- ABOUT THIS BLOG
- Everyone has done it – you’re in a bar, looking for a scrap of paper to write a woman's name and phone number on, or just want to make a note to yourself so you don’t forget something. You grab a cocktail napkin.
- (In the TV series The West Wing, a political consultant decides that Jed Bartlet – played by Martin Sheen – should run for President. He takes a cocktail napkin and writes down the slogan, “Bartlet for America.”)
- I work in bars. Over the years, I’ve accumulated enough of my own cocktail-napkin notes to fill six liquor bottle boxes.
- Here are the people and stories that wound up in those notes -- real-life characters like Jackie Rabbit and Maude the Broad, the narcotics cops Paul and Sonny, mafia guys, some shameless tramps and one suicidal young man. You'll meet an old-time boxer who wants to take me into the gym to teach me his trade, and a woman who thinks God is on the stool next to her, urging her to have one more whiskey and ginger. It's life behind the taps.
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- Life on a Cocktail Napkin has over 30,000 page views per month. Check out the stories you've been missing in our Archives (below). And my sincere thanks to all of you who have visited here!
Archives
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Blogroll
- Because we're not all there
- Behind The Stick
- Best Restaurant Blogs
- Hospitality Formula
- I'm your SERVER NOT your SERVANT
- Jeffrey Morgenthaler
- On the Rocks
- Restaurant Laughs
- Same Food For Every Day
- Squirrel Farts Drink Blog
- Tales From a Bar
- The Real Barman
- The Rogue Wino
- The Truth About Bartending
- These American Servers
- Waiters Today
- Wino on a Ramble
Author Archives: MikeQ
FEED THE GOOD WOLF
I’ve been slacking off a bit on the bar stories — there’s some good ones that need telling but they haven’t been written down yet. And here it is the weekend before Christmas and I just wanted to wish everyone … Continue reading
Posted in Life on a Cocktail Napkin
7 Comments
LOCAL BREWS
OK, I’ve been a bad boy. No details, but the results are evident on this page . . . there’s no post this week. For those who came looking for a good … Continue reading
Posted in Life on a Cocktail Napkin
3 Comments
DOORS’ GUITARIST ROBBY KRIEGER PLAYS THIS FRIDAY NIGHT
(Sorry this is late, but today we’ll be talking about The Doors, customers that don’t listen, and Sandy Island — a missing piece of real estate in the south Coral Seas. Believe it or not, even the Sandy Island part … Continue reading
Posted in Life on a Cocktail Napkin
4 Comments
ROOMMATE HELL
When the crunch hits there’s no place I’d rather be than behind the bar. It’s a rush, it’s addictive . . . it’s like being in the big game. This is what Johnny D’s looks like on a busy night. … Continue reading
Posted in Life on a Cocktail Napkin
8 Comments
A THANKSGIVING DINNER FOR 9,500 GUESTS
(In today’s post we’ll look at two notable Thanksgiving gestures.) Guess who’s coming to dinner . . . Back when I was bartending at The Lark Tavern, I also volunteered … Continue reading
Posted in Life on a Cocktail Napkin
9 Comments
