Best of Cleveland
Best Bartender
Sherie Wagner and Debbie McConkey
So few practitioners truly live up to the honorable title of bartender. It's a profession lousy with bimbos, frat boys, and guys who couldn't see that your glass is empty if it was held by a naked lady with a suitcase full of twenties. But a few skilled practitioners remain, people quick with a beer, who understand that a drink should have some kick. And the best -- perhaps in the history of the world -- are Sherie Wagner and Debbie McConkey, the fair maidens of the first shift at McCarthy's Ale House in Lakewood. Not only are they accomplished artists -- makers of powerful drinks and shots that could double as small swimming pools -- but they're also omniscient, with a panther's quickness. A thirsty man waits not in their presence. Better yet, both possess smiles that could destroy a Panzer division at 600 paces.
