More about the Glover Gardens kitchen remodel, a look back and look forward at the bar.
When he had the house built in 1993, The Grill-Meister asked the builder to nestle a bar in the area under the stairs. It would have been part of the pantry, otherwise. The pantry is behind that pocket door.
That’s the Grill-Meister and his Dad having an in-depth conversation at the bar. It’s small but serviceable. Let’s call it cozy.
The bar has been the source of lots of fun during parties.
People like to “guest bartend,” like our friend Carl the Roaster.
But sadly, you had to pass through the (very messy) pantry to get to the little bar, and with the pocket door open, which it usually was, our chaotic shelves full of paper goods and condiments were on display. This will be rectified with the Glover Gardens Kitchen 2.0, as the pantry is being removed and the walls you see behind Carl will be gone. The bar will be open to the kitchen, and the bartender can take orders from either side.
I often crop out the pantry from cool party pics of the bar, like this one. Theresa and Lucy were having a great conversation, but in Version 1, you can see an unrestrained jumble of sundries and staples. No bueno! Version 2 crops out most of the pantry mess.
Version 1: a great conversation with a very messy pantry backdrop 
Version 2: the same great conversation without the pantry distraction
The two stools often made a great spot for a 1:1 conversation, even at a busy party. These two ladies hit it off ‘like a house afire,” at one of our parties. Sadly, you can see my condiment habit on display behind them in the pantry.
Gen Zs and Millennials get a kick out of mixing their drinks in the bar. Kendall was patient with me and let me close the door behind her after noticing the mayhem from the first pic I took.
Another plus about the bar is that drinks look fancy on it.
A Glover Gardens original, the Pampas Grass 
Tom’s excellent Bloody Mary 
OJ from our tree, just because
Let’s end this post with a cocktail. My late friend Theresa was guest-bartending at the Grill-Meister’s 50th birthday, taking orders for anything people wanted, but specializing in a drink she brought the goods for: the Scarlet O’Hara cocktail. We loved it! That’s me reaching for one in the pic below, and there’s our pantry again behind Theresa, this time focusing on the cereal.
I had never had a Scarlet O’Hara cocktail before this party, had never even heard of it. I’m not sure how that happened, except that sometimes the classic recipes get lost amongst the new creations. This is a great drink, a sweet-tart mix of Southern Comfort bourbon, cranberry juice and lime juice. Here’s a recipe courtesy of the Spruce Eats.
Keeping the bar was a priority in our kitchen remodel planning, and it’s going to be so much better in the Glover Gardens Kitchen 2.0!
This post is part of the Glover Gardens Kitchen Remodel Series. To see the rest of the chapters, click here.
© 2021, Glover Gardens
I take from the context that Carl roasts coffee beans and is otherwise quite a sensible person. In Glasgow, to call someone a roaster means they are a bit of a fool! We did have a coffee shop near us until recently which made a play on this: it was called Absolute Roasters.
Anabel, it’s so funny how colloquialisms in one culture don’t necessarily translate in another, even with the same language. Carl the Roaster is Carl’s Instagram name, and yes, indeed, he roasts quite lovely coffee and isn’t at all a ‘roaster’ in the Scottish vernacular. He’s profiled in this post from a couple of months ago after we finally got to visit his marvelous coffee shop, which you should, too, if you ever make it to Texas. (After you come visit me, of course!)
https://glovergardens.com/2021/06/coffee-beans-from-a-neon-moon-dream-to-reality/