Happy Thanksgiving (from my office.)

I'm writing from my office today. Yes, It's thanksgiving. There are about 20 people sitting at my bar and I'm missing my favorite pair of gloves that, much like most of my clothes, I've had for over 10 years. Let me rewind.

The holidays are a tough time for my family. For me, it's pretty simple. All year long people look forward to their christmas parties. People plan reunions at their local bars with their old friends the day before thanksgiving and the night after the big meal. My doors must be open, and they are. The holidays are about spending time with your loved ones, and it has never stopped being difficult on my parents, extended family, and now my wife, that during these designated family times I am often entertaining in my place of business. It is less difficult for me because I am used to it and fundamentally understand how important it is to be open even on the days when you will only have a few customers. Here is why...

I touched a table (industry talk for visiting and checking in on...) of a young couple, indulging in sushi and the most expensive sake I have to offer. I like to spend a few minutes with everyone who walks through my doors, and today was no exception.

"I burnt my turkey to hell," the young man chuckles as his eyes dart nervously towards his wife. "It was inedible. The cat sniffed it once and ran off." They both laugh. I come back to my office and realize that I have unwittingly given them a night they will never forget. "The thanksgiving that he ruined the turkey and they went out for sushi instead." They may one day tell their children about this night. They left happy. My bar is full of people who either don't celebrate thanksgiving or don't have a family near enough to celebrate them with.

I am asked often what the best part of this job is. The answer is simple: food and drink are the punctuation of our lives. People propose over dinner. They celebrate in restaurants. They meet their future wives or husbands and create memories with their friends. I am not so egotistical to want to be associated with these memories. Rather, I know that I have provided them with the stage to create it themselves. These couples will never remember my name, their server, perhaps even the name of the restaurant. But it will be there, along with that moment of happiness that could very well carry them through some immensely dark times. This is something to be proud of.

Someone asked me what I am thankful for. The honest answer is that I am thankful to come to work on the holidays. I am thankful that while I am still young, I can work hard to create a life for myself and my family that will give them every opportunity. I am thankful to the owners of this company, Farees and Mauricio, who believe in me and trust me to do right by their name and reputation. I suffer now so that in the years to come, I can enjoy the time off, and let some other young man or woman put in the sacrifice that I have paid forward. Mauricio told me something I will never forget: "You work your ass off in your 20's, get rich in your 30's, and start to enjoy your life in your 40's." I am in my office on this Thanksgiving for my unborn children and their grandparents-to-be.

As I was touching my tables, I saw a man that is always outside of the Lounge. I went out to say hi, like I always do. He talked about how cold he is, and how hard it is to live where he does; right now it's in an alley.

There are some brief shining moments in your life that you can do something that is really a deed that will result directly in something important. I marched inside, grabbed my favorite wool gloves from my coat, and brought them back out. I asked if he needed anything else, and he said, "blankets and socks would be great." My staff, who I have come to respect immensely, didn't miss a beat. One of my servers told me she would be bringing extra blankets tomorrow, and I know I have socks in my closet that I no longer use. I am so proud to work with some of these people.

I am not writing this for accolades or because I want any of you to think me a good person. I write this to express a point. The message on this holiday is: be thankful. Do not give because society expects it, give because you can, and many cannot. That is the point. I am so thankful for my wonderful family and I will forever be sorry that I can't spend this holiday with them, but I work so that one day I can be there as much as I would like. I work because it allows me to give, and allows me to help. Show compassion for others that have done nothing to deserve it because it makes you a bit more human. Be thankful that you can be warm and full, surrounded be people that love you.

It makes me happy knowing that my Mom and Dad raised me to be the man I am today. I am so thankful for that.

I told my wife this story, and she responded, "I've never been so proud that you're my husband." That woman is incredible, and I am blessed. Our puppy is pretty awesome too.

Happy thanksgiving, and remember to tip heavy on the holidays; the servers at your local restaurant probably are working so that they can afford something for the holiday.

Be good to one another.

and of course...

Stay thirsty,
Eric

Concerning Pisco

I still remember my first Pisco Sour.

I really can only imagine what a slack-jawed fool I looked like as I saw my good friend and bartending mentor, Alex Davin, reached for a raw egg, and gracefully separate the white into his tin.

“Are you baking a cake?” I asked incredulously.

“Shut the f*** up and watch,” he replied in a far-off tone. I knew when he was concentrating.

“There are three drinks that mark the quality of any bartender out there,” he began, “the Manhattan, the Sazerac, and the Pisco Sour. The first one most beginners can fumble through. The second indicates that the bartender may be better than average. The last; however, means that you have someone who knows how to mix making your drink.”  I would never forget this moment.

I began to understand a well-kept secret that bartenders who truly understood their craft had long kept. Pisco, an un-aged brandy originated from Peru and Chile, is one of the most versatile liquors out there. While vodka fundamentally lacks any sort of flavor on it’s own and is merited on its smoothness, Pisco’s subtle notes of citrus, herbs, or fruits (depending on what you are tasting) are what make it the complex and well deserved patron saint of those who mix.  It does not insist upon itself like whisky or gin, and it does not embarrass you in front of your friends like tequila. It doesn’t swear like rum. Pisco is like my dog: content in itself, happy to change, and easy to be around.

As someone who loves infusions, Pisco offers the most complimentary flavor to create something new. I make a Pumpkin Pisco Sour that will knock your socks off. I serve a Pineapple infused Pisco punch that is refreshing in all seasons. In fact, in every menu that I design and serve, I make sure that there is at least one Pisco cocktail on the list for the already-converted or those seeking the gospel.

There is an increasingly exciting world of alcohol that is being discovered by the once dominated world of vodka, gin, rum, and tequila. Much like with soccer, Americans are beginning to open up to what the rest of the world is doing in regards to their drinks and really seeing what other liquors there are to offer. Pisco represents the singular joy I get in the response to when a guest asks me to make something “I’ve never had,” because I’m almost always reaching for the nearest bottle of Pisco behind my bar. 

Get out there, drinkers, and don’t be afraid to let your bartender mix you something that you’ve never had before.

I would just suggest you taste their Manhattan or their Sazerac first.