XX Files—our weekly item on Toronto’s better bartenders.
Name/alias Warren McGoey/Mischief McGoey
Current bar Not My Dog
How long bartending About three years
Your first drink/drunk I used to love a rum and coke with bitters and lime. Now that much sugar makes me crazy and pop gives me the worst hangovers.
Influences The seasons and what I like to drink: In the summer I like cider and pilsener, and tequila is my preferred shot. In the winter, I go for stouts and I shoot Canadian Club.
Best barfly I like to overhear strange arguments and weigh in on them. If you are arguing at the bar about which actor starred in that Robert Altman film, I’m going to set you straight. I really love when people ask my advice about some heavy issue in their life, I’ve got self-help philosophies galore.
Favourite cinematic bartender Razor Charlie in From Dusk ‘Til Dawn played by Danny Trejo. Trejo is a great actor with a prison-worn face. Man, if I looked like that, the street crazies wouldn’t have the courage to even step into my bar. But then again, maybe no one else would either.
Rules At Not My Dog I’ll never make you a fancy drink. Our regulars like beer and hard liquor. What I try to offer instead of a frilly drink is the community experience. I make introductions and get conversations started between strangers, it keeps people coming back.
Celebrity experiences I’ve served Daniel Lanois and wasn’t surprised to find that he was a really nice, intelligent man. I’m always hoping that David Foley will come into my bar. If you’re reading this Dave, your first round is on me.
Best late night or morning after places I’ve got two breakfast joints that bring me huge amounts of joy. The first is Harry’s Char Broil & Dining, right beside the No Frills on King West. The classic breakfast or a “Harry’s Usual” with coffee is really cheap and the atmosphere is a little Twin Peaks. Christine is a great server there and the men in the open kitchen are serious about their work. I also love the West Coast Toast at Easy Breakfast at Roncesvalles and Queen.
Best tip ever A guy asked for a stack of napkins and gave me twenty bucks. I still wonder about that….
Watch out for Every Wednesday night at Not My Dog is Open Mic Night. This usually brings a huge spectrum of talent from all over Parkdale. It’s always a great time and I look forward to working those nights. If my band, We Are French, is there I might go up and play a few songs, sliding a bottle of Jameson along the neck of the guitar. If not, I might sing a few from behind the bar, pausing between versus to serve a beer. Wednesday is a great night to meet artists, industry servers and our core crew of salt of the earth regulars. Sign up for the open mic starts at ten.
Not My Dog, 1510 Queen Street West
