The lost weekend...

If one spends 5 out of 7 evenings at a bar...does this make you someone with an addiction issue? Actually, I have been spending many of my nights at the wine bar where Craig works. The bar has been expanding their events calendar and has started to offer dinners on selective evenings. Collectively, the staff has little restaurant experience and one of the owners, Bob, was down due to a knee injury. It was decided that I would step in and help them organize the food service aspect of the bar and fill in for Bob. On Thursday, the bar was starting "French Dip Night". Thursday night went smoothly albeit quiet... So, we all decided that I would come in on Friday just in case they needed assistance for the Friday night tasting.

Friday came and I headed over to the bar after work. I was still a little tired from the late evening the night before so I picked up a four shot espresso on the way. THANK GOD!!!!! It was like a "people bomb" exploded in the bar that Friday night. We ran out of chairs, we ran out of glasses, we ran out of crostini, we ran out of patience and we ran out of steam. The worst thing was that we barely had a chance to drink our E.W. (aka employee wine). Sometime around 1:00 in the morning, Craig and I crawled home.

Standing room only...

On Saturday the wine bar was participating in one of those god awful "wine and food tasting" fund raisers where people spend a ridiculous amount of money to receive a "souvenir" wine tasting glass and a plastic plate. Sondra (one of the bar owners) and I were chosen to work the event. Luckily, our table was next to our friend, Bret, owner and chef of the Boulevard Bistro. We were able to swap "war stories" as we passed the time. So, the various restaurants and wineries were all lined up in an event's center to hand out tastings of wine and menu items. It makes you feel like the ugly desperate girl at the high school dance...eagerly waiting for someone to make eye contact so you can sell them on your business and push your product. We actually had it easy...it's not too difficult to hand out free wine... The hardest part was "pretending" that we hadn't recognize repeat visitors for the 3rd time. We hid our amusement as they wandered over for another visit as they asked.."Oh, what are you pouring?" It took everything I had to not respond, "At this point, you tell me." Throughout the evening Sondra and I bounced back and forth from drinking wine to drinking Go Girl, a new low calorie energy drink from Tab. To say we were tired was an understatement.

The Wine and Food Tasting Event

Chef Bret

Helping out the wine bar sounded good in theory, but I forgot about the fact that I still have a day job and at 38 years old, double shifts aren't something I do well... Let's face facts, I have become spoiled with my "desk job" and have grown accustomed to an 8 hour work day. It's been a long time since I have worked 15 hours straight and now remember why I walked away from the "hospitality industry" and signed up for civil service. It's hard to paste a smile on your face and ignore the fact that someone has treated you just slightly better than a homeless lush (ok, I may own up to the "lush" part). It can be fun, rewarding ($ and wine), and exhausting. Of course, when asked if I will help again....my answer will be yes. Food and wine and "the business" are addictive and the friends that Craig and I have made, make it worth it in the end.

Fun and friends, Craig and Jeremiah