Saturday Shaken Not Stirred traveled to Palm Springs to bartend a 50th birthday party at the fabulous Charles Farrell Estate. This was the second or third 50th birthday party I have served alcohol at in the Palm Springs area, and I must say – when a man turns 50 he pulls out all of the stops. Saturday’s party was a marathon event that last over 12 hours, and featured pools, hot tubs, taco carts, BIG SCREEN TV’s, a Sushi Chef, and fresh squeezed grapefruit drinks.
The weather couldn’t have been better and was in the eighties daytime, and cooled down nicely when the sun went down. It is a hard to plan parties in SoCal in February with El Nino looming, but that wild child made no appearance last weekend. People were walking around in swim suits no problemo. I had my bar set up in a nice shady spot just off to the side of the patio and didn’t have to fight the sun all day.
The best surprise find of the day was the grapefruit trees on the property. There were several grapefruit trees just loaded with fresh grapefruits. I squeezed one of them and it was just perfect – not bitter and so sweet even. I drank mine with club soda and it was fantastic. It mixed well with vodka, tequila, and rum. Just add a splash of soda. Excellente!
The Charles Farrell Estate is one of the several great properties available to rent in Palm Springs. I have bartended at several of the famous houses in the area, including the Cree estate in Cathedral City, and the Henry Mancini Estate in Palm Springs. The prices are surprising affordable compared to many other types of venues.
The guest of honor was certainly honored, and his wonderful wife did her best to make it a memorable and special day for him. He was also surrounded by some of his oldest friends, and many family members. The kids had a blast too. Goodfellas Tacos provided the taco cart. Fantastic sushi was done by Fresh Sushi Catering.
Sunday I had to get up early to rush over to Glendora to bartend a blowout Super Bowl Party.
Saturday night, Shaken Not Stirred traveled to Newport Beach to bartend a 50th birthday party. This was my third party I have done in Newport Beach, and I am becoming familiar with the area. The birthday boy’s wife hired me and arranged the party. She wanted real glassware and I supplied white and red wine glasses, and beer glasses. I can provide most glassware rentals for $1 a glass.
I have done several 50th birthday parties. It is obviously an important milestone. I have said this before, any man or woman who has family throw a birthday party for them is truly blessed. This particular gentleman was very blessed and had a large nice group of friends and family surrounding him, and he was fortunate enough to have a great Orange County home to throw the party at.
I arrived early and set up my portable bar and table in the backyard. The host was serving Cabernet, Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and Sauvignon Blanc, as well as Heineken, Blue moon, and Corona. They didn’t have much for soft drinks, and I was only serving iced tea and water. Many of the kids were upset that there was no soda. I understand that many people believe soda is a horrible thing, but I usually stress to people when I consult with them to have more non alcoholic drink choices. Some lemonade, cranberry juice, or something. They had nine different choices of alcoholic drinks available, and only 2 choices for non alcoholic drinks.
It is nice working with real glassware, but there is always breakage. I dropped one wine glass, and then had to stop service and clean that up. This is also why I don’t recommend anyone use real glassware in a pool area. If a glass breaks and broken glass gets into the pool it becomes a real problem. Especially now, while the drought is going on. People cannot drain their pools and refill them, even if they want to. Also, when using real glassware, it is important to have some disposable cups on hand to use when we run out of real glasses.
I got this job at the last minute; otherwise I would have had no event this weekend. I have two bartending events next weekend – one in downtown Los Angeles, and one in West Hollywood. Then I have events coming up in Desert Hot Springs, Temecula, Northridge, Coachella, and close to home in Sherman Oaks. I will be aggressively seeking to fill any open slots in the coming months. I had some very good news this week – I was notified by Thumbtack that I had been chosen as the #1 Bar Caterer in Los Angeles for 2015. I credit that to my habit of showing up early and trying to be of maximum service at all events I do. Also, I quickly respond to all correspondence from my clients. Being a good bar caterer is not brain surgery, but requires common sense.