Ask A Bartender: Why Didn’t You Cut Me Off?
Kai Soderberg, GoLocalProv Contributor
Ask A Bartender: Why Didn’t You Cut Me Off?
Every bar is different but every bartender that has been working long enough has at least once had to put making cocktails on the back burner while they chaperone guests. As unpleasant as it is, it’s a necessary skill to have, and one that I have trouble with myself. I waste a lot of time wondering why people are not more reasonable than they are. I realize the futility in this, though, and am still willing to come to work everyday with the knowledge that, yes, I will probably run into somebody that is less than pleasant. We all do. That is why it is such a relief to deal with people who are gracious and affable and operate with tact. I give them more wiggle room than I do other guests whose behavior dictates that I look after them the whole time they are a guest in the bar.
Sometimes, though, when I see a good person destroying themselves, I find it necessary to intervene. Since I can’t be everybody’s bartender, I offer this slightly officious column as a reminder, to myself as much as others, that the world doesn’t need you as much as you need it. Sometimes you need to be your own alcohol monitor.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTIt’s imperative to recognize signs both in the immediate and the long term that you have been having too much fun. In order to do this, set goals. Without goals, you don’t know what it is you’re losing a grip on.
Maybe your goal is to spend no more than a certain amount of money, have no more than a certain amount of drinks. I won’t pretend to know how much money you have or how much damage your liver can take, so set the goals yourself. But remember them.
Your goals don’t have to be restrictive. If your goals include catching up with an old friend or getting some work done in a quiet bar, when you are finished, the need to continue might not be as strong.
Your longer term goals are your own business. But what most of them have in common is that they involve other people. This means that you need to take charge of your self so that you can inspire the necessary amount of loyalty for all your endeavors. If you can see yourself deteriorate, chances are others can too. Unless your goal is to attract pity, follow these simple steps:
1. Keep good hygiene. What more is there to say about this? Shower and shave and brush your teeth. The small things are the important things.
2. Keep a clean house. The state of your house is an honest reflection of your mental state.
3. Eat a vegetable.
4. Actually like to do the thing you say you like to do when at a bar.
5. Call your mother.
6. Either make eye contact and smile at strangers or don’t. Avoid doing just one and not the other.
7. Sit up straight and speak loudly and clearly.
8. Save a little bit of money for something that you want to do. Think about what you want to do everyday.
9. Be good to people you like. Be good to people you don’t like.
10. Learn something.
20 Hipster Hotspots in Rhode Island
White Electric
711 Westminster St, Providence
Hipsters love coffee almost as much as they love their beards. Located in the up-and-coming West End, White Electric is famous for their coffee and their baked goods. Especially popular amongst the hipster set is the avocado and bean sprout on a bagel. They also cater to all of you vegetarian/vegans out there, featuring soy milk and "tofutti" cream cheese (that's cream cheese made from tofu instead of dairy) alongside more standard fare.
What Cheer? Tavern
228 New York Ave, Providence
What do hipsters love more than their beards and their coffee? Craft brews and whiskeys, of course. What Cheer? Tavern, named for the first thing the Narragansett Indians said to Roger Williams upon his arrival in Rhode Island, has an ample supply of both. The beer selection focuses on American craft beers like Long Trail and Goose Island, and they offer up creative tasty meals like the "bacon wings", a kimchi hot dog, and of course, The Hipster Taco, consisting of "2 Soft flour tortillas, 5 Spice Tofu , kimchi, and quick pickle."
Photo Credit: Mike L/Yelp
AS220 Food
115 Empire St, Providence
Hipsters love to Yelp. Perhaps Philip Peter W. of Brooklyn NY said it best about AS220 Food:
When you live in a city that isn't very hip, a little hipster goes a long way--in a good way! I'm vegan/vegetarian...we ordered mac and cheese, kale/tempeh/butternut squash salad, and hummus with pita...I appreciate a place that focuses on a small, conscious menu and getting those few items right.
There's a decent craft beer selection at the bar and some inspired cocktails; i had one that involved american vodka, ginger beer, muddled basil, and bitters. Beer is a little pricey.
...it's great that these folks are putting local/sustainable/vegetarian food, craft beer, art, and music all in one place.
Small plastic cups for water is a bit questionable from an environmental standpoint. No annoying TVs = major +
Bartender kinda looked like Amy Winehouse...
Olympic Records
580 Wickenden St, Providence
You won't find the latest One Direction CD at Olympic Records. In fact, you won't find CD's at all. Olympic specializes in used vinyl, and stocks a selection of new titles, as well. Hipsters love to "spin the black circle," or at least love to be seen with them as a status symbol or fashion accessory. Sure, you can buy records at Urban Outfitters or Newbury Comics, but a true hipster knows you can find gold (and maybe some leftover seeds from a bygone era) in those used stacks of vinyl.
Pour Judgement
32 Broadway, Newport
Pour Judgement is the hipster haven of Aquidneck Island. Offering "Cheap bites, and an amazing craft beer selection," you can also make your own postcard at the "postcard station" and share a selfie through the old fashioned US Mail. What do hipsters love more than a real life anachronism? (Besides beer and whiskey and beards and vinyl and...)
The Avery
18 Luongo Square, Providence
The Avery in Federal Hill has lots to offer the Providence hipster - a beautiful, hand carved bar, dim lighting, many whiskeys available, and, in true hipster fashion, no sign on the door outside. USA Today compared The Avery to a 1920's speakeasy. Some of the facial hair on the hipsters harken back to that decade, as well.
The E + O
289 Knight St, Providence
The E + O Tap is your classic dive bar. It's located in the middle of a neighborhood, they have an outdoor patio 'round back, and have all kinds of beer - from cheap hipster favorite Miller High Life to craft beers on tap, there's something for every shade of hipster at the E + O.
Nick-a-Nees
75 South St, Providence
This south-side hipster mainstay is known for having one of the best jukeboxes in the state- plus, it's dog friendly, so hipsters-best-friend can tag along while his owner enjoys a PBR or two. Nick-a-Nees is too cool to have a website, but they do have a Facebook page. There's never a cover, and there's always an interesting music act - from bluegrass to blues. Also: Shuffleboard! Hipsters love playing the games of your grandfather's generation.
New Harvest Coffee
65 Weybosset - In the Providence Arcade
Downtown hipsters need their coffee and booze, too. Complete with a "speakeasy" side entrance, New Harvest Coffee and Spirits is located in the historic Providence Arcade, the first indoor shopping mall in America. New Harvest boasts coffee and whiskey - alone or together. It's two great hipster tastes that taste great together. Coffee is roasted in the Hope Artiste Villiage in Pawtucket, and is single sourced and sustainable.
The Grange
166 Broadway Providence
The Grange is a vegetarian restaurant in the West End that has the goal of "expand(ing) the array of choices available to this community as they move toward a mostly plant-based diet and a more wholesome way of living." There is also a bar boasting quirky cocktails and all sorts of beer ranging from your standard hipster issue Narragansett tallboy to an impressive selection of craft beers on tap. The interior is made of "100% repurposed materials," like the wardrobe of many hipsters.
The image on the left shows The Grange's Stumptown Coffee and a vegan pastry.
Brooklyn Coffee House
209 Douglas Ave, Providence
The Brooklyn Coffee and Tea House in Providence combines several hipster loves - coffee, tea and independent filmmaking: RHODYWOOD. Plus, they host live music nights that "resist corporate music," in other words, all music performed must be original work or in the public domain. Hipsters love sticking it to "the man" - and what's more symbolic of "the man" than the music industry?
The Steel Yard
27 Sims Ave, Providence
Perhaps the most unique spot on our list, The Steel Yard is a non-profit that "acts as a catalyst in the creative revitalization of the industrial valley district of Providence."
The Steel Yard serves over 300 people annually through community education classes, introduces dozens of teens to metal fabrication through special youth programming such as Camp Metalhead and educational partnerships, and has prepared dozens of Rhode Islanders for the metalworking trade through the Weld To Work program. The Yard is also home to Public Projects, which produces one-of-a-kind street and park amenities, including art bike racks, tree guards, and trash cans that can be seen throughout New England.
Pretty awesome stuff.
The Parlour
1119 North Main Street, Providence
The Parlour is a bar/live music venue that hosts quirky local and national acts, and serves interesting dishes that feature only local organic & all-natural ingredients. For example: the "Bill Walton" consists of roasted organic portobella, pickled jalapeno & candied organic beet quesadillas w/ all natural cheeses in house made, organic flour tortillas.
Image: Hillary H/Yelp
7 Stars Broadway
342 Broadway, Providence
Hipsters cannot live on coffee, whiskey, and beer alone. 7 Stars has several locations throughout the city, but the Broadway location is a hipster favorite. All sorts of bread and pastries are available, plus sandwiches, and of course, coffee.
7 Stars has a simple mission statement: "Bake great stuff and treat our customers well."
The Scurvy Dog
1718 Westminster St, Providence
The best way to describe The Scurvy Dog is spelled out on it's own website:
Punk rock and roll pub in the West Side of Providence.
Twenty taps, no crap. Forty-five bottles, forty plus whiskeys.
Hamburgers with wacky, delicious toppings.
Huge, breezy and shady outdoor beer garden overlooking scenic Olneyville.
Tasty punk rock and roll, garage, death metal, outlaw country, blues, rockabilly, etc. etc.
What more could a hipster (or anyone else) want?
PS- the Scurvy Dog may have the greatest FAQ section of any bar's website we've come across.
Justine’s
11 Olneyville Square, Providence
Justine's is an unassuming, signless storefront that masquerades as a lingerie shop, but behind the velvet curtain, you'll find a hipster-paradise old school speakeasy.
Chandeliers and matching sconces enhance the dark atmosphere. Justine's is so secret, they don't even have a web page, but you can check them out on Yelp. Check it out, if you can find it.
Photo via Ben S/Yelp
In Your Ear
462 Main St, Warren
In Your Ear was once a Thayer St mainstay before the gentrification and rents went sky high. This old school record shop is now located on Main St in Warren, giving East Bay hipsters (but it's worth the drive from anywhere in the state) a place to dive for vinyl treasure - plus they also sell vintage equipment, so trash that junky turntable you got at Target and pick up something that will actually show off the sound quality of that vinyl treasure.
Wickenden Pub
320 Wickenden St, Providence
This Fox Point dive bar mainstay on Wickenden has been around forever. They have over 99 beers from around the world with 19 on tap. Beer aficionados can join the Beer club, drink all 99 beers, and get on the wall of shame. Hipsters need goals, too.
Loie Fuller
1455 Westminster St, Providence
Hipsters love brunch, and the art nouveau Loie Fuller's delivers brunch in spades. Named for Loie Fuller, a pioneer of modern dance and theatrical lighting techniques, this hipster favorite also offers interesting appetizers and entrees, such as striped bass with potato leeks and a vegetable and grits combo.
Woody Allen filmed parts of his latest film here, too.
Prov. Kickball League
Dexter Field (Armory Park)
During the summer, kickball is hipster ground zero in Providence. Nothing says hipster like kickball. The Providence Kickball League starts up this year on May 30, and you can still sign up for a team. Games are played at Dexter Field near the Cranston St Armory, and wrap up September 6.
There's even a championship cup named after Stephen Olney, a Revolutionary War hero. The loser's cup is the "Vincent Cianci" cup. Seriously. The Providence Kickball League even has a sponsor, fittingly, Narragansett Beer.
