What do the people pouring your drinks really think of you...and their job? This week we chatted it up (over an expertly-prepared cocktail or two) with David Rhoads, the affable bartender manning the upstairs at The Stanton Social, where he dished on dating, electrolytes and shower cleaner.

How long have you been bartending at The Stanton Social?
I’ve been here for a year and a half. I’ve been doing this for a long time. I never set out to be a really good bartender; it just sort of happened.

So you’re a really good bartender?
I guess if you do something for nine years, I’d hope you’d be good at it.

What’s the best drink at Stanton Social?
The Blood Orange Jalapeno Margarita. It’s blood orange juice, and we infuse house tequila with jalapenos for a little smoke and depth, plus fresh squeezed lime juice and triple sec. It’s good for margarita season.  

What do you drink?
The Blood Orange Margarita. And I drink a lot of añejo tequila. I drink it year round instead of Scotch. It’s aged in oak barrels so it has that same play but it has a little more caramel. I tried to give it to my mother, but she didn’t agree.

Do you do anything else?
I’m a writer and a sort of a retired comedian. I write a little non-fiction. I did an advice column for women at iVillage. But my main source of business is that I sell a shower cleaner online called Shower Power.

Shower cleaner? For real?
It’s an old family business, because my parents used to sell shower cleaners so my cousin and I recreated it as an online thing. You can see it at buyshowerpower.com.

Where do you live?
I live in the West Village, on Perry Street and West 4th. My New York experience was that, until this apartment, I had the best address to begin with and then I moved to worse and worse neighborhoods. I went from the West Village to Tribeca to Park Slope and then to Astoria. Never move for a love—it’s what I ended up doing.

It didn’t work out?  I don’t see why. You’re so charming.
Yeah, I don’t know. Maybe that’s part of the problem.    

Still, I bet you get a lot of dates as a bartender.
You would think, but it doesn’t work that way. People think we live this wonderful, sexy, romantic lifestyle but we all really go home by ourselves.

So everyone knows that Stanton Social makes a mean brunch.  Do people booze it up?
Brunch, no. Brunch people are usually recovering from the night before, so it doesn’t get really crazy, but we get people started.

And so the inevitable question—what’s the best way to get over a hangover?
Well, there are two kinds of hangovers, and I’m not really sure why one happens over the other. Sometimes I wake up craving sorbet, craving sugar. Pickles also do the trick. I’ve read that pickle juice has 17 times the amount of electrolytes as Gatorade. And booze always works, but then you’re putting yourself back in the same situation, so I discourage that. And avoid grease. It seems like a good idea because McDonald's French fries are always wonderful, but again, you’re trying to make yourself feel better.

The Stanton Social
99 Stanton St. between Orchard and Ludlow Sts.
212-995-0099

Photo: Dan Peterson

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