It was going on 14 minutes since we had ordered drinks. Well, the wife, she was going on her second since I had spun the block looking for parking, and there was nothing but an empty coaster in front of me. It's not supposed to be this way at American Social, where one goal is to get a drink into your hands quickly.
Becky -- we'll call the waitress that so she doesn't get fired for this -- tried to breeze by. But we called out to her before she could pass the table next to us. "Oh, he's still making it," she said, when asked about my Manhattan ($13). She jutted a thumb over her shoulder toward the bartender. "It has exotic ingredients, and they're still learning how it's done."
A gaggle of bartenders appeared to be struggling with the computer system, not mixing drinks. That's understandable, considering this new Las Olas joint has been open just a week, but hey -- those exotic ingredients were really nothing more than sugar, bitters, orange, and bourbon.
Four minutes later, Becky was on her way with a martini glass of liquid the color of red grapefruit. Then, just steps away, poor Becky's elbow caught the corner of the booth next to ours. Half of the Manhattan spilled to the floor and washed into the floorboards. Becky looked as dejected as a forgotten prom date. She was about to take the half-full drink away, but we convinced her to leave it.
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