The Buttered Handshake, $19 Cocktails, and Why Nobody Drinks Anymore

#377 This week on Happy Half Hour, two of San Diego’s sharpest hospitality minds—Christian Siglin of Happy Medium and Eric Johnson of Lou’s Deli—join Troy and Jackie to talk about the strange, scrappy, and often hilarious life behind the bar. They get into it: they unpack their careers spent working at the city's most iconic bars and restaurants; the three paths a bartender’s life can take, whether Gen Z is really skipping booze for less hedonistic pleasures, how traveling together (NOMA, Oaxaca, and one wild Mexican hotel party) reshaped their worldview, and yes, the story of the infamous butter handshake. We also chat neighborhood energy, the disappearance of old-school hospitality, and how to survive the job long enough to still be standing—sober or otherwise. Also in the mix: new eats at Petco Park, big shifts in East Village pizza, and why the USA should be screaming louder about Tara Monsod and her 2025 James Beard nom. To follow Happy Medium click HERE.

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