Who I am

My name is Mike Chittick, and I spent 10 years in the restaurant industry as a server, bartender, and bar manager.  I also worked for 8 years in the specialty food industry, traveling to many specialty food trade shows around the United States.  I have a passion for good food and drink, which still exists today.

While working as a bar manager in the late '90s for Luciano Bardinelli, known as the Godfather of the Italian Restaurant industry in Seattle, I learned how to make the perfect Flaming Spanish Coffee, and that was my signature drink as a bartender for the next several years, at numerous bars and restaurants.  Still to this day, I always get a Spanish Coffee after my meal whenever I go out to eat, and it is still my favorite adult beverage.  

Today I'm a Business Analyst, but I still love to go out and eat great food, and drink good drinks at some of the finest restaurants and bars around the country.  I still always order by Spanish Coffee, but what I have noticed is that very few bars and restaurants actually know how to make them!  When they do, it's typically a sub-par version, and it's very upsetting that it's not a staple in bars these days.  I've come to the conclusion that I need to start educating the industry about the right way to make these wonderful drinks.  For those of you who appreciate the Spanish Coffee as much as I do, I also want to provide a place where we can post about restaurants who really do it right.