Dance of a Bartender

For nearly three hours, I sat at the bar at Yakuza on Friday night waiting for my sushi to arrive, and I spent the whole time enthralled the dance that was taking place behind the bar. A whirling two step between the bar tender and his assistant of twirling liquor bottles, discarded citrus carcasses and martini shakers. All to the cadence of the wait staff bellowing their requests.

Beet infused vodka with a splash of lime juice. Order up. Organic Basil and Honey Sauza Mojito. Order up. Gin and Tonic. Wait, what?!? Sweet Pea infused vodka with a splash of orange juice and a twist. That's more like it. Order up.

"What inspires you to create such unique cocktails?" I asked the astoundingly busy , yet still friendly and chatty bartender. His reply was simple, if not utterly predictable, "I use whatever I have on hand." He then went on to clarify, "The owner loves to provide me with fresh fruit and vegetables. Whatever is seasonal is what I have to work with. And I love experiment with flavors."

I have always felt the freedom to experiment within the kitchen...chocolate is a easy palette, it goes great with everything. But when it comes to mixing drinks, admittedly, I am more than a little gun shy. But by the end of the evening, and 4 free "half drinks" later, I was ready to experiment my way around a bar. He made it look that easy.