Cosmopolitan is a memoir of the bartending life structured as a day in the life of Passerby, the bar owned and run by Toby Cecchini. It is, as well, a rich study of human nature—of the outlandish behavior of the human animal under the influence of alcohol, of lust, and of the sheer desire to bust loose and party. As the typical day progresses, Cecchini muses over a life spent in the service industry and the fascinating particulars of his chosen profession. He is by turns witty, acute, mordant, and lyrical in dealing with the realities of his profession, shedding plenty of light on the hidden corners of what people do when they go out at night.
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"Surprisingly well written, Cecchini is a fine writer and offers a rare taste of the life of a bartender/owner at a posh artsy bar in the Meat Packer District of NYC before that neighborhood became "the place to be seen." If you like being a fly-on-the-wall, you'll like this." — Max (4 out of 5 stars)
"Surprisingly well written, Cecchini is a fine writer and offers a rare taste of the life of a bartender/owner at a posh artsy bar in the Meat Packer District of NYC before that neighborhood became "the place to be seen." If you like being a fly-on-the-wall, you'll like this."
" A fun read, Cosmopolitan is a memoir that includes both fun anecdotes as well as thoughtful insights to the operation of a bar. "
" This is the guy that invented the Cosmopolitan. But the book is more of a memoir of bartending in the Meatpacking district of Manhattan. Well written and interesting. "
" I live in a country that doesn't really have a lot of good booze, our limitations can be frustrating at times. This book made me 1.miss nyc 2.soooo thirsty! good, fast and easy read. "
" I agree with Alex that the information about drinks, tipping, and other bar etiquette wasn't very interesting to me, but learning about the working life of a bartender and bar owner in NYC made this a worthwhile read. "
" Well written book about bartending in New York City by a literature major, who has an artist's/photographer's eye. He notices and comments on quirky things and happens to know a lot about the French. I want to get to know this person. I also learned a lot about different drinks. "
" I can never walk into a bar the same way any more. The bartender's perspective and judgment? is always there now. This was a very different read, which I loved. Sometimes his stuck up tone made me want to throw the book across the room, but I appreciated his writing style. "
" great book if you want to read about the life of a bartender - a classy one - in a NY bar (or many). He is very well read and writes accordingly. "
" A well written and entertaining memoir of a subject and lifestyle I think about often. Solid drink recipes too! "
" Along the same vein as Anthony Bourdain, Toby Cecchini writes frankly about his long career as a bartender. It's pretty hard in my opinion to beat Bourdain but I did enjoy Cecchini's storytelling. "
" If you can get past the wildly purple prose, this is a must-read for any bartender. Okay, servers may read it, too. "
Toby Cecchini is part owner of the bar Passerby, located in New York’s far-west Chelsea neighborhood. He began his bartending career in the mid-eighties at New York’s fabled bar and restaurant Odeon, where he began the Cosmopolitan cocktail revival. Cecchini has also written for the New York Times Magazine and GQ. He lives in New York City.
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