tHE SPORTS ANALYST
Baseball Time
By Alaina Loughridge
June’s Bartender of the
Month is truly a genius
at his craft! I want to
call him the Martini
Genie, but I don’t think
he would like that. Doug
Wittendorf is The Man
and you can find him
at 80 east Gastro Pub.
Not only does he make
one hell of a martini, he
also can do the dishes,
cook anywhere on the
line, fix the plumbing,
electrical and any other
daily disaster that befalls
a restaurant on any given
day. Let me explain:
Doug was born and raised on Tybee with his sister, Jen, and got his first
job as a dishwasher at A-J’s when he was in eighth grade. After graduating
from Johnson High, he went to work at North Beach Grill as a cook. It was
there that he also learned to bartend. Anybody that works in the industry for
so many years tends to wear many hats and Doug has worn them all out of
enjoyment mainly, but occasionally out of pure necessity to keep the doors
open!
Looking for a change of scenery in 2015, Doug moved to 80 east Gastro Pub
and has been pouring pure gold since then. I asked Doug the questions we
all need to know:
Tybee Life: Forever
Passion: Living life and traveling whenever possible
When he grows up: Maybe own his own restaurant – still lots of time to
behave badly and figure it out.
Spirit Animal: The Three Toed Sloth. Having always been fascinated by
these adorable, intelligent tree huggers, Doug is all of those except the
slow part.
Doug’s masterpiece is the Fresh Doug En Dorf and is an absolutely delicious
raspberry/lemon martini. I have never really been a martini fan (lie) until
Doug made this bad boy with a sugar rim and I instantly fell in love. If you
have one, you will fall in love too, with anyone sitting next to you! It is good
stuff! Tart and refreshing, this drink will make you sing and dance happily
out to your cab driver.
Go see Doug at 80 east Gastro Pub. Doug is cool and mellow and not only
will he serve you some of the best eats in town, but that martini is something
else.
42 TYBEE BEACHCOMBER | JUNE 2018
By Dank Aaron
I am the biggest and longest suffering Braves fan you know. It all started
growing up in Marietta/Smyrna. Dad would always take me to the old
Atlanta Fulton County Stadium. We would probably see 15-20 games
a year. I guess my first memories of going to games was 1971-1972.
Mom would always pack us a lunch: Me - peanut butter and jelly, and
Dad - some ham or some shit, and WE always had some generic cokes
(couldn’t afford “The Real Thing”). This was back when the Braves
were in the Western Division and we played all the great Dodger teams,
and of course the Big Red Machine. Got to see all the greats: Pete Rose,
Johnny Bench, Frank Robinson, Lou Brock, Tom Seaver and more,
numerous times. For the Braves, we would always see Hank Aaron, Phil
Niekro, Dusty Baker, Ralph Garr, and who remembers Larvell “Sugar
Bear” Blanks? Alas, the Braves ALWAYS lost. We would be 27 games
out by June. This lasted throughout the ‘70’s. We would still go to the
games, watch them on Channel 17 and listen to them at night on the
ol transistor radio.
In 1982, we had a good thing going, but that was about it for the ‘80’s.
We had some really bad teams in the late ‘80’s. Real. Bad. My buddy’s
father-in-law had season tickets – 11th row behind home plate!!! Four
tickets to each game. No one ever wanted to use them, so we would
go to the games all the time. We would try to sell the other two tickets
for beer money, but more times than not, we had no takers. Could not
give them away! But we still went to games and watched them on TV.
We all know what happened in the ‘90’s. 14 consecutive division titles,
but only one World Series win. Happy, but still disappointing.
The last few years have been tough: Rebuilding mode, etc. I am really
looking forward to this season and many seasons to come. The Braves
right now have the best minor league system in the majors. You can
already see the results with the likes of Ronald Acuna, Jr., Ozzie Albies,
and Sean Newcomb. I am thinking World Series (Heard it here first!!),
but if not this year, we always have NEXT YEAR! Regardless, I will still
be watching on TV or listening to them on the radio when at work
(Nell?).
I guess I have to thank my Dad for getting me started on this crazy
addiction to the Braves. Good times indeed. Thanks, Dad! Love you and
Happy Father’s Day!
GO BRAVES!!!