Real estate lawyer by day, bartender by night. It’s not a common career path, but it works for the 2007 Metromix Best Bartender, Ann Regan, 30, of Blarney Stone (3424 N. Sheffield Ave. 773-348-1078). “It’s an outlet,” Ann says of her part-time gig. “Attorneys like to talk, so it’s good.”
Last Wednesday, Ann went head-to-head against her competitors at our fourth annual Best Bartender Bash. About 200 people came to Evil Olive (1551 W. Division St. 773-235-9100) to show their support and sample signature drinks from the Final Five, which included Joey Kot of Roscoe’s, Vanessa Garippo of The Local Option, Troy Hayden of Goodbar, and Jennifer Contraveos of Bon V and the soon-to-open La Madia.
Over the weekend, readers logged nearly 14,000 votes in our online poll — and Ann came out on top.
How did she do it? Well, it looks like the Cubs’ trip to the playoffs paid off. Since Blarney Stone is down the street from Wrigley Field, Ann was able to drum up votes by serving her signature Sex on the Pool Table shot (Stoli vodka, blue curacao, pineapple juice and orange juice) to a packed house.
Want to stop in to congratulate Ann? She works Tuesdays, Thursdays and alternate Saturdays.
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HONORABLE MENTION
Frenzied fans lined the bar during our Best Bartender Bash, scrambling to get complimentary samples of each of the five contender’s specialty drinks. We asked them to text us their votes for their favorite drink of the night, and the Blue Bayou was the overwhelming winner.
The drink, created by Joey Kot, 34, of Roscoe’s (3356 N. Halsted St. 773-281-3355), is a fruity concoction of Malibu Rum, Tropical Blue Island Pucker, pineapple juice, sour mix and 7-Up. “It doesn’t taste like alcohol, but it does the job,” Joey says.
Asked to choose his favorite drink from his competitors’ concoctions, Joey, normally a vodka-soda drinker, singled out the Pimms Deluxe from Vanessa Garippo of The Local Option. “It was kind of earthy and really different,” he says.
If you want to sample Joey’s winning recipe, stop by Roscoe’s on Fridays, Saturdays or Sundays.
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kmbudell@tribune.com
