If you’ve been hanging out around here for a while, you know that I develop a lasting fondness for my bartender. You cannot overestimate the importance that a bartender can have on not only your drinking/dining experience, but on your evening, your weekend, your life, even. Really. For people who don’t drink, or for people who don’t sit at the bar, I promise, you’re missing out. This is not the Denis Leary/Rescue Me drinking experience, or the cry-on-your-shoulder cliché dynamic that is portrayed on TV. There is a sensitivity, an attentiveness available to the bar patron that you can’t get anywhere else in a restaurant. When the bartender gets it right, it’s like being a guest in a new friend’s house.

I really love the bartenders at The Sound Table. This is a photo of Navarro (et al) mixing it up on Saturday night. Darryl and I went after the the CommonCreativ magazine launch party (which was super fab). We had Belgian frites and Chinese pork ribs and grilled asparagus with macadamia nuts. There were a couple of Pilsners and Stouts tossed in for good measure. We chatted and chewed and watched a lot of people get drunk. It was fun. Every time Navarro or Paul came by to say Hey, it was like the evening hit the refresh button. When your bartender can walk up to you empty-handed and you’re still happy to see them, you know you’re in the right place.