I am all blocked up. Why, you ask? And have I really been blogged up since June, when I made my last attempt at enlightening you with Mojito Memoirs and Barroom Banter? Maybe. But back to the first question... WHY??
Well, things have definitely changed since the first hints of summer showed themselves at Brady's -- and at Mojito Memoir Central (aka "my home"). When the temperatures topped 90 degrees for 10 early days in June, Brady's happily opened its patio, welcomed the beachgoers, and feverishly promoted their new summer cocktail list.
Yeah, right.
Jason, the owner likes beachgoers at his establishment just about as much as he likes his patrons wearing baseball caps, his customers staying past 10 0'clock, and his servers saying anything more than "hello" to each other over the course of their shifts -- NOT AT ALL. Yet, he is a businessman and knows that these questionably-dressed (shorts and tanktops allowed on the patio only!) commonfolk may pleasantly surprise him once in a while and appreciate a $40 dollar sirloin or a $240 bottle of Cab.
And the new cocktail list PR, so that people would know we were alive and serving -- not getting swallowed up by the new trendy hotspots that had courted away many of our regulars? Didn't happen. An expert and much beloved bartender, along with a self-promoting spirits rep ("Yes, MM, I truly believe you should order a case of Navan Vanilla Bean Liquer -- it's totally going to be the go-to drink of the summer. Oh, and the 10 Cane Rum and Coconut Ciroc are must-haves too") designed and perfected (those taste-test sessions were brutal) a pretty amazing and inspired drink menu, complete with Moet Nectar fizzy libations and coconut milk concoctions.
The opening work alone, at the beginning of each night, was enough to justify a little PR. It took about 45 minutes to shave chocolate, coat pineapples with coconut, and rouse up all the garnishes and mixers that the new trendy drink menu called for. But no... the only promotions occurred on my Facebook account, where I would post drink recipes and invite friends to come try -- that is, until some of my work friends starting becoming Facebook friends, and then I had to de-link this blog from my Wall, because you never know when one of them may start reading about themselves in a past post. Tricky. So not too much press from any angle.
But anyway - people were coming, drinks were flowing, and summer was roaring. Well, that was last summer anyway. This summer wasn't quite as happenin here at Brady's. Whether it was consumer conscience still dealing with an unsteady economy, or those aforementioned trendies that were competing for our high brow clientele (let's face it, only those upper crust country club couples could afford a place like Brady's -- and now they were spreading their nights out among 2 or 3 other new upper crust places as well), even a fun, well-studied bartender wasn't enough to carry this place. No problem -- I really only work here for the fun, the getting away from my kids, and the have a little cash-in-my-pocket reasons.
And then my reasons changed. My other-half (JmannReview) made a career move, and let's just say that as it takes off from the ground (and until we both become rich and famous), a little extra weight is being placed on my part of contribution pie chart. So staying at a possibly-floundering bar, wasting a night of Jmann's time that could otherwise be spent working on his new endeavors, seemed a little, well fruitless. And, with all the fruit I'd been wasting lately, since no one was coming in to have my garnish-happy cocktails, I knew far-to-well about fruitless and fruitful.
It was a sad day for Brady's when I mixed my last Flirtini for the suburban socialites, said goodbye to the fellow workers (taking care not to talk too loudly or too often, per the Whiteboard), and threw away my rubber-soled stale-beer-smelling bartending shoes. We all went out to enjoy a night of being on the other side of the bar, and the right side of the dancefloor. We swore we'd keep in touch, and I promised I'd be in -- as a customer. But knowing Jason's take on comping meals and complimentary drink rounds, I'd better wait til we really are rich and famous. Though when I do go back, I bet I'll have some new stories to counter the Writer's Blog.
