Tips From Behind the Bar

Chong, 30, got his start in the kitchen, attending culinary school in Chicago and working everywhere from the Midwestern chain restaurant Stir Crazy Cafe to Wolfgang Puck's Spago in the Windy City. Then he realized bartenders make more money than cooks and took his talents to the front of the house.

A man walks into a bar but doesn't know what he wants. What do you choose?

"Zubrowka and apple juice. It's unique: Zubrowka is a potato and bison grass vodka from Poland. Together it's almost coconutty."

Is there a secret to getting a drink quickly when the bar is mobbed?

"Have your money ready. Not waving it. Like this [he rests his hands on the counter, money out and clearly visible but not ostentatious]. As a bartender, I know that it's going to be quick. That guy is ready to order."

What piece of bar etiquette do you wish people would learn?

"Order all your drinks at the same time. Not 'Can I have a Heineken?' 'Sure.' I bring it over to you. 'That'll be $6.' 'Oh, and can I get a rum and Coke?' "

What's the most important thing a customer can do to guarantee a good time?

"Be positive. . . . And moderate your drinking. Don't get too banged up. Drinking is the cause of most negative things."

What's a tip for making New Year's Eve memorable?

"Stick to one liquor and hydrate yourself."

Lili Montoya

Where: The Black Cat (1811 14th St. NW; 202-667-7960)
When: Sunday-Tuesday, Thursdays and Fridays

Lili Montoya knows that she reminds some Black Cat patrons of their stern grade school teacher. It's the way she stares over her cat's-eye glasses at those who are being rude or obnoxious, or how she has famously asked people to use their "inside voice" in the bar at one of the city's top rock clubs. Her schoolmarm demeanor, though, generally keeps young punks in line and sometimes even has people tacking a "please" onto the end of their drink orders. It just happens. By the same token, if Montoya thinks someone is disrespecting her or disrespecting other customers, she's not shy about speaking up or having them eighty-sixed.

There's a reason customers sometimes think that Montoya, who is in her early 30s, has that teacher look: She is a former teacher and nonprofit worker. She also was one of the organizers of the first D.C. Riot Grrrl convention in 1992 and is a member of the Peruvian naval reserves. She has been at the club for almost a decade and has developed a large fan base that appreciates that she's a really nice, personable bartender who just wants everyone to have a good time. And you will, as long as you don't misbehave.

A man walks into a bar but doesn't know what he wants. What do you choose?

"The weather really determines my drinks. When it's really cold, I suggest smoky stuff -- Woodford Reserve [bourbon], some single-malt Scotches."

What's the drink you make most often?

"It depends on the show and the crowd. Usually Guinness and Jameson shots. When the crowd is barely 21, it's 'Hey! Long Island [Iced Tea] for everyone!' "

How does someone become a regular?

"Tip and behave well. I think a lot of it is developing a rapport with the bartender. A little chitchat. It's built slowly over time -- it's a relationship you cultivate. I don't think it can be forced. It has to unfold organically."

Is there a secret to getting a drink quickly when the bar is mobbed?

"You have to look ready and be making eye contact with me. I ignore anyone who's waving or yelling."

What piece of bar etiquette do you wish people would learn?

"Act respectful and not entitled, and not just to me, but to your fellow bar customers. It's something you learn in kindergarten."

What's a tip for making New Year's Eve memorable?

"Try to avoid the point when you puke into your drink -- or your date's drink, which I've seen happen."

Nicole Jones

Where: Tradewinds (5859 Allentown Way, Temple Hills; 301-449-1234)
When: Tuesday-Saturday at the main bar

We have a lot of great bartenders in Washington, but very few have been immortalized in song. Step forward Nicole Jones, a longtime employee at Tradewinds in Temple Hills, where the go-go/R&B group Familiar Faces performs every Saturday. Frontman Donnell Floyd composed a song about "Nicole the bartender/She makes the drinks that you won't remember/She'll have you slipping all over the floor/Still have you asking for more."

"Donnell would joke that I'd get people drunk because my drinks are strong, and people say I'm their favorite bartender," Jones says. The first time she heard the song, she says, "it was so nice. I felt really appreciated."

A petite, soft-spoken woman, Jones is popular with the older crowd at the bar, joking and laughing and turning out drink after drink. Jones, 28, has been at Tradewinds for six years and has built a following. "My favorite part [of bartending] is interacting with customers, listening to their problems, talking to them and making them feel good," she says.

A man walks into a bar but doesn't know what he wants. What do you choose?

"Well, I'd ask about flavors, sweet or strong, light or dark. But if I have to just pick one, most women like a Woo Woo [peach schnapps, vodka and cranberry juice]. Men like a Thug Passion [equal parts Hennessy and Alize liqueur]."

What's your favorite drink when you're off the clock?

"A Grey Goose martini, extra dry, shaken, not stirred."

Is there a secret to getting a drink quickly when the bar is mobbed?

"Knowing the bartender!"

What piece of bar etiquette do you wish people would learn?

"To be very polite and always tip. I want to be treated like you want to be treated."

What's a tip for making New Year's Eve memorable?

"Have good people around you. . . . And always remember that the way you start your new year is the way it's going to end."