I got a box of toys today. . .
Sep. 9th, 2006 12:18 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
xiphiasThis is partially a "Lis and I are such bad influences on each other" thing, and partially a "Lis and I are such good influences on each other" thing.
So, Lis convinced me that I needed to finish up getting all the things I think I need as a gigging function bartender. So we went to http://www.barproducts.com and got a bunch of bar products. Which is what they sell at that website. As, perhaps, you might guess.
Most of it was stuff that I actually do need.
Okay, most of it was stuff that would be more-or-less useful to me, even if I don't strictly need it.
Okay, fine. It was all cool stuff. But I WILL be using it for work.
Like, I got a big shiny metal six-quart bucket! Because, um. . . SHINY BUCKET!! Well, I can use it as an ice bucket, and I use it to carry the rest of my tools in.
And I got a short-shaker. Which I actually did need: I have a Boston shaker, and those need to be used with either a mixing glass (a pint beer glass is perfect) or a short-shaker as a cap. The short-shaker and Boston shaker combo packs smaller, and is ALL shiny. So now I have a PROPER cocktail shaker.
And a plastic water pitcher. They're always in short supply, so I now have my own.
And to defend it, I got an ice-chipper! I HAVE had to try to break up ice, and it sucks, but the main thing is that a bunch of spikes on a handle -- it looks like a miniature pitchfork kinda -- is going to be an excellent way to defend the REST of my stuff. No, actually the main thing is that I sometimes have to chip ice. . . but the other argument sounds cooler.
And I got a wooden muddler! So I can muddle things! Which means "squish them up in a drink glass!"
This is very important in making drinks like Old-Fashioneds, mint juleps, and mojitos. They're not drinks that one tends to make often, but when one does make them, one wants to make them well. 'Cause they are actually all damned tasty when done right -- and I want to do them right, which means having the right tool.
And I got a two-pronged cocktail strainer. The cocktail strainer is that thing with a handle, and a round part, so that it's shaped like a tiny ping-pong paddle, and then a spring all around the paddle part, and you hold it over the cocktail strainer when you strain out your cocktails.
Except that I never use it, hardly. So I got a smaller, more easily-transported one, so that I'll still have one when I want one, but it won't take up as much room in my kit. If I don't like it so much, I'll bring the larger one that I have. But I think this one will be fine.
And I got a flexible cutting board, so I can chop up garnishes on it!
And I got an ice scoop with perforations in it, so that when you scoop up ice, you just get the ice and not the water! And I got a second ice scoop, because, well, I've been in situations where the place ran out of ice scoops and I was working with another bartender and NEITHER of us had ice scoops.
But we got some other stuff, too.
I got a bar-caddy -- that's a little thing which goes on your bar, and it has a place for bar napkins, and stirrers, and straws, and stuff like that. And I got a fruit-tray. That's a little tray with compartments in it that you can put your garnishes -- olives, cherries, onions, lemons, limes, and so forth. This one has six replaceable, machine-washable compartments, and I got an extra six spares.
The caddy and the tray are out of matching hazel wood.
I'm not carrying those on most of my jobs, I don't think, because they don't fit in the bucket. But I might.
And I got a book on bar tricks -- some of them are simple magic tricks, some of them are sucker-bets, brain-teasers, and the like. Just fun stuff. And a book on classic cocktails.
But we also threw a couple other things in the order. Like some spoons and rubber spatulas (scraper, not flipper/fish slice) for the kitchen. And a set of ice-molds that allow you to make ice shot-glasses (I want to make frozen cranberry juice shot glasses!) And three shot glasses which have seven LEDs on the bottom, where the spots on a d6 would go, and when you slam them on the table, they flash and give you a d6 roll. I got three of them, so I can do 3d6 rolls on shot glasses.
And then we got the thing which ACTUALLY scares me. We got a table bell. You know, those things that they have at the front desk of a hotel in movies, although rarely in reality.
Lis wanted it.
Because this way, if she wants me, she can just ding the bell to summon me, rather than having to, y'know, holler out my name.
I'm worried.
So, Lis convinced me that I needed to finish up getting all the things I think I need as a gigging function bartender. So we went to http://www.barproducts.com and got a bunch of bar products. Which is what they sell at that website. As, perhaps, you might guess.
Most of it was stuff that I actually do need.
Okay, most of it was stuff that would be more-or-less useful to me, even if I don't strictly need it.
Okay, fine. It was all cool stuff. But I WILL be using it for work.
Like, I got a big shiny metal six-quart bucket! Because, um. . . SHINY BUCKET!! Well, I can use it as an ice bucket, and I use it to carry the rest of my tools in.
And I got a short-shaker. Which I actually did need: I have a Boston shaker, and those need to be used with either a mixing glass (a pint beer glass is perfect) or a short-shaker as a cap. The short-shaker and Boston shaker combo packs smaller, and is ALL shiny. So now I have a PROPER cocktail shaker.
And a plastic water pitcher. They're always in short supply, so I now have my own.
And to defend it, I got an ice-chipper! I HAVE had to try to break up ice, and it sucks, but the main thing is that a bunch of spikes on a handle -- it looks like a miniature pitchfork kinda -- is going to be an excellent way to defend the REST of my stuff. No, actually the main thing is that I sometimes have to chip ice. . . but the other argument sounds cooler.
And I got a wooden muddler! So I can muddle things! Which means "squish them up in a drink glass!"
This is very important in making drinks like Old-Fashioneds, mint juleps, and mojitos. They're not drinks that one tends to make often, but when one does make them, one wants to make them well. 'Cause they are actually all damned tasty when done right -- and I want to do them right, which means having the right tool.
And I got a two-pronged cocktail strainer. The cocktail strainer is that thing with a handle, and a round part, so that it's shaped like a tiny ping-pong paddle, and then a spring all around the paddle part, and you hold it over the cocktail strainer when you strain out your cocktails.
Except that I never use it, hardly. So I got a smaller, more easily-transported one, so that I'll still have one when I want one, but it won't take up as much room in my kit. If I don't like it so much, I'll bring the larger one that I have. But I think this one will be fine.
And I got a flexible cutting board, so I can chop up garnishes on it!
And I got an ice scoop with perforations in it, so that when you scoop up ice, you just get the ice and not the water! And I got a second ice scoop, because, well, I've been in situations where the place ran out of ice scoops and I was working with another bartender and NEITHER of us had ice scoops.
But we got some other stuff, too.
I got a bar-caddy -- that's a little thing which goes on your bar, and it has a place for bar napkins, and stirrers, and straws, and stuff like that. And I got a fruit-tray. That's a little tray with compartments in it that you can put your garnishes -- olives, cherries, onions, lemons, limes, and so forth. This one has six replaceable, machine-washable compartments, and I got an extra six spares.
The caddy and the tray are out of matching hazel wood.
I'm not carrying those on most of my jobs, I don't think, because they don't fit in the bucket. But I might.
And I got a book on bar tricks -- some of them are simple magic tricks, some of them are sucker-bets, brain-teasers, and the like. Just fun stuff. And a book on classic cocktails.
But we also threw a couple other things in the order. Like some spoons and rubber spatulas (scraper, not flipper/fish slice) for the kitchen. And a set of ice-molds that allow you to make ice shot-glasses (I want to make frozen cranberry juice shot glasses!) And three shot glasses which have seven LEDs on the bottom, where the spots on a d6 would go, and when you slam them on the table, they flash and give you a d6 roll. I got three of them, so I can do 3d6 rolls on shot glasses.
And then we got the thing which ACTUALLY scares me. We got a table bell. You know, those things that they have at the front desk of a hotel in movies, although rarely in reality.
Lis wanted it.
Because this way, if she wants me, she can just ding the bell to summon me, rather than having to, y'know, holler out my name.
I'm worried.