Lauren Tully at Isola
In the middle of a hectic night at the bar with your friends, or even on a slow evening out, far more attention is paid to securing drinks than to the person making them. Lauren Tully is living proof as to why ignoring the bartender is a terrible idea. Tully is the lead bartender at Isola, and has been tending from here to Manhattan for a decade, and has worked her way up through all of the kitchen positions. The history buff and microbiology major carries herself with the easy charm and confidence of one who knows their trade cold. Simply put, Tully is a pro. But she’s also human, and brimming with facts and stories to match, if you’re keen enough to listen. This Week sat down with Lauren to discuss her life, and the outlook from behind the bar.
TWMV: What’s your least favorite drink to make, and why?
LT: Anything frozen, just because it’s so time consuming, and people always complain about not being able to taste the alcohol, but that’s the point of making a frozen drink! I’m one of the few bartenders that doesn’t mind muddling for mojitos…They’re really not that bad, you can make a decent one in maybe twenty seconds and I have mint in one of my cocktails anyway so mojitos don’t make me too mad.
TWMV: Have you yourself made any cocktail innovations?
LT: Yeah! That was actually part of how I paid my way through college, I would write new cocktail 
menus for restaurants that were opening in the city. Once I established myself as a bartender, I would do a little home experimentation and get all my friends hammered off of weird concoctions.
TWMV: What’s the best tip you’ve ever received?
LT: Breathe. When you’re in the midst of chaos, and you see six people sit down, and you hear the service ticket machine going off, sometimes it helps to take a second to yourself and take one deep breath in and out, and know that no matter how fast or proficient you are, someone’s always going to be pissed anyway. And you’re always going to be ten steps behind, but eventuallyyou’ll work your way through it. Tully’s Rosemary Martini
TWMV: What about the best tip you’ve ever received?
LT: A couple times last summer I got a hundred dollar tip. It was some really wealthy people, and I guess I charmed them? Sometimes it’s on the back of a napkin with someone’s number.
TWMV: How often does that happen?
LT: I used to have a wall, a cork board, that was just full of numbers. By the time I moved from the city the record was like a hundred and forty something.
TWMV: Tell me the craziest story you’ve ever experienced behind the bar.
LT: I was working in the city, in a bar in SoHo. It was called Dos Caminos. It was one of those bars where the keg taps weren’t behind, but on top of the bar, somewhat within reach of the patrons. So this one couple came in especially hammered at like two in the morning, and the only way I can 
describe them is like Sid and Nancy, they were just crust punks, dreadlocks, black leather everything, just trying so hard to be cool. And they ordered, I quote, “Two (Expletive) shots, and two (Expletive) beers! Now!” So I…Politely declined them service, based on their rude behavior and clear negligence of any responsible drinking whatsoever. And so, the guy proceeded to hop on the bar, stick his head under the beer spigot, and started just pouring it into his mouth, which was really great timing because within seconds of me about to come around the bar and drag him away, my bouncer came and picked him up. At that exact moment, the keg popped. Whenever that happens, it’s kind of like an explosion of beer, and it went everywhere. I just started hysterically laughing at how golden the karma was right at that second. And also the girl spat on me and it was a whole ordeal for about an hour and a half, the cops were called.. I didn’t get home until seven in the morning that night.
TWMV: Is bartending to you about precision, or passion? Is it more of a science, or more of an art?
LT: I actually went to school for Microbiology, so I do try to think of it as slightly scientific, But at the same time, I’m pushing myself to create new things all the time. Whenever I travel, I try to take whatever I eat, drink, or learn there, and bring it back with me. For example, I have a drink here, the Tamarind Whiskey Sour. I had never heard of tamarind until about five years ago when I went down to Central America, and I was in Nicaragua. I looked on the ground and saw kids would just pick up these bean-looking things, crack them open, and pop them in their mouths. I said, “What’s that?” and they replied, “Tamarindo.” So I tried one, and it’s this perfect combination of tart and sweet, and I was like, “This really makes me want a whiskey sour!” So I got my hands on some puree and people love it. And half the time they don’t even know what tamarind is. Bartending to me is educating other people as well, if something has a cool story behind it, I strive to make the story known. As a history buff I love to tell a little bit of background. Even if people don’t really care. In the heat of things it tends not to matter too much, but if I get a couple that sits down and asks, “What’s tamarind?”, I get to spiel for twenty minutes. Nine times out of ten they’ll find it really cool.
TWMV: What’s the best part about working here?
LT: At Isola? The owners. Peter Sullo. He is the kindest, most generous, and most fair boss I’ve ever had the pleasure of working for and with. And I’m very sincere about that. And the boys, and Gabby, the whole Sullo family is just… They work. So. Hard. All of them, they work their butt off here, they put in more hours than anyone besides maybe the chef. It’s definitely a pleasure to be part of a family company, and I’m so happy they took me in so fast. They respect everyone’s opinion, you know? It’s not a monarchy. We all sit down, we all talk. We figure things out together.
