RE: http://www.joplinglobe.com/columns/local_story_102013850

I just read the article on salting napkins to keep drinks from sticking to them. Here's something to consider before you get salt all over the table. People put napkins under drinks to keep the liquid off the bar/counter/table top. Why would they want you to put salt all over it?

Now you might think that your little bit of salt doesn't go all over the place. It really does. Pay attention sometime when you're done. Not only do you still have a wet napkin, you now also have salt everywhere.

As a bartender of over 20 years (I do VERY well for myself and I'm loved by a HUGE regular customer base) I'll tell you that I personally ALWAYS take the napkin of ANYONE salting it. I'd rather clean up a little moisture from the bar then moisture AND salt.

Something to think about before you make a mess and irritate your host or bartender. :-)

Have a great summer!

Maybe they are attempting to salt their beverage and simply miss the interior of their glass? If that is true, they might need a cab more than a napkin. BTW, welcome to the forum!

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Seth Jackson,

Thanks!!

It's crazy about the salt.. watch it sometime if you're ever out. It really does make more of a mess then it prevents by not using a napkin. And I TOTALLY don't understand people salting coasters (which the beer NEVER sticks to).

quote:

Originally posted by El_Diablo_Blanco:
Thanks!!

It's crazy about the salt.. watch it sometime if you're ever out. It really does make more of a mess then it prevents by not using a napkin. And I TOTALLY don't understand people salting coasters (which the beer NEVER sticks to).

What kind of place is too cheap to spring for real "cardboard" coasters? You know, the pressed stuff with printer ads? I know if I'm at a place that puts a napkin under my drink rather than a coaster, I figure they're not all that concerned about the little things anyway, so a little salt isn't that big a deal. These are the same places that, if they even [h]have[/i] beer that doesn't come from A/B, Miller or Coors, serve their beers in frosted glasses that completely kill what flavor there is, unless you're willing to wait a half hour to drink your brew. If they're clueless as to how to properly serve it, I guess my thought is I should be allowed to pretend to be clueless about the salt thing. But that's just me.

Try EVERY fine dining place in the world. Cardboard is considered 'cheap' in the industry.. It's a free POS product from the beer/liquor vendors and most places simply don't use them. They'll almost always be found in more simple 'beer and a shot' type places and never in any better pubs or taverns.

With 2 million in liquor sales last year I think we could afford coasters. :-) We also have over 65 different import and microbrew drafts and bottles. That doesn't include the 150+ types of liquor and domestic beers, which people also salt their napkins for sometimes..

Paper napkins are a sign the place is cheap, too. Might as well serve the stuff in plastic cups and be done with it.

Ta 'ell wit all dat drivel, just give me a big ol bucket of whiskey!

I have never heard of salting your napkin. Why would someone do this (didn't read the article, don't have time)?

When I go out, which hasn't been in about 2 years (small children, no babysitters), it didn't matter to me if the coaster was a napkin or an actual coaster. If the beer was cold (as long as it wasn't a stout) and the music was good, I was happy.

This sounds more like the soup nazi to me.

quote:

Originally posted by Kevin Cline:
I have never heard of salting your napkin. Why would someone do this (didn't read the article, don't have time)?

When I go out, which hasn't been in about 2 years (small children, no babysitters), it didn't matter to me if the coaster was a napkin or an actual coaster. If the beer was cold (as long as it wasn't a stout) and the music was good, I was happy.

This sounds more like the soup nazi to me.

People salt napkins because wet drink glasses stick to them. The salt supposedly provides a barrier of a sort that prevents the sticking a small percentage of the time.

I was having fun giving him a little guff about the cardboard coasters. Most places don't typically use those for mixed drinks or wine. There's a reason they're called "c_ocktail napkins", after all ( and as an aside, it's ridiculous to have to type that way ... freakin' poorly written and even more poorly implemented word filter. How about it, Hey Martha? If you're going to use a filter, can you at least get a program that wasn't written by anti-social eight-year-olds who are failing their ESL programs?). Anyway, back to the topic at hand. Those two have far less a problem with sticking to whatever happens to be placed under them than does beer, as A) wine glasses are usually stemware, and the stem isn't prone to sweating, and B) neither wine nor c_ocktails are poured as tap (draft, draught, whatever) beer typically is, which is to pour overagressively, create too large a head, dump half that head down the side of the beer glass, then top it off. Combine the fact beer glasses sweat more than most c_ocktails(especially in places that don't know the first thing about proper beer glassware and therefore serve positively everything that even resembles beer in frozen or iced pint shakers or mugs) with the spillage down the side, and no matter what you place underneath it, it's going to stick. In those instances, salting a napkin just makes a tremendous mess, as the salt goes all over the bar when you initially spill it all over the place, and what does manage to stay on the napkin will quickly form coagulated lumps at the bottom of the glass. You end up with salt boulders falling off what is left of your c_ocktail napkin, and smearing trails of combined spilled beer, ice/frost melt and glass sweat all over the bartop anyway. You're far better off asking for two napkins, wiping the glass with one then placing your beer on another. It'll at least last a few minutes, until the frost thaws and runs down the glass. Or better yet, don't deal with any establishment that doesn't understand the unforgiveable beer sin of serving in a frosted glass anything that isn't fizzy, yellow, and comes from A/B, Miller or Coors.

So in the end, it's mostly useless to salt a napkin for wine or mixed drinks, as the glasses typically don't get wet enough to worry about it, and even more useless for beer, as hyperaggressive pours and frosted glasses render the salt useless, and the napkin dissolved in a hurry anyway. Pours like that do stick even to the cardboard advertising coasters. Hell, forget the "don't salt your napkin" campaign, and start a "learn how to pour a proper beer, and if you serve me anything other than Bud, Miller or Coors and their stylistic equivalents in a frosted glass you DIE right here on the spot" campaign.

You now officially know too much, Kevin. Glad you asked?

Not really, John.

And I don't go for the frosted mugs, it ruins the flavor of the beer I drink. Guiness, served cold is useless to me for about 30 minutes, most of the ales I drink shouldn't be served in a cold mug or even cold at all. Just a tad under room temp for me, so I can enjoy the flavor of that bitter, stout, or porter. Though, a black and tan or white does sound good to me at times.