The Aging Bartender

Confetti

In October of 2021 I completed a novel entitled Confetti. Written in a fever within three and a half months, the idea originally germinated from thinking long and hard about the former restaurant, Vespertine. It was supposed to be a long short story or novelette but ended up being full length, an 83,000 word (332…

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  • Confetti

    In October of 2021 I completed a novel entitled Confetti. Written in a fever within three and a half months, the idea originally germinated from thinking long and hard about the former restaurant, Vespertine. It was supposed to be a long short story or novelette but ended up being full length, an 83,000 word (332…

  • The Little Engine That Could

    The bar program received a nice write up at the end of June. Read it here. When you’re doing stuff out of a tiny bar in sleepy Santa Monica, it’s tough to tell whether or not you’re doing a good job. We think we are, our fantastic regulars think we are, but in the grand…

  • Alpha Carotene: Then and Now

    After taking the reins of the Rustic Bar Program from the indomitable Nate Dawg, one of my first cocktails to hit the list was something called Alpha Carotene. There were more than a couple of others too. I hit the ground running. The bartenders were all super annoyed with me. Six new cocktails in the…

  • The Seasonal Bar 7.13.23

    187 posts so far. So, over six months now. Wondering if I can go a year. At this point, why the hell not? I’ve got some cool stuff coming up and will have more time and space to write away from the madhouse that is my kitchen. So maybe, just maybe, I’ll be able to…

  • Why is the Pickleback so Damn Tasty?

    If you’re a reg, and you are a fun person, you’ve been receiving one or two of these lately (even The King himself had one last night). Some bread and butter pickles with a half ounce of bourbon between courses. Sure, it’s got some of my favorite things, namely vinegar, sugar, cucumbers, and bourbon but…

  • Size 2025

    Let’s review: Newton’s Third Law: Action & Reaction. His third law states that for every action (force) in nature there is an equal and opposite reaction. If object A exerts a force on object B, object B also exerts an equal and opposite force on object A. In other words, forces result from interactions. Murphy’s Law:…

  • Improving the Corn ‘n’ Oil

    Hey man, I’m not dissing the original, but there’s no goddam corn in it. Over at Rustic, we’ve got the corn, oh, we’ve got the corn. It’s still in development, but in the future this one will probably incorporate (in-corn-porate?) a fresh version of the real mcCoy in some way. At any rate, it’s the…

  • New Cocktail: Lost Cause

    If this were one of those typical food blogs I’d probably start talking about how much I love fresh apricots in the summer and yawn. Instead, I’ll say this: “If you’re losing your soul and you know it, then you’ve still got a soul left to lose.” Can’t remember the full quote or who said…

  • Watermelon, the Great Anticlimax

    On the defensive from the get go this morning, ladies and germs. Hey, you try to write a blog every damn day and see how you feel, especially after a punishing night in the well, my joints sore with the promise of more cocktail shaking in the future. The original title of this post was…

  • Farmer’s Market Loot: 7.7.23

    This time of the year there’s so much great produce, it’s more about what to exclude. Unfortunate but sort of zen. “Remove what is unnecessary,” is some sort of mantra or wise speak, right? Sounds like some cool kung fu shit to me. Stick to the basics, formulate your menu, make lists, yada yada. Zzzzzz.…

  • Bar Hack: Make Your Own Crème de Pample Mousse

    I spelled it that way so it looks nice in the mobile version. WordPress still has some issues with long words. This is an easy recipe. I leave it until I need it, but due to the low ABV involved it will take more time to infuse and the longer the better. I do a…

  • Remember the Hawk

    A year ago today I walked in to my jiu jitsu class, got changed, went out onto the mats and started doing my regular mediocre type warmup. A routine developed from laziness and knowledge from a dude on instagram, a physical therapist over at Vert in Santa Monica, that I had a private training session…