West Village is cool, sure. But after seven years as a cocktail waitress, Henderson has seen a lot of "cool" in a lot of places.
The Social House waitress and bartender has been through just about everything--at Frankie's in Uptown, West End Pub, House of Blues...all around Dallas, really. Working the room and behind the bar, she gets to watch (and listen) as the city unwinds. For some reason, she still loves her work.
Born in Dallas, she grew up in California and Canada before heading back. But it's Vegas that sticks out in her mind...
1. So, I assume people are just as composed at midnight as at happy hour... Definitely not. Late nights the conversations alone are just so mind-blowing.
2. What's the strangest thing you've heard? Gosh, I've heard so many random things. I had two regulars who started talking about going to Vegas. They wanted me to come with them--so I got a trip to Vegas. My own room, everything. But it turns out they were married--to other people. They would go to their corners and huddle. He would call his wife and she would call her husband.
3. Is it always that bad? It's all the same. People are the same, but think they're different every night. Turn, shift, repeat--that's what we do.
4. So when do you get to go out? Sunday funday and Wednesday--every night that's not a big night, we get to join the debauchery. Sunday is fun day. And it starts early. There's something great about heading home with the taste of Rumpleminze still in your mouth and people are going to church.
5. Why does everyone in the service industry drink Rumpleminze? Uh...really I've only been drinking it for a year. It's the drink of choice here. It's easy and your breath is still minty. Jager, Tuaca, Rumple--take your choice.
6. So you drink it to fit in? Yeah. It's quick and painless. You don't think about it until later when it comes crawling back up.
7. What's the West Village crowd like? You're patio is like Malibu Barbie's Playset. So many of the girls are so young--children of the 90s; they can be so dumb. SMU kids. We're being run by trust fund kids.
8. Did you have a Malibu Barbie? Yeah. I had a playset when I was fucking seven. But I think it was a Skipper's Playset.
9. What does a person's drink say about them? That's hard. Here in West Village, it's so basic: vodka and Red Bull. But that's because everyone else is drinking it. They order because someone else did and it's easy. Either that or Grey Goose, because they've seen the ads.
10. If you could drink with any one person, it would be...? Simple: Frank Sinatra. The man. Any day, all day. I could talk about the Rat Pack, what went on, what happened to Sammy Davis Jr.'s eye. A few double Jack and waters--that what he drank--he'd tell me.
