Bartender of the Month:

Mike "Web" Webster is our featured bartender for March 2009. A soft-spoken man who enjoys a shot of Grand Marnier or a simple bottle of Coors Light, with the occasional bout of karaoke, Mike can be found most weekends working the bar at Mex, a Mexican-themed bar located in Power Plant.

So why don't you tell us a bit about yourself.

My name's Mike, I grew up in Carroll County, moved to the city about 10 years ago, started out working at Bohager's, then over at Baja, and when they closed down I've spent the last year at Mex.

Why did you decide to be a bartender?

I just like the nightlife: I like going out to bars, I like meeting people, I'm a nightperson.

Do you like working at Power Plant?

Yeah, I really do. It's a lot of fun. They're pretty lenient, they let you have a good time.

Yeah, we've crawled through here a couple of times, and it's always been entertaining, to say the least. So, what is your favorite drink to make?

Um, I like making Long Islands, and I like making margaritas - I make good margaritas. I pride myself on my margaritas, especially at a Mexican restaurant.

So you do like making Long Island Iced Teas? Usually people complain about making them.

Yeah, I do.

That's pretty cool. Then, what is your least favorite drink to make?

Frozen drinks. Luckily we don't have them here, like daiquiris and stuff. They just slow me down. I don't like staying in one place too long.

What do you think a drink says about a person? Like, what do they order, how do they do it, etc?

You can tell a lot about a person. I can kinda tell by what somebody orders how often they go out to places. Those who go out a lot, when they go up to the bar, you can kind of tell, they order exactly what they want. The people who don't get out very much walk up to the bar and order a bunch of mixed drinks.

Who's your favorite type of customer?

Tipping customers. Actually, I like bartending, cause I like to talk to people. So if I can just go up to a customer and engage them as a person, that's pretty cool. I gotta be behind the bar, it's my job, so it helps the time go by faster if I can just have a conversation with them, interact with them on a personal level.

What's the weirdest thing you've seen on the job?

Wow. Well... a lot things happened at Bohager's that I can't really mention.

(Laugh) Well then, that you're willing to share.

(Long pause) Well, last summer at the Plaza Bar (ed: also known as the Blue Door) some girl passed out on top of the ledge type thing in a Port-a-Potty, and it hadn't been cleaned in a week - it was supposed to be cleaned the next day - she had thrown up all over herself and... I guess that was weird enough. It's kinda a common occurrence. It was one of those moments that almost made me lose it.

What's your favorite part about working at Mex?

The staff. It's a really fun group. When we're behind the bar, we're having just as much fun as the people on the other side of the bar. We keep each other laughing, we keep entertaining each other. It's just a really good staff, you know?

Got any parting comments for us?

Um, not really. See you at Mex!