Cheers

My mom once told me that here are two kinds of drinkers. Those who start before 5 p.m. And those who don't. She never said anything, however, about those who start before noon -- of which there were plenty sitting on the stools at the Red Star Cafe outside Arthur Ashe Stadium this morning.

Considering that the most popular drink -- the signature Grey Goose Cocktail -- is $13 a pop, these are no ordinary sports fan/drinkers. The fans here, whether they be drinkers or not, are just one of the things that makes the U.S. Open one of the more unique sporting events around. Suffice it to say, you don't see many ticket holders at Jets games pounding $13 cocktails while wearing diamond tennis bracelets and carrying Marc Jacobs bags.

It's a unique sporting scene, one that Yvette Birch and Mary Lamusga love so much that they came all the way from Tucson, Ariz, just to work as bartenders at the event. Apparently there is a whole subculture of people who love to work at big-time sporting events, love it so much that they plan their vacations around it.

Yvette and Mary, who became a team in the 1990s when they were working at aT.G.I. Friday's, have also recently worked at bartenders at the U.S. Open at Torrey Pines (that's golf) and the Chrysler Classic of Tucson (that's also golf). Despite it's steep price -- or maybe because of it -Mary says the most popular drink is the Grey Goose, with Heineken at $7.50 being a close second.

So what do you get for $13. Thanks to Tucson Mary, here is the recipe:

One part Grey Goose Vodka
One part Chambord, which is a raspberry liqueur
One part lemonade
And some classy-looking melon balls

You also get a sort of classy-looking plastic cup, if the words classy and plastic aren't an oxymoron.

How does it taste. Since I'm working on Labor Day and promised not to have too much fun while my husband was home with the kids, I can't tell you.

What I can do is promise that this is my last recipe post of the day. Stay tuned for some tennis.