Little Asian's Drunk Observation of the Week: The Bartender

In Little Asian's opinion, what can make or break your dining or bar experience is a bartender. This is what in Little Asian's mind constitutes a good bartender:

1. They are familiar with you -- if you have a regular haunt, a good bartender gets the etiquette of rewarding the regular drinker at their establishment. Or if you're new to a joint, they make you feel right at home. They don't have to know your name. Not every place is Cheers, but if they know your face, that's a nice plus. And come on, we know when people are familiar with each other's faces. The smile and the hello will be immediate and genuine.

2. They'll give you a buy back. Usually, every fourth drink will be free. Although really fancy smancy places don't do this -- and restaurants definitely don't. It's just the bars themselves.

3. They'll let you have a little taste of the unknown. If you're interested in a particular alcohol, don't know much about it, the bartender will be knowledgeable enough to fill in the gaps as well is be willing to give you a little taste before you commit to the drink.

4. They'll be quick and fast, without looking crazy. They won't make you wait a millenia for a drink and they'll also try to keep the nice facade going.

5. They don't bore you with "this is just my money job", I'm really an "artist" talk. They're a bartender and they know their alcohol. They know the deal, they know the scheme, they know you're there to talk drinking.

And when you do find a bartender like this, they're worth the notice. A particularly great bartender I noticed was over at Franny's, a lovely restaurant in Brooklyn. Her name is Vanessa and she was a superstar. Since it was a restaurant, there were no buy backs, but she was great: one of the fastest, most efficient barkeeps I've ever seen. She kept the orders going, knew her stuff, and never missed a bit. I'd recommend going to Franny's just to get the great service at the bar. And since that great bartender is so hard to find, you better enjoy them where you see them.