Photo of author Jena Ellenwood
Jena Ellenwood

Jena Ellenwood’s Recent Articles

Drink
May 23, 2018

Bartenders Share Their Most Epic Quitting Stories

There is not a single one of us in the food and beverage industry that has not fantasized about ripping off an apron mid shift and taking a Half-Baked inspired exit.

Drink
Feb 14, 2018

The Bartender Stole My Date

“You ever poach someone’s date?” I placed an Old Tom Gin & Tonic down in front Keith and waited for his answer.

Drink
Nov 29, 2017

Bartenders Watch Your Tinder Dates...and They Have Stories

"Jena, everyone is online!

Drink
Oct 10, 2017

When Bartenders and Regulars Become More Than Just Drinking Buddies

I will never forget how the EMTs that frequented the first coffee shop I ever worked in took their medium hot chocolate and coffee in large cups to avoid spillage in the ambulance; that the Second Avenue subway contractor, who hadn't touched booze in eight years, preferred lemon in his water but no straw; that Janet in East Hampton liked to finish her first glass of North Fork Chardonnay before ordering the roast chicken, all the while glued to a romance novel.

Drink
Jul 7, 2017

The Steamy Reality of Bartenders Dating Their Barbacks

Over the years, I've heard enough barback hookup stories to challenge any bodice-ripping romance novel aficionado.

Drink
Dec 15, 2016

Bartender Superheroes: Watching Your Back from Behind the Stick

For the last seven years I’ve been lucky enough to work at a neighborhood bar in Astoria, a cozy, once primarily Greek neighborhood in Queens, New York.