Sausalito competition gets boozy spinoff
This year is the Sausalito Chamber of Commerce's 19th annual Sausalito Gingerbread House Tour...
Barfly
Jeff Burkhart: Let young adults have fun, make mistakes
They breezed loudly through the front door. There's no noise like the cacophony of youth....
Jeff Burkhart: ‘Don’t you know who I am?’ No, I don’t
The holidays are in full swing. And there they are: all the people I don’t...
Great gifts for wine, cocktail lovers
Happy holiday month! December is really the holiday month, at least in terms of gift...
Jeff Burkhart: Some people see problems everywhere
It was busy, the kind of busy that renders the ability to have a conversation...
Jeff Burkhart: Why I started working on Thanksgiving
We were sitting in the living room watching the Thanksgiving game on TV. My potential...
Thanksgiving: Great drinks to make in a pinch
All right, so you didn’t take my advice and get Thanksgiving adult beverages before the...
Jeff Burkhart: If it seems too good to be true, it probably is
“I will have a double Patron margarita” was the very first thing he ever said...
Jeff Burkhart brings his ‘Barfly’ stories to the stage
“It’s a very Marin County arc that’s relatable to anyone who's grown up or been...
Jeff Burkhart: ‘Tis the season to be selfless
I noticed her milling around, and I’ve been doing this long enough to know what...
4 North Bay wines to pair with your Thanksgiving feast
Do you know what I hate? I hate it when a publication posts a story...
Jeff Burkhart: Learn to read the room
I inherited the couple from lunch. I had no idea how long they had been...
Jeff Burkhart: As a bartender, I’ve seen — and heard — it all
I passed the sporty little convertible on the freeway, marveling at the wonderfulness of Northern...
2 chocolate treats for your adult Halloween
Often when we think of Halloween, we think of it as primarily a holiday for...
Jeff Burkhart: Remember, you catch more flies with honey than with vinegar
I was late, but not late in the sense of clocking in. I’m one of...
Jeff Burkhart: Where does the buck stop?
The notice popped up on my phone: “Package delivered.” That was weird because I have...
From pumpkin to ginger: Fall flavors pop up in liquor market
It's pumpkin pie spice season, if you haven’t noticed. It’s on all the grocery store...
Jeff Burkhart: Some people crave the spotlight
The couple came sweeping into the room like they were Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton,...
Jeff Burkhart: Your ‘wrong’ is someone else’s ‘right’
It was a busy Friday night, as Friday nights in the bar business are apt...
New book spotlights Marin restaurateur behind Poggio, Copita
Restaurateur extraordinaire Larry Mindel remembers when he called his father and told him he was...
Jeff Burkhart: Train pets, not people
In Emily Brontë's “Wuthering Heights,” windows are used as a metaphor for the separation of...
Jeff Burkhart: Don’t be afraid to ask questions
The most interesting thing about standing behind the bar is that in the space of...
3 special beers for Marin’s Oktoberfest festivities
It's mid-September, and you know what that means: Oktoberfest is here! Wait, what? That’s right,...
Jeff Burkhart: Takeaways from the ‘Phillies Karen’ incident
It wasn’t really raining, more like a misting sprinkle. In fact, for those of us...
Jeff Burkhart: You never know who you’ll meet at a bar
And just like that, summer collapsed into fall, once wrote someone, I’m sure. That’s just...
3 ingredients that elevate cocktails
Often in the world of cocktails, people will get caught up in the main ingredient...
Jeff Burkhart: Don’t ask the question if you’re not prepared to hear the answer
“I would like a martini,” said the woman perched halfway on her barstool. “What kind...
Jeff Burkhart: You can tell a lot about a person by how they treat others
It was clearly a first date. The boots she wore were so new you could...
Major alcohol distributor to leave California
On Sept. 2, the Republic National Distributing Co. (RNDC) will complete its departure from the...
Jeff Burkhart: Make the most of whatever situation you’re in
Five minutes into my Sunday shift, and I had already spilled a quart of Bloody...
Jeff Burkhart: Some people have hidden agendas
Recently, I received an email from a reader: “I loved your July 27 column on...
4 tasty cocktails that highlight tequila
National Tequila Day was July 24. Tequila is the second-bestselling spirit on the United States...
Jeff Burkhart: Some people learn things the hard way
The two women had been at the bar for nearly an hour. They had enjoyed...
Jeff Burkhart: All’s fair in love, right?
Shakespeare might have said it best when he created the title “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.”...
From beach to bottle: Gin makers using seaweed in products
There I was, at 7 a.m. on a Monday morning, pulling on rubber boots alongside...
Jeff Burkhart: When the bar loses power, it’s time to go
The man in front of me had just rendered his own "War and Peace" in...
Jeff Burkhart: Some ideas should just stay ideas
He looked uncomfortable from the moment that he sat down, as evidenced by the fact...
Meet the namesake of Mac’s in Fairfax
We've all seen the clichéd sign that reads “Under new management.” In our post-pandemic world,...
Jeff Burkhart: Sometimes being ‘wrong’ is right
I’m not sure where he came from or how he got there; all I knew...
Jeff Burkhart: Playing games at the bar
Bartending can be a lot like Whac-A-Mole, the old arcade game where a rodent’s head...