blanca the good bartender

remember the other day when i was bitching about the shitty bartender at chateau marmont? well, as it turns out, in life there always seems to exist a polar opposite. case in point – blanca the bartender at el carmen.

thursday night i was at el carmen (probably my favorite bar in la – plus it’s in my neighborhood) with one of my best friends sascha. the girl behind the bar was excellent. her name was blanca and we left it up to her to pick our tequila and beer. she excelled in all categories – poured us don valente silver which was incredibly smooth and followed that up with modellos. she was basically awesome and paid attention and that’s what makes anyone in the service industry great. it’s not rocket science – it’s simple – she did her job promptly and was nice while she did it. i want to work there – blanca, hire me.

another bad example: that reminds me, earlier in the day i was saying goodbye to a friend of mine (larry) who is moving to perth australia of all places. i met him and his wife at a hotel bar near lax for a quick drink before they left for good. we ordered drinks from the lounge and literally had to wait 15 minutes for 3 drinks…2 mojitos…not difficult to make (u make one u make the other) and a martini. 15 minutes is way too long to wait for overpriced drinks…right? eventually i went up to the bar which i guess was slammed (4 people at it) to find out what was taking so long. answer = i have no idea. anyway…my point is this – the 2 girls at the renaissance hotel bar did not excel at their job – who knows why…maybe they just dont care. i always give better tips to bartenders and waitresses that are on it. they don’t have to be annoyingly attentive, they just have to be “aware” that you exist.