How much do you tip at the bar?

[Orsini]

I did a quick survey on my way home this evening. The consensus is one Yankee dollar per beverage served.

 

[KBW]

Originally Posted by Tarmac

What do you new yorkers do where drinks can cost $10 or $15? Still $1?

I went up to NYC a few weeks ago and went to a normal looking bar...I ordered 3 budlights (myself, fiance, and her sister) and the girl told me $36 bucks. I about **** my pants. Where I go to school if the bar charges more than 2.50 they won't have any business at all (each one has a night where they are only $1). I could buy 60 bud light bottles at the store for 36 bucks here. I would never order a beer in a city like NY.

 

[West24]

im kinda cheap sometimes. i like to double fist, so i then just leave a dollar for two drinks. sometimes if i dont have much money for the night i leave 50 cents on one drink. or many times the bartenders wont give you the right change back on purpose. then i may not leave a tip at all. generally though its 1 dollar per drink.

 

[binge]

Originally Posted by Tarmac

10 minutes... to make? What drink takes 10 minutes?

The "Mojito of Heracles". That's what I called this mojito that I witnessed being made in this bar in Paris back in 2003. A buddy of mine I were there on a "just got a new job" trip and after being out for dinner were on our way back to the hotel and stopped in at what looked to be a local bar, as opposed to a tourist bar. When we entered, the bartender looked at us and said, "Americans?". We kinda froze and said, "yes", to which he shook his finger and said, "no, no, we are closed" as he walked toward us. We looked around the room and saw maybe 3 other people at the bar, but otherwise empty. We looked at each other and silently agreed that it would be best to call it a night rather than make a scene. Then, the bartender broke out a huge grin and laughed, saying, "no, no, only joking, please come in."

We sat at the bar and chatted with a young woman, who quickly revealed that she was a good friend of the bartender, as were the two other patrons in the bar, and this was typically a time at night where the bar was officially still open, but unofficially closed and the only people who came in were good freinds.

As we had a nice talk with her, we also witnessed the bartender making what I dubbed "The Mojito of Heracles". I've seen mojitos made numerous times before: the mint, the sugar, the crushed ice. But I've never before seen ice crushed in such a tedious manner. The bartender had a device: plastic and about the size of a notebook, with an opening at the top and a crank on the side. I guessed it was some sort of ice-cream maker, but it wasn't round, rather a slender box. In any case, the put what I remember being a full tray-full of ice in via the top and proceeded to muscle the crank around and around while he chatted up his friends. After what seemed like 30 minutes, he held the device above and empty glass on the bar and opened a little door along the bottom edge. Then, in a fashion I can only describe as absurd, from this door fell a tiny packet of finely crushed ice, filling maybe 1/10th of the tumbler.

To my shock, the bartender and his friend awaiting her competed drink, proceeded in their conversation as the bartender competed this exercise in inefficiency 4 more times until the glass was sufficiently filled with this finely crushed ice; after which the rest of the ingredients were combined and the drink completed. All told, it must have taken close to 30 minutes.

And thus is the tale of The Mojito of Heracles.

 

[tiecollector]

Originally Posted by johnapril

To afford chemo from working in a smoking environment.

CA is smoke free.

Originally Posted by KBW

I went up to NYC a few weeks ago and went to a normal looking bar...I ordered 3 budlights (myself, fiance, and her sister) and the girl told me $36 bucks. I about **** my pants. Where I go to school if the bar charges more than 2.50 they won't have any business at all (each one has a night where they are only $1). I could buy 60 bud light bottles at the store for 36 bucks here. I would never order a beer in a city like NY.

That is absolutely insane. I would have left them at the bar laughing as I walked out.

 

[johnapril]

Originally Posted by tiecollector

CA is smoke free.

That's a relatively recent change in the law.

 

[RedLetterDay]

Normally I was raised to tip $1 per drink. It's a little wierd here in Erie, PA where I moved back after school because you'll rarely pay more than $1 or $2 for most drinks. I don't know if that means I should be tipping more to even it out or less to blend in with the rest of the crowd.

 

[stvnr]

In general, I'll tip $1 per drink most of the time. Sometimes $2.

Once in college, I went to a local bar that had $0.25 beers before 10 pm or something like that. One of my friends just emptied out his change cup and put it in his pocket. He forgot the bar charged a $5 cover so we had to spot him on that. At one point in the night, he ordered one beer and gave the waitress $0.30. We gave him a good ribbing about it and he replied, "what? it's 20 percent."

 

[visionology]

Originally Posted by KBW

I went up to NYC a few weeks ago and went to a normal looking bar...I ordered 3 budlights (myself, fiance, and her sister) and the girl told me $36 bucks. I about **** my pants. Where I go to school if the bar charges more than 2.50 they won't have any business at all (each one has a night where they are only $1). I could buy 60 bud light bottles at the store for 36 bucks here. I would never order a beer in a city like NY.

What place was this? $26 sounds believable but $36??? That's even expensive by NYC / Miami standards.

 

[Flambeur]

Originally Posted by visionology

What place was this? $26 sounds believable but $36??? That's even expensive by NYC / Miami standards.

Yeah, especially for bud light? I can see $6-7 per beer, but not $12 unless its a real beer.

 

[Joffrey]

I almost always pay with credit so I tend to tip about 20%. If I buy a few drinks and pay with cash I at least make sure it's over 10% (probably still lean to 20%).

 

[Huntsman]

Originally Posted by Orsini

I am going to get one of these tomorrow!
Congratulations! It is a very happy-go-lucky sort of a drink, and long my favorite Fizz (though I have more or less given that title to the Royal Fizz these days). I hope the establishment does well by it, and consequently, by you! ~H

 

[thekunk07]

sadly, it totally depends on how hot the bartender is.

for a guy, like $2 on an $8+ drink.

for a hot female bartender, probably double that on the same drink. pathetic, i know.

i've reduced this a bit as the art of the buyback has all but disappeared.