This week, I paid a visit to that Rice Village staple, the original Ginger Man, to have a post-work beer at a picnic table in the evening sun. You can always count on the Ginger Man for a great beer selection featuring some of Texas's and Houston's finest labels, and for the interior to be a cool, dark respite from the commotion of the shopping centers nearby.

I ordered a Flemish sour and got to talking with fiery redhead Whitney behind the bar, who graciously divulged a little about herself, her bar and how good, local brews make her proud to call Houston home.

Where are you from?
Houston.

How long have you been bartending?
Well, I've been here for two years, but I've been bartending off and on for about seven.

How would you describe the bar's aesthetic?
It's really laid back. In a way, it's like a "Cheers," where everybody knows your name. It's homey, but it's still in the middle of a bustling area. The coolest thing is that we're the original Ginger Man and the oldest establishment on the strip. This house is over 100 years old, and when we first opened, about 27 years ago, nothing that's around us now was here. We have history.

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All photos by Ginny Braud

When you walk into Reserve 101, you're immediately greeted by a wall of whiskey bottles. Like, so many whiskey bottles. I grabbed a spot at the bar and ordered one of their house signature cocktails, the Hemingway, because honestly that wall o' whiskey was kind of intimidating.

Behind the bar was Veronica. In her early 20s, with a figure I really wouldn't be pissed about having (when she's not slinging whiskey, she's modeling) and about 1.5 sleeves, she doesn't seem like the kind of girl who tolerates much bullshit. "Yeah, you have to have patience," she tells me. "I mean, people are in here drinking whiskey."

Something else it seems you need to have to work at Reserve 101 is a pretty damn good knowledge of your product. My whiskey education is quite limited, but when I decide to advance it, this might be a really good place to start. I ask Veronica how she can even remember everything on the list. "Knowing what we have isn't hard," she says. "But we taste them all so we know exactly how to describe them and help customers find exactly what they're looking for. When someone comes in here knowing more than you, that's not cool. We're here to teach people about whiskey and how to enjoy it."

Over my Hemingway, I got to know a little about Veronica and her whiskey bar.

Where are you from?
Houston, Texas. Born and raised.

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Photos by Ginny Braud

This week, over a delicious and refreshing Riesling (none of that crappy Blue Nun bullshazzy), we caught up with Bree at 13 Celsius. As other singles and groups trickled in to unwind with a post-work glass of wine in a decidedly low-key, non-Midtown-ish atmosphere, we got to know a little bit about the bar, Bree's affinity for bubbles and how she really wouldn't mind having a talented chef at her beck and call.

Where are you from?
I'm from the Northeast side of Houston. Crosby.

How long have you been bartending at 13 Celsius?
It'll be a year in June.

What are some other jobs you've held?
I've waited tables, worked in retail...I'm actually also cleaning houses right now, which is a little different.

How would you describe the bar's aesthetic and the crowd?
It's very relaxed. It's a great date spot, but we also get a lot of big groups, like for an engagement party, but since we don't sell liquor, it doesn't get crazy. Considering it's in Midtown, it's very laid-back. We have regulars, people that live in the neighborhood, service-industry people. Sure, we get random people that come in, curious to check us out, but then they become regulars. We've got such a great wine list, they keep coming back. As far as aesthetic, Mike studied in Italy and wanted to reflect that here. It's got an old-world, European vibe. People visiting from other countries will come in and say that it reminds them of some place back home.

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Lately, I've been pretty obsessed with sour ales, and there aren't many establishments in Houston that cater to my sweet sour tooth. One that does, however, is The Hay Merchant. They have three sours on tap including my favorite, Brouwerij Bockor's Cuvée des Jacobins Rouge.

I stopped in this week to satisfy the craving and got to talkin' with Kyle Pierson. Kyle's also a big fan of the sour ales -- during the majority of the time he spent in New York in the '90s, he worked at Belgian bars, so he knows his stuff.

While picking Kyle's brain, I got to know a little about The Hay Merchant, the passion those involved have for a good brew and the city of Houston, and their dedication to spreading the craft beer gospel.

Where are you from?
Houston.

How long have you been bartending at The Hay Merchant?
We opened in February, and I've been here for about six or seven weeks.

What are some other jobs you've had besides bartending?
I was a gymnastics coach at Byron's out on the West side, I worked in jewelry design, I did a little acting and modeling in New York -- I lived there for about 15 years. When my wife became pregnant with our twins, we left New York, came back to Houston and moved into the house next door to my parents, next door to the house I grew up in. Now I'm working in the exact same building where I got my start in the restaurant business. This used to be Charlie's, a 24-hour diner, and I was a busboy.

So you've seen two very different versions of Montrose.
I feel kinda like Marty McFly. Everything's the same...but different. It's clean now, and there are some really nice places, but when I was working here as a teenager, it was all hookers and drug deals. You know all these really nice apartments around here that no one can afford? Yeah, they were crack dens. It's amazing. I'm all in favor of gentrification -- I mean, I like not being scared to walk to my car at night.

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Photos by Ginny Braud

This week, we paid our first visit to El XX, or Xuco Xicana. It was happy hour, so we did what we always do: sidle up to the bar, order a couple of cocktails and pick the brain of the person standing opposite us. On this occasion, we ordered one of the famous margaritas ($5) and a "TnT," El XX's "happy meal" consisting of a shot of tequila and a Tecate ($4), and got to know a little bit about bartender Julio.

Where are you from?
I'm originally from Acapulco, but I've been in Houston since I was five. So I guess I'm really from Houston.

How long have you been bartending at El XX?
I've been here for about two years. It opened as El XX last year on Cinco de Mayo, but I was here before, when it was El Patio.

How would you describe the bar's aesthetic?
It's more laid-back than a lot of bars. When you go to a lot of places, they put a set menu in front of you and those are your choices. We have some great drinks on our menu, but we try to please everyone here, and as long as we have the ingredients, we'll make anything you'd like.

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Photos by Ginny Braud

Earlier this week while walking back to my car after having lunch at Red Pier, I looked across the street and spied the sign for Khon's Wine Darts Coffee Art. Oh, so that's where it is.

The first time I had ever heard the name was about a year ago during a KUHF spot that said, "Support also comes from Khon's Wine Darts Coffee Art..." I thought, "Man, that place has a lot of stuff going on...I need to check it out." But I had still never been.

I rectified that situation the following afternoon by stopping in for a glass of wine and getting to know a little bit about the bar and Khon's new-ish bartender. Greg's no stranger to giving interviews, but they're usually about his live theater performances, not his beer slinging. Oh, and he believes that kids' books should never have anything to do with Nazis.

I agree.

Where are you from?
Born and raised in Houston.

How long have you been bartending at Khon's?
Just since January. I was a patron and I thought it would be fun to work a night here. My friend Troy worked Monday nights and I just started bugging Ashley and Khon, the owners, to let me pick up a shift as a novel, sort of get-outta-the-house-one-night-a-week kinda thing. Then I ended up getting laid off and needed a full-time job, so I started picking up more shifts. Now I'm here five days a week.

What are some other jobs you've had besides bartending?
I was an editor for an online city guide, I worked at a global claims-management service, I was a restaurant manager...but what I've been doing consistently for years is acting with The Catastrophic Theatre. Some of those people I've known since I was 16 and we're still putting on plays together.

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All photos by Ginny Braud

Last weekend marked the official start of baseball season, and if you're trying to avoid the crowds, there's no better place to catch a game than the cozy Montrose sports dive T.K. Bitterman's. Completely lacking in pretension and douchebaggery, it's got that comfortable, old-school vibe. It's obvious the owners of this hidden spot love the Cubs -- Chicago sports memorabilia adorn the walls, complete with an "Eamus Catuli" sign, loose Latin for "Go Cubs!"

On this warm afternoon, I stopped in to get a cold pint, watch the news with a few regulars, and visit with the man behind the bar.

Where are you from?
Originally Malaysia, but I've been in Houston since '81.

How long have you been bartending at T.K. Bitterman's?
On and off...about nine or 10 years.

What are some other jobs you've held besides bartending?
I was an account manager for Merrill Lynch, bartender, I waited tables...but I'd say I like bartending the best.

How would you describe the bar's aesthetic?
It's a hole-in-the-wall neighborhood sports bar. The owners are from Chicago, so it's got a Cubs motif. A lot of people don't know this place is here. They'll say they've driven by so many times or they've been living in the neighborhood for five years or something and never knew this was a bar. It's pretty hidden and we don't advertise, so it's sort of a have-to-know-where-it-is kinda thing.

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This week I did what I do pretty much every other Monday evening. I went over to Danton's, winner of 2011's Best Cajun and Best Seafood restaurant awards in the Houston Press Best of Houston edition, to partake in what French poet Léon-Paul Fargue said was akin to "...kissing the sea on the lips." I dined on a few dozen delicious, fresh and fat raw oysters, which truly is the closest any of us will ever come to making out with a Mermaid/man.

Why Mondays, you ask? Oh, because during happy hour, they're a mere $5.50 a dozen. Every time I go, I sit at the bar, grab a glass of wine and eat at least one dozen, maybe two, and I always get few of those big, perfectly seasoned, spicy, lemony peel-and-eat shrimp (75 cents each). I once accidentally squirted some shrimp-juice in my eye and it burned for like, two days. That's how good they are.

I've been going to Danton's for their happy hour oysters for about two years, and I always see the same friendly faces behind the bar, one of them belonging to bar manager Bryan. It gets pretty busy in there on Monday nights, but he's always quick with the drinks and keeps the trays of fresh-shucked bivalves coming. I've seen some tables order dozen after dozen, and Bryan told me there's a regular who can put away 10 dozen. One hundred twenty oysters, y'all.

On this particular Monday, while enjoying my oysters (and getting more than 1000 percent of my daily recommended value of zinc...) I got to know a little bit about Bryan and his Oyster Bar.

Where are you from?
I'm from upstate New York...Schenectady. My brother and his wife moved down here a few years before I did, so I came down to be closer to them and just for a change of scenery.

How long have you been bartending at Danton's?
I've been at Danton's for almost three years, since I moved here in 2009, but I've been bartending for about nine years. In New York, I worked at this Irish pub called Pinhead Susan's. It's a really cool place.

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This week, I paid a visit to a sometime overlooked stop among Market Square bar-crawlers: the tailor and watering hole-in-one, Char Bar (pronounced "sh" as in champagne). Maybe people are confused by the signs, as one reads "Duke of Hollywood Tailors" and another "Char Bar." So which is it?

It's both. It's a "tar". It's a "bailor"...like a combination Pizza Hut and Taco Bell, but...you know...classier.

When you walk past Weldon's shoe-shine stand on the left and grab a seat at the bar top, you're greeted by a wall of photos depicting three generations of family. Mike, the owner and bartender on this Monday evening, explains who's who, pointing out his daughter, Charlien, after whom the bar is named. It's comfortable and relaxed inside with a vintage vibe. No one's doing Vegas bombs, but then no one's drinking with their pinky out, either.

After walking around for a bit and eyeing the numerous bolts of fabric and textiles tucked away in glass cabinets, I ordered a beer and got to know a little about Mike, his family, the tailoring business, the bar business and how Houston has changed since his family set up shop on Travis street 76 years ago.

Where are you from?
Born and raised in Houston.

When did you open Char Bar?
Well, the bar has been open since 2002, but the tailor and shop opened in 1936. My grandfather opened it in '36, my father took over in '62 and I took over in '81.

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If you wanna see PJ, you're gonna have to swing by the bar. Sometimes men just aren't in the mood for photos...plus the iPhone camera sucks and it's dark in there.

This week, we stayed close to home because of the shitty weather and walked over to PJ's Sports Bar. Although it wasn't raining when we left the house, it was pouring five minutes into the 10-minute walk. We arrived with wet hair, soaked to the bone and a little raccoon-eyed...(Where were you on that one, waterproof mascara?) but you know what? It didn't matter. That's what's cool about PJ's. No judgement. You can roll up there lookin' like a mess or in your best work-suit, and no one will give you the stink eye. Looking like the former, I grabbed a spot at the bar and met the man himself, PJ Mastro, who opened the sports joint almost 18 years ago.

While sipping a pretty strong brew of PJ's recommendation (a brew that ended up requiring a side of pretzels...), I got to know a little about the Montrose sports dive and the man who runs it.

Where are you from?
Originally from New Jersey. Been in Houston 34 years. I moved down here for school, I went to U of H, got into the bar business and just stayed.

What did you do before you opened PJ's?
I worked at Caribana, a reggae club, in the '80s and I worked for the guys that owned Velvet Elvis. They opened up Iggy's and Royal Jelly...

How would you describe the bar's vibe?
It's just laid back. It's your living room.

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