Cosmopolitan : A Bartender's Life

Rating:
Summary: Slice of Life
Review: "Cosmopolitan" is an authentic slice of life. There are definite similarities to "My Fractured Life" but with a different slant, less bite to the cynicism and less spanning in events. This is more of a neighborhood event than an up and down roller coaster and the writer has an even keel delivery to match.

Rating:
Summary: A drinking man's book for drinking people
Review: "A situation of urban comfort" is one of the definitions Merriam-Webster gives for the word "civilization." A sure sign of civilization is the presence of a tavern, saloon or pub --- a bar. Certainly, what goes on inside these establishments will occasionally resemble something from humankind's knuckle dragging past. But the existence and popularity of commercial establishments dedicated to the ritualistic preparation and distribution of alcoholic beverages is a reassuring indication that as members of the human race we share a common desire for "a situation of urban comfort." On the rocks, up, twist, no twist, or even just tonic without the vodka, thank you, the bar is both evidence of and an escape from whatever passes these days for civilization.

That the tavern plays a vital role in the human experience can be argued over cocktails. But Toby Cecchini, author of COSMOPOLITAN: A Bartender's Life, understands the bar as a common and familiar stage on which the human experience plays out. His delightfully entertaining and insightful memoir offers plentiful evidence of his appreciation for the complex juxtaposition of tradition, ritual, fantasy, reality, irony and expectation that are the DNA of any drinking establishment.

Cecchini takes very seriously the role and responsibilities of the bartender: the craft, skill and knowledge that come into play behind the bar, and the subtle (and sometimes not so subtle) manipulations necessary to exert some semblance of control over what goes on in front of it. But he also has the sharp wit, keen eye and sense of fun to see the entertainment value in a job that requires his professionalism to remain intact while his customers gleefully rid themselves of that particular burden.

He clearly loves the job. This affection, coupled with a writing style that combines hip downtown street wisdom with uptown eloquence and sophistication, makes COSMOPOLITAN: A Bartender's Life as welcome and inviting a slice of urban comfort as the crackle of ice in a tumbler of good scotch.

--- Reviewed by Bob Rhubart

Rating:
Summary: Excellent Premise
Review: "Cosmopolitan" is an authentic slice of life. There are definite similarities to "My Fractured Life" but with a different slant, less bite to the cynicism and less spanning in events. This is more of a neighborhood event than an up and down roller coaster and the writer has an even keel delivery to match.

Rating:
Summary: CRANKY & DROLL
Review: I agree that it makes a nice drinking companion to 'My Fractured Life.' The voice is not exactly the same, but similar enough to be enjoyable as a sidecar. Far more than satisfying. This is a good book.

Rating:
Summary: pretentious moi ?
Review: I bought this book thinking it would be as great as "kitchen confidential" by anthony burdain

What pretentious language ! Cecchini never uses a small word where an obscure one will do which makes for an annoying read ... "heavily bibilous" for example I guess he means drunk ...
when I read windy sentences like "I was relieved of my obligation of politesse of any kind" I think "hey Buddy get over yourself ! "

this book needed the heavy blue pencil of an editor


Rating:
Summary: Trying too hard but gets an E for Effort
Review: I love memoirs and when I had heard some buzz on this book I went ahead and picked it up. I read it fairly quickly and when it was over I felt down and unsatisfied. Cecchini's writing tries too hard to be literary and isn't straightforward enough. A lot of big words that seem out of place for a book about nightlife and booze. The cover made me think it would have been a lot more fun about a business that seems glossy and glamorous. Unfortunatly, Cecchini seems to think it was a drag one time too many - it wouldn't be an understatement to say that he's a little hard-boiled in the way he tells his story.

Definitely a great atmosphere book, in that the place seems real but the customers act like jerks and who wants to hang out with jerks? Just wish it was more fun, is all.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent Premise
Review: The premise of "COSMOPOLITAN" is excellent: life of the hangers on and random passers by at a bar from the prospective of the bartender. TOBY CECCHINI does an excellent job with the story telling. There are elements of RIKKI LEE TRAVOLTA's "MY FRACTURED LIFE" in the details provided in the observation of others and the sitting around talking feel. The two have a very similar feel and tone and should mutually appeal. There are also a few elements of AGUSTEN BURROUGHS' "DRY" but not as many as I expected.

Rating:
Summary: Not for the girls
Review: This book was a huge disappointment for me. I found his macho take on bar culture non-observant, but too critical. Anthony Bourdain wrote a rave about a book that discourages smoking in bars??? The guy is never shown without a Marlboro hanging out of his lips. I found this book pretentious and at times monotonous. The cover is fun, but it is not representational of the work.

Rating:
Summary: Parisian-wannabe pours drinks for those he's too good for
Review: Toby Cecchini's lavish and loving descriptions of alcohol really make you want to have a drink; in fact, I'm a beer-only guy, and found myself hankering for a martini or Manhattan while I read Cosmopolitan. Not with the author, though, who maintains the effete and disdainful tone of a French snob throughout. There isn't a single instance in this book's 238 pages where a $10,000 word and/or a French turn of phrase wasn't substituted for the $10 version, regardless of the fit. This was as goofy as it was distracting, and I can't imagine it endears the smarmy author to anyone who reads this.

Case in point: "I always marveled at the élan with which he pulled off that simple action; my efforts at duplicating this maneuver always end with me bludgeoning the recalcitrant glacier mercilessly as chips fly helter skelter." Um, call me crazy, but isn't that a mite highfalutin to describe watching someone chip ice? And while describing the staff at a restaurant where he used to work: "Even now, at the remove of more than a decade, it is easy to conjure, but difficult to summarize, the atmosphere of that floor, its peculiar combination of superfluous terror and incestuous, striving kinesis." Pal, the only reason it might be "difficult to summarize" a bunch of the interaction between a bunch of waiters, cooks, and bartenders, is because you're trying too hard. The last time I saw this much use of the word "lovely" was when I brought our daughter to my grandmother's senior center,

It gets worse. There is an obnoxious Europhilic tone throughout Cosmopolitan, as if all Americans are yokels undeserving of the drinks he pours (sorry, "the gustatory libations he decants")- Cecchini fantasizes of his dream bar, which among other things, only accepts Euros; he refuses to serve a Cosmopolitan to a customer who asks for a "Cosmo"; he sizes up customers approaching his bar, and thinks through some gift of human insight he knows everything about them from just their walk or drink order; he describes a wine argument with a friend, during which Cecchini referred to a Pomerol as a Pommard- the friend gloated about it for two years (anyone call for an Ambiguously Gay Duo?). There are many instances when Cecchini describes standing behind the bar and observing his customers from a pompous distance, having a laugh or a shake of his head at the human condition, as if he's so above their depredations because of the two foot wall of oak between them.

On the plus side, this guy clearly loves his craft, and brings enough experience and perspective to the table to keep his audience interested. I wouldn't have thought there were this many aspects to discuss about bartending, and was pleasantly surprised by the wealth of topics: the adulation met by workers at a city hot spot; the difficulties of entering the NYC restaurant business (this book is a cautionary tale against getting in the New York food game); the process of stocking the bar's alcohol in a way to ensure only those crowds you want; the art of being a good listener without getting too involved; crowd control; interesting and unpredictable barflies; and the chemistry necessary between two bartenders working the same shift.

Cacchini almost redeems himself with a couple of uncharacteristically humble stories at the end: the first describes his morbid curiosity and horror at hosting a raunchy bachelor at his bar, and his struggles to get closer to observe the action, while at the same time maintaining professionalism. The second involves a trip to Europe, stumbling into a family-run bar and getting swept up in a week of unconditional hospitality. These two anecdotes aren't enough, though, to bring this snob back to Earth.