Home Bar for Leisure Recommendations

[enframed]

don’t go installing this for anyone other than yourself.

if there is any movement in the value of your home as a result of this, it will be in the downward direction and something future buyers will look to rip out.

Can’t say how many NCSD houses I looked at with a random wet bar wasting the living area space. Now, a sink and fridge in the garage is something many could get down with.

Had a place in Aptos that had one of these. Dumbasses put the bar in exactly the spot the sofa should have gone in to have a view of Pleasure Point. So fuckin dumb. House sold and we were booted but the 1st thing to new owners did was rip the bar out.

 

[santacruzin]

Mine is in the backyard under the patio overhang. Seats 10 which is excessive and stupid.

 

[oeste858]

Tiki. Bar.
festive and classy af

 

[sussle]

Some friends of Sweetie-pie have a place in the Castro, a great old rickety home that is drafty and creaks when the wind blows hard. "Somewhen" in the 70's, previous owners rejiggered the kitchen to so it makes a decent enough " disco bar", complete with mirror ball and spinning color wheel....the high ceiling makes it work.

coz that's just what you would do in the Castro in the '70's

otherwise, i'm a moderate drinker and the only one in the house, so a tiny space in a cabinet is all i need. but there are more than a few folks in my neighborhood who have built out their garages into bars, with all the fixtures and trimmings. just seems like an odd enthusiasm for a space for habits that don't really need any more encouragement

on a slightly related side note, when i was a kid, my mom had a boyfriend who always packed his martini kit anywhere he went - a little briefcase with styro-foam cutouts for jiggers, shaker, glasses, vermouth, gin, whatever. and it didn't really register when i was a kid but looking back now, i can see now this was a guy who needed a drink often enough to make sure he was never without one. inherently not a good thing, imho.

 

[enframed]

on a slightly related side note, when i was a kid, my mom had a boyfriend who always packed his martini kit anywhere he went - a little briefcase with styro-foam cutouts for jiggers, shaker, glasses, vermouth, gin, whatever. and it didn't really register when i was a kid but looking back now, i can see now this was a guy who needed a drink often enough to make sure he was never without one. inherently not a good thing, imho.

Indeed, inherently not a good thing, but still kinda rad in its own fucked up kinda way.

I worked for the asshole who used to own 41st Ave Liquor (before the Syrians took over), on 41st Avenue, in Capitola, the round brick building just off Hwy 1. Anyway, he used to bring his own wine glasses in a custom suitcase when he went out for dinner.

 

[grapedrink]

Ice is key to me...We have a pos Samsung fridge with "ice maker"...poor design, has been inop for a few years...

Lol I think we have the same fridge Bought mine new in 2014. I have to take a hair dryer to that thing every 3-4 weeks to keep it working, such a crap design

 

[grapedrink]

Indeed, inherently not a good thing, but still kinda rad in its own fucked up kinda way.

I worked for the asshole who used to own 41st Ave Liquor (before the Syrians took over), on 41st Avenue, in Capitola, the round brick building just off Hwy 1. Anyway, he used to bring his own wine glasses in a custom suitcase when he went our for dinner.

Italian restaurants are notorious for having garbage glass, even in places where you’d think they would take it seriously.

 

[sussle]

Indeed, inherently not a good thing, but still kinda rad in its own fucked up kinda way.

actually, it was - fit this guy's style completely, it was nothing but smooth. this was the '70's, he was over 50 but old school cool, like from a B&W movie from the 40's. literally drove a convertible, smoked in a dapper way, always crisp in tennis whites or tweed and an ascot, and nobody blinked when he pulled out his case and whipped up a round of martinis. and i last saw him long after my mom exited, in Santa Rosa CA in the early '80s, living in this little house next to a tennis club, and killing it with the female tennis crowd. i'm sure he's long passed so here's to Bob Stevens

 

[TeamScam]

Sounds like a good role model to me.
I recommend a double or triple sink, even if you don't want the plumbing hook up, you can have it drain into a drywall bucket it will still be good for dumping used drinks on one side, another for not so dirty rinsing of bar tools shakers and stuff then the third for ice as a handy chiller for glasses, fruits, mixes.

 

[tsenn]

Lol I think we have the same fridge Bought mine new in 2014. I have to take a hair dryer to that thing every 3-4 weeks to keep it working, such a crap design

Yes! Hair drying propped up to melt the frozen fan...ha

 

[grapedrink]

Yes! Hair drying propped up to melt the frozen fan...ha

We might have a different model. Mine ends up building up a massive ice block at the top of the bucket and clogs the whole thing. Piece of garbage

 

[enframed]

Italian restaurants are notorious for having garbage glass, even in places where you’d think they would take it seriously.

Agreed. What is arguably the best old school and authentic Italian restaurant in LA, with a serious wine list, uses shitty glass. Italians like their glassware like their double-breasted suits: oversized.

 

[sussle]

Sounds like a good role model to me.

he was. taught me to play backgammon, wielding the doubling cube as a psychological weapon

 

[grapedrink]

Agreed. What is arguably the best old school and authentic Italian restaurant in LA, with a serious wine list, uses shitty glass. Italians like their glassware like their double-breasted suits: oversized.

I see a lot of thicc short glasses that have no room for aeration in Italian restaurants. Especially mind blowing that the Italian place in the heart of downtown Napa doesn't have good glass. Then again, they are mostly serving tourists who don't know the difference and who's money would be better spent elsewhere, so hey, don't hate the player.

 

[_____]

Anyway, he used to bring his own wine glasses in a custom suitcase when he went out for dinner.

Those kind of people are usually clowned by the staff. My last restaurant job had a regular who brought one of those cases with glassware and his wine in a decanter along with it. Staff wasn't allowed to pour the wine because he was the Wine King, but we charged him corkage every time.

 

[92122]

We just added a 2nd level to our house, and designed a small wet bar into the upstairs living area. I would never do a stand behind type bar, but this is perfect. Cabinets on the side can function as additional / non-bar storage if needed. Some shelving, a small counter and sink, and a legit $1,500 beverage fridge... which is way better than a $300 typical mini fridge for several reasons. The whole setup is compact and very functional.

See image. That's a pellet ice maker on the right side of the counter (which we hardly use, but wife insisted on it) and a water filter cooler to the left of the cabinets. I don't think we had the sink faucet installed yet in this pic, but it's like a 10" sink with high arc bar sink type faucet. If you want an RO water cooler it will need to be setup to purge water into the sink drain. Didnt want to deal with that so just ended up doing a 2 filter self contained water cooler which makes the water taste acceptable.

 

[Bob Dobbalina]

just ended up doing a 2 filter self contained water cooler which makes the water taste acceptable.

Living in SF, I've forgotten how annoying it is to have gross tasting water out of the tap.

 

[sdsrfr]

@92122 looks nice and able to easily convert to a “coffee station“ for non-drinkers.

also, depending on what your garage situation is like, sometimes epoxy floors and some dry wall is all you need to convert the space, and not have to worry about specific customizations the next buyer will loathe.

 

[bird.LA]

I see a lot of thicc short glasses that have no room for aeration in Italian restaurants. Especially mind blowing that the Italian place in the heart of downtown Napa doesn't have good glass. Then again, they are mostly serving tourists who don't know the difference and who's money would be better spent elsewhere, so hey, don't hate the player.

Can you guys hip me to what's different between a good wine glass and a shitty one? I'm assuming all the ones I've got are sh!t.

 

[ElOgro]

Can you guys hip me to what's different between a good wine glass and a shitty one? I'm assuming all the ones I've got are sh!t.

Drink from the bottle. Everything after that is presumptuous.

I had a case (24) of highball glasses when my daughter started learning how to wash the dishes....