or too little vermouth. Same with Manhattans: either too much or too little vermouth again. Most bartenders leave out the bitters. A Manhattan takes bitters. No if's, and's, or but's about it. Without bitters, it's not a Manhattan, period.

Forget about ordering a Sazerac. You want a Sazerac, go to New Orleans. Or bring along a New Orleans bartender to your favorite bar.
Which is exactly what Huey P. Long (Governor of Louisiana, 1928-1932) did. In 1888, Henry Ramos, a New Orleans bartender/bar owner, invented the Ramos Gin Fizz. When Huey P. Long visited New York, he would take along New Orleans bartender Sam Guarino, from the New Orleans Roosevelt Hotel, with him. Sam Guarino would instruct the bartenders at New York's Roosevelt Hotel on the proper way to make a Ramos Gin Fizz.

When I go out to a bar, I always order the same drink each and every time: scotch over ice.
It's safer.

Time in a Bottle

Why does every place I work end up closing? Rock Creek closed New Year's Eve. The Bethesda, Maryland location. The Washington, DC spot closed a while back, then I eventually went to the Bethesda location. Then that one bit the dust! My resume is great, having worked at top restaurants/bars in the DC area. But the reason for leaving every one: they all closed. Seems like I may be a bad omen. One interview I had, the manager said that to me. "Hey, we're afraid to hire you. We don't want to wind up closing!" Oh well, such is life.
I'd still be at Duke Zeibert's if they hadn't closed in 1994.
Still can't figure out why some of these places would rather have some young bartender who really doesn't know what he's doing behind the wood. You'd think they'd rather hire an older, experienced professional. Someone who does it for a career, and takes a lot of pride in the art of bartending and knows how to make classic cocktails.
Some things in life I guess I'll never understand. Kind of like quantum physics or differential equations.
Spending a lot of time reading. Just finished some really great works by William Trevor, Ann Beattie, Charles Baxter, Evelyn Waugh, David Foster Wallace, Jonathan Franzen, Alexandre Dumas, Michael Chabon, etc. Dumas was such a natural born story-teller. The old-fashioned kind.
Also been doing some writing. Have a lot of articles out there circulating with different magazines.
I remember Margaret Hennessey, my English 101-102 instructor at Montgomery College, telling me that I would never have a problem with writing.
Just finished a fiction writing workshop at the Writer's Center in Bethesda, Maryland. Started a short story about a bartender, of all things. The instructor seemed to like it. I'm going to continue with it, and see where it goes.
I've published about two dozen articles over the years, but have never pursued it full-time.
But now that I've got some time on my hands...................
Meanwhile, I've got more resumes to get out!