REAL STORIES FROM REAL BARTENDERS >>>

I've been a bartender for a long time. I have met countless freaks, jerks, pervs, sweethearts, rockstars and crazies. Even though it's a physically and mentally exhausting job, these are the colorful people that make it all worthwhile. Well, that and the tips.

I'd like to share with you some of my personal experiences behind the bar, along with the stories from some of my fellow bartenders. Each week - under the clever heading of "Behind Bars" - I will dig into my memory bank - and the incident log books that all bars keep - to bring you some of my favorite stories.

Names of bars, bartenders and patrons have been changed or withheld to protect the innocent.

And the not so innocent.

Cheers!

This week...

Say Cheese

This week's story comes from a sassy little bartender friend of mine who now lives in New York. It was one of her favorite accounts of working in the service industry.

I will tell it as though I were she. ...

I was working at this great little Italian place, one with great wine and martinis, and even better food. It was a busy Saturday night, and I had been working an extra long shift. I barely had time to eat and was starving.

Now, if you've ever worked in the service industry, you know it's eat and run. And if you've ever worked in a restaurant, then you know dinner can sometimes come from the order window - whether it be a fallen crouton off a salad plate or a tater tot from the stack that's going to table 10.

Now, in this particular instance, my snack was a giant, saucy cheese blob that had escaped from an order of lasagna. It looked bad hanging on the side of the plate anyway, so I just popped it in my mouth as I picked up the order and rushed it to the table.

Naturally, I was mortified as I set the plate down ... there was a string of cheese leading directly from the customer's dish to my mouth.

Needless to say, there were embarrassed apologies and free meals, but at least now I have this great story.

She would chortle as she told this, leaving her patrons with their beers and a great conversation starter. It seems many people have service industry horror stories.

I wonder how she's doing these days ... I think I'll whip up a drink and find her on Facebook.

Until next week - Cheers!

"BEHIND BARS" LINK HUB

LINK: The importance of details

LINK: Exotic tastes

LINK: Lactose intoxicated

LINK: Thanks for playing!

LINK: After hours trivia

LINK: Bartending abroad

LINK: Oh puck!

LINK: 86'd

LINK: More Aural Adventures

LINK: Big & Rich

LINK: Tales From the Incident Log Book

LINK: The Tip Jar

LINK: Aural Adventures

LINK: Smooth Transitions

LINK: The Pooper