Mixologist
Mix & Serve
by Stephanie Czekalinski
Going from Surly Girl to Betty's to Tip Top is one heck of a bar crawl. It's a move bartender Sandra Briseno has made with drinks and menus in hand over the past six years.
Currently at Tip Top, Briseno, 29, cut her teeth at Surly Girl Saloon and credits Jon "Bubbles" Green, a bartender there, with helping her develop the skills that have made her an adept purveyor of cocktails, appetizers, entrées and advice.
Whether you order a PBR, a Commit to be Lit (orange, raspberry and vanilla vodkas, cranberry and a splash of 7-Up) or a Bustown Julep (whiskey, maple syrup and soda), at Tip Top your server is the person who makes it for you.
"You have to learn to be a bartender to work front-of-house. Everyone makes their own drinks for their own tables," Briseno said.
Normally everything runs smoothly, but every once in a while things go awry behind the bar.
"There's been many a night like that," Briseno said with a laugh. "You could be four deep. You're slammed. The kegs blow. You don't have glasses. You break a glass in the ice. You have to stop, empty the ice bin. And you have to stop and re-stock. It definitely puts a hold on things, but you just trudge thorough and make it happen."
Tip Top Kitchen and Cocktails
73 E. Gay St., Downtown
614-221-8300
Web: tiptopcolumbus.com
Besides coming to Tip Top for its "old-school classy" ambiance, Briseno said that people sometimes come in for advice or to cope with a difficult situation.
Feel like a cocktail because your best steady date just dropped you like a cell phone call in the mountains? You're not the only one, but some can take it just a titch too far.
When she's not the one serving the drinks, Sandra Briseno will frequent the Short North Tavern. She said she enjoys Bell's Oberon or a PBR. Although she lives just north of Campus, Sandra said the Short North and Downtown are some of the best neighborhoods in Columbus.
"There are parks, galleries, movies, theater, plays and events—but you have to look for them," she said. "Columbus is a smaller city, and people take that for granted. But it's what makes Columbus cool."
"A girl came into Betty's, and she was drinking like mad, and I was just like, Someone needs to figure out what's going on and give her water. I've never seen anyone so upset," Briseno said.
Most of the time, though, the crowd is laidback. Especially on Sundays, Briseno said.
"People are there to enjoy their day, and they tend to be better tippers. They're not in a hurry—eat lunch, read the paper. They've got nowhere to be, and they come in a good mood," she said.
On top of the delicious cocktails and food, including some pretty darn good pie, Tip Top's atmosphere is cozy and hip. The music completes the experience.
"We listen to an iPod at work, and I just keep it on shuffle. I'm a big fan of anything from jazz to something hard," Briceno said.
There have been times when the iPod had to be turned off to make room for patrons who brought their own music.
"There was a barbershop quartet competition" in town, Briceno said. "They came over from the Renaissance and would just break out singing while going from table to table. We turned off the iPod because there was no point in even having it on."
September 6th, 2007
Copyright ? 2007 Columbus Alive, Inc. All rights reserved.
