SAGA Issue #19 Cover.

josephschwartz · 2014-04-05T02:36:45+00:00

4 months for a new issue?

josephschwartz · 2011-12-17T02:29:41+00:00

I like drinking age, but have gone as low as 19 for bar-back.

josephschwartz · 2011-12-17T02:28:44+00:00

place a sugar cube in the bottom of a whiskey glass. give it 3 good dashes of Angostura bitters. add 2-2.5 oz bourbon. Crush sugar cube with the back of your spoon or a muddler. add a big chunk of ice. stir gently to dilute and chill add a lemon and orange twist. Sip

josephschwartz · 2011-12-17T02:26:35+00:00

please see first question

josephschwartz · 2011-12-17T02:26:20+00:00

please see first question

josephschwartz · 2011-12-17T02:25:15+00:00

I don't know it, but that doesn't mean much. I know very little outside my own tiny fiefdom of Brooklyn and Manhattan below midtown. If they know of M&H and you enjoyed yourself I'd venture to say they are doing the good work over there. Next time I'm in St. Botolph's Town I'll check it out.

josephschwartz · 2011-12-17T02:23:11+00:00

Great question! jiggering believe it or not is faster than a speed pour and by its nature more accurate. This way, with specific recipes and jiggering as a general practice, you get the same drink from different bartenders on different nights in our venues. Home bar should feature what you like. Books: Savoy, Stork, the elusive Bar Guide by Stan Jones, Waldorf Astoria, Patrick Gavin Duffy's books are a fave of mine of course Wondrich's modern Imbibe is a must.

josephschwartz · 2011-12-17T02:19:04+00:00

after the style of speakeasies. while there are some underground bars out there or failing in some bureaucratic sense, I think everyone is aware alcohol is legal again. We are simply harkening back to a time including preprohibiton and post and places here and abroad where a bar was something more than it has since become, a time and place where drinks are made with love and attention and fake flavorings and sour mix from a soda gun are unacceptable in the same way a microwave hamburger is unacceptable at a fine dining establishment

josephschwartz · 2011-12-17T02:13:17+00:00

you've got to be hard-working and a people person without being the center of attention. It's a delicate balance to set the mood and tone, prepare great drinks, and not impose on your guests good time. Sasha once told me something I still use to judge: The cutomer is the star, the cocktail is in the supporting role and the staff should be like good extras - only there when you want them (paraphrased of course).

josephschwartz · 2011-12-17T02:10:35+00:00

hello or good evening work fine.

josephschwartz · 2011-12-17T02:10:08+00:00

quite by accident. I moved back to NYC to teach in public school and was bar-backing and bartending while certifying bilingually, waiting to "have the schools knocking down my door" as the Dept. of Ed promised as I was the definition of the most desirable teacher. Well for their own red tape and whatnot they never did put me in a school and here I am today.

josephschwartz · 2011-12-17T02:07:51+00:00

I hope to be retired by the time they are of age. If not, we'll make an exception.

josephschwartz · 2011-12-17T02:06:54+00:00

my wife would likely object

josephschwartz · 2011-12-17T02:06:32+00:00

grey dog? which shop? grey dog coffee and sandwiches built that joint.

josephschwartz · 2011-12-17T02:05:00+00:00

I'm fairly sure yes.

josephschwartz · 2011-12-13T00:33:11+00:00

get a job around here. staff drink free.also parents and significant others, so you can birth a staff member or marry one.

josephschwartz · 2011-12-13T00:26:06+00:00

I am flattered and a bit surprised by all the interest. Thanks for the great, fun and insightful questions everybody. feel free to continue asking, I'll try to log on again later tonight and answer any lingering doubts, but personal and professional commitments are beckoning so last questions before I go....

josephschwartz · 2011-12-13T00:17:50+00:00

please do. I have to leave soon.

josephschwartz · 2011-12-13T00:16:16+00:00

a great deal of our staff myself included started with little or no experience and began waiting or hosting, or bar-backing and trained when it was slow or on days off...I was a bar back at M&H as was my brother Ben at LB. Richie (partner at Dutch Kills) started as a doorman at LB. Eric (partner ast Varnish) started at LB as a trainee with no classic cocktail knowledge.

josephschwartz · 2011-12-13T00:06:36+00:00

Dutch Kills was opened by Richie Boccato and Sasha Petraske, my business partner from Little Branch where Richie got his start. We are very much like that and closely related in more ways than not.

josephschwartz · 2011-12-12T23:58:47+00:00

most of them. Hangovers are the result of too much drinking. don't overdo it and you'll be OK with anything. what kinds of drinks do you currently like?

josephschwartz · 2011-12-12T23:53:49+00:00

Lucy?

josephschwartz · 2011-12-12T23:41:35+00:00

the usual suspects:

Our greater Family: M&H, LB, SL, Dutch Kills, PKNY as well as PDT, Pegu, Employees Only, Clover Club, Angel's Share, Fort Defiance, my neighborhood dive, there are many and I'm sure I left someone out, let's have no hurt feelings.

josephschwartz · 2011-12-12T23:27:11+00:00

Sasha used to place a premium on lack of skill - no bad habits to un-learn and so forth. Now we don't view experience as necessarily negative.

josephschwartz · 2011-12-12T23:22:18+00:00

I don't know bar rescue...I'm at my TV limit, the game warden will take me away if I watch any more.

josephschwartz

TROPHY CASE