XX Files–our weekly item on Toronto’s better bartenders.
Name/alias: Tracey Thompson, both names at the same time.
Current bar: The Sister (née Mitzi’s Sister)
How long in the business: Ten hilarious years. Before this I worked with kids, the big difference being that kids are notoriously bad tippers.
First drink/drunk: I don’t remember my first drink. My parents are British. I think it involved a Shandy. My first serious drunk was at a basement party in deep Scarborough with a girl named Carmela Antonella Depasquali and some very dodgy tequila. Straight, no chaser.
Influences: I’m pretty old school. The first bar I worked at was close to U of T and had sixty-seven drinks on their cocktails list. I saw (and cleaned up) the damage I’d done. I do get a little touch of whimsy now and then. This last holiday season I came up with Bacon & Eggnog cocktail. Mostly I say pick liquor and stick with ‘er!
Best barfly: Well it’s Parkdale, so the hits just keep on coming. I’ve seen my fair share of boob, not always the good kind. I guess a stand out would be the guy that asked me, my co-worker, my boss and some random chick at the bar to go on a date with him, pretty much in tandem, as though we couldn’t hear him. Then he asked for a job. He still comes in.
Cinematic bartender: Moe Szyslak. He has a gun and a heart of fool’s gold.
Rules: I’ll mix any drink you want. That isn’t to say I won’t judge you. As far as light beer goes, it’s not just that I’m against it, I seriously don’t understand it. I’ve heard people like it because you can can drink it all day and not get drunk. What’s the point?
Celebrity experiences: Everyone’s a star at The Sister! But yeah – some famous people come here. I won’t name names.
Best late-night or morning-after places: I’m sorry to say, but the places I go after work keep changing addresses. For the morning after, I like SKYLINE! Parkdale’s finest diner. Liver and Eggs, large coke & classical music!
Best/worst tip: There’s no such thing as a bad tip, only bad people – or students: bless their stupid little hearts. The best tip I was ever bore witness to wasn’t mine. A regular tipped a less than competent server over 50%. I expressed surprised. He said,” Well, I feel bad for the guy, he’s probably gonna be out of work soon.” Classic and classy.
Favourite cocktail/beer/wine right now: Always and forever, The Gibson.
Watch for: We’re not really about specials although Tuesdays you can get a Pitcher of Steamwhistle and a plate of awesome nachos for $20. Every night features a line of 12 Ontario microbrews. We’ve got an excellent selection of Whiskeys; Scotch, Irish, American & Canadian. The rum’s pretty good too!
The Sister, 1554 Queen St W
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Kerry and Ivy Knight write the XX Files column for Toronto Standard. Follow them on Twitter at @keppsterr and @IvyKnight.
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