- 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
Regular post tomorrow, . . . today a sad announcement
We’ll be back for our regular post tomorrow night, but for those of you who knew Mike Daley, either in person or from here, I have some sad news. Mike has lost his long battle with cancer. He was a … Continue reading
Posted in Life on a Cocktail Napkin
3 Comments
ANOTHER DAY (behind the bar)
The day started out shaky and quickly got worse. This past Friday morning, with only four hours sleep, I found myself at the computer working on The Book. (At least I’m putting the time in now after all these years.) … Continue reading
Posted in Life on a Cocktail Napkin
10 Comments
QUIET HEROES OF 9/11
It’s always gratifying to hear from readers, but in mid-July someone named S. Dickens left a curious comment on one post: “Came across the article after doing a search on 9/11. How can I get a hold of the individuals … Continue reading
Posted in Life on a Cocktail Napkin
13 Comments
“NEITHER SNOW, NOR RAIN . . . ” (The Hurricane Irene Pub Crawl)
By the time of its arrival in the Boston area, Hurricane Irene had diminished in strength. For us, the worst was over by noon on Sunday. Inside Johnny D’s, a trimmed-down crew of two waitstaff and two bartenders served just … Continue reading
Posted in Life on a Cocktail Napkin
7 Comments
SPOTTING THE EX-STRIPPER
At Johnny D’s, a young woman leaned over the bar, almost grabbed my arm as I walked past. “Hey!” she said, “What’s the matter . . . you won’t say hi?” For a second I thought she must be someone I should … Continue reading
Posted in Life on a Cocktail Napkin
13 Comments
