Bartender of the Month + Recipe
Jon Baker
BARTENDER AT STEVE & COOKIE’S IN MARGATE (25 YEARS!)
Q: How did you get into bartending?
A: It was a natural evolution, going from working in kitchens to bussing tables to becoming a waiter. When an opportunity arose at Steve & Cookie’s to work behind the bar, I was more, “Don’t tempt me with a good time.” I was very happy to make that move.
Q: What about it was so inviting?
A: When you’re a waiter, you’re going from table to table, going to the customer. When you’re a bartender, you’ve got a captive audience. You’re in the goldfish bowl. People are looking at you, especially at the Oyster Bar at Steve & Cookie’s. My partner, Anthony Scannapieco, and I – we just look at each other and we know what each other needs. We have a great team at Steve & Cookie’s.
Q: So how did you end up working at Steve & Cookie’s By the Bay?
A: Twenty-five years ago when I walked in looking for a job, the first person I saw was Cookie. I introduced myself, she asked my story, and I told her straight up, “I’m an artist. I want to keep pursuing that, and the service industry allows me to do that.” She asked me to bring in some artwork to show her. I did, and she told me to hang it right on the wall to sell it. The kind of boss I have with Cookie – I can’t stress enough, she sees beyond the horizon as a captain. She just has a vision that is constantly helping the community, helping each individual employee. I owe so much to Cookie for allowing me the room to grow.
Q: Where can we find you when you’re not bartending?
A: I’m a full time working artist. I paint 25 to 35 hours a week. I’ve actually got the Ocean City Art of Surfing Festival coming up. [Aaron “Bogy” Bogushefsky] runs the event. They tapped me to design the poster this year, and the merchandise as well. Opening night is 5-10pm on Thursday, July 30.
Q: What’s your favorite thing to do at the beach?
A: I was on the Margate Beach Patrol for 10 years. I love surfing. But I almost never go to just sit on the beach. Unless there are waves, I pretty much avoid it.
Q: Do you like to hit up the OC Boardwalk?
A: My wife Kristin and I have a son, Noah, who went to OCHS and is going to Rutgers New Brunswick in the fall. We live in Egg Harbor Township and he was able to go to OCHS through the school choice program. For the last four years, I loved getting up, driving him over to Ocean City in the morning, and then rucksack with a 30 pound weight on my back and walk the whole length of the Boardwalk – two and-a-half miles each way. It is one of my favorite things to do in the mornings. I love Ocean City.
Paper Plane
“It’s a Prohibition Era, well-balanced cocktail,” Jon said. “We serve it in the coupe, which is an old school, almost Prohibition Era glass. It’s the exact same ounces as our past martini glasses.”
Ingredients:
Directions:
Buffalo Trace Bourbon
Nonino Amaro
Aperol
Cold-pressed lemon juice
Stir together equal parts of the four ingredients. Serve straight up in a coupe glass with a lemon twist. “It is probably my favorite bourbon drink of the summer. It’s so balanced. It’s light. It’s refreshing. It’s citrusy with that cold pressed lemon, with a little sweetness, but the sweet bourbon flavor still comes through,” Jon said. “It hits every good note.”
Interview by Kristen Dowd. Photos by Bill Godfrey.