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DECEMBER 2006/JANUARY 2007 |
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Greg Best |
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Born and raised in Poughkeepsie, NY to a family of chefs, Best chose to depart from the family norm and study advertising and theatre in college. Soon though, he was tempted by the lure of the West. In 1998, he moved to Las Vegas where his brother was working as a chef. Best worked in the kitchen initially but then jumped behind the bar. “Working behind the bar, was like being back on stage,” Best said. |
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Immersing himself in mixology and studying the tory and origins of the cocktail, became somewhat of an obsession for Best. “It was kind of like being an archeologist—it was an exciting reawakening of a forgotten part of American history. ”Best worked in Las Vegas at Delmonico steakhouse bartending for a few years and then got the opportunity to head back east again and open a restaurant called Emeril’s Atlanta for Emeril Lagasse. Best, his girlfriend Regan Smith, and his friend Andrew Minchow all moved to Atlanta together in 2003. When Best first arrived in Atlanta the cocktail scene was very nightclub driven. The Cosmo was still the trendy drink to order. Feeling a lack of creative, mixology freedom Best left Emeril’s for Restaurant Eugene. Run by a husband and wife team, Restaurant Eugene prides itself in an ingredient-driven seasonal New-American menu. There are menu changes daily and much of the produce comes from local and organic farmers. At Restaurant Eugene, Best is back on stage again with the freedom to experiment with his mixology art in a way that acknowledges both the origins of the cocktail as well as modern developments. “I don’t remake the classics, but I use their time-tested philosophy of keeping it simple—no more than four ingredients.” For example, his favorite personal go-to drink is a dry Rob Roy, a blend of scotch, dry vermouth with bitters and a lemon twist. Ever the actor, Best concludes with, “Most of all, I love drinking in the way an environment feels.”
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