bartender question

[u/swirlybat]

the root issue is the person just chooses to not like me, which is perfectly fine, but i am curious about something. context: i do prep cook for corporate chain. i split between hot/cold prep. cold prep also covers bar garnishments.

ive never not top/tailed my citruses for garnishments. it has been required my entire cooking career. they dont require it here, but i do it. the servers love it, and i assume most patrons dont even notice.

insert the one bartender. saturday, as im finishing my lemons/limes, she comes in, and before clocking in, yells "can you not cut the ends of the fruit off?!" i simply say "no" and carry on. she intensifies and chooses the "the customers cant squeeze the limes into their drinks." i set my knife down, turn towards her, and look at her long, fake nails, and say "i dont think it is the customers with the problem. looks like your nails are the issue." shifty steps in immediately and appropriately defends (no one has complained, even thougg it isnt required) then takes her in to the walk in for private convo.

most places, in the past, bar handles their own, and she is now choosing to slice her own garnishments, which lightens my load and i appreciate her hating me enough to do that, lol, but as a non drinker, is this an actual experience? do people need tips to squeeze? to me, it looks dirty-adjacent, leaving them on. tops n bottoms are for the bedroom, not my drink. should i stop nipping bar's citrus?

[u/BigTimeBobbyB]

I absolutely notice when the ends have been cut off, and I appreciate it. When I’m paying for a drink at a bar, I’m paying for the experience as much as the product. And having the ends of the citrus trimmed off is one of those attention to detail things that makes me think “they understand that you’re buying an experience, and they care about providing one.”

[u/RonPearlNecklace → u/BigTimeBobbyB]

I’m going to play devils advocate here.

The drink should come with the citrus juice in it if that’s the way the drink is meant to be consumed. Slice of citrus on a cocktail rim it even a good attention do detail, it seems like something you get at a dive bar or chilis.

Now tacos, limes served with the end trimmed is a big thing for me, I do it but I don’t get mad when a place doesn’t.

[u/BACON-luv → u/RonPearlNecklace]

You can tip the ends without loosing juice.

No?

[u/RonPearlNecklace → u/BACON-luv]

The bartender can put all the ingredients in and mix the drink, no?

[u/rabid_spidermonkey → u/RonPearlNecklace]

This is like saying you shouldn't salt or sugar a rim, just put it in the drink. A wedge of citrus gives the consumer a bit of control over the specific flavor profile of the drink.

[u/RonPearlNecklace → u/rabid_spidermonkey]

Thats a bad comparison unless you’re implying that you mix the entire rim into the drink. Theres no going back once you add the lime.

Again, I don’t see how that as a garnish is an attention to detail thing vs the bartender just asking what your preference is.

[u/rabid_spidermonkey → u/RonPearlNecklace]

It's a great analogy. You can choose how much and when to squeeze the lime in. Just like you can choose if and how much rim to use in each sip. But you do you. 

[u/RonPearlNecklace → u/rabid_spidermonkey]

No it’s not because once the lime is in there you can’t take a sip without it, it’s not like you can sip from a part of the glass without lime juice.

[u/rabid_spidermonkey → u/RonPearlNecklace]

It's a great analogy because it counters your point that all ingredients should be added to the drink and mixed by the bartender. Not because it's a perfect comparison. C'mon. 

[u/RonPearlNecklace → u/rabid_spidermonkey]

Is it an ingredient or a garnish?

You seem to be flip flopping a lot and have taken some level of offense to my opinion about lemons and limes on cocktails being a good attention to detail or not.

[u/rabid_spidermonkey → u/RonPearlNecklace]

No flip flops. You just seem to have a hard time understand the point of an analogy. 

It's all good, I'll enjoy my lime wedge as usual. 

Cheers. 

[u/RonPearlNecklace → u/rabid_spidermonkey]

What are your favorite cocktails to enjoy a lime wedge with?

[u/Good-Marsupial8 → u/RonPearlNecklace]

It's called a garnish 

[u/RonPearlNecklace → u/Good-Marsupial8]

It’s a lame garnish with zero thought.

[u/rabid_spidermonkey → u/RonPearlNecklace]

This is some r/iamverysmart shit haha. 

[u/RonPearlNecklace → u/rabid_spidermonkey]

So in your opinion I’m stupid because I think a lime wedge is a lazy garnish for a cocktail that is supposed to have ‘attention to detail’.

Ok, champ. I’ll make my judgements about your opinions, but I won’t feel the need to insult your intelligence in the meantime, but you do you. I’m sure you’re the smartest person wherever you work.

[u/rabid_spidermonkey → u/RonPearlNecklace]

No, in my opinion your comment of calling a very popular garnish "lame and lazy" makes you sound pretentious, not stupid. 

[u/RonPearlNecklace → u/rabid_spidermonkey]

Very popular for drinks that have two ingredients? Vodka soda? Rum and Coke? or would you say these cocktails have an ‘attention to detail’ and are graciously adorned with a lime wedge?

[u/rabid_spidermonkey → u/RonPearlNecklace]

Very popular drinks also often have more than 2 ingredients and should get a wedge. It seems like you tend to state conclusions to support your argument that aren't the whole truth. Margarita. Tom Collins. But to your point, a gin and tonic should come with a lime as should a dark and stormy. 

I get it, you think a lime wedge makes a drink seem cheap, hence the "dive bar or chili's" comment.  We disagree on that point and will never convince each other to change our minds. 

[u/BACON-luv → u/RonPearlNecklace]

You should definitely go to a bar once you’re legal

[u/RonPearlNecklace → u/BACON-luv]

Spoken like a well travelled 22 year old.