Better Know A Bartender: Cindy Quan of Orange Hill Restaurant, the Green Room, and Castaway

"I studied chemistry in college, so this brought me back to the lab days. "

In Better Know A Bartender, we celebrate the Los Angeles cocktail scene; one bartender at a time.

Oh good, your server has arrived with your drink…but is that a bell jar? They lift the lid and fog rolls out revealing your cocktail, a rose-infused creation called Belle, inspired of course by Beauty and the Beast. It’s just another night at The Green Room, the cinematic pseudo-speakeasy in Glendale’s hillside hideaway Castaway where the exquisite flavors of the cocktails are matched only by their extravagant presentation.

The Green Room’s cocktail program was spearheaded by Cindy Quan, the bar’s then assistant manager. Quan recently started work as General Manager at Castaway’s sister restaurant Orange Hill Restaurant in Orange County, and we sat down with her to talk about the process behind making cinematic drinks and of course, her favorite cocktail.

—

Where are you from originally?

Los Angeles, born and raised

Same, I’m a westside brat.

I was born in El Monte, so a little more inland and I’ve always worked in Los Angeles and Pasadena, so the move to Fullerton to work at Orange Hill has been fun. I actually really love the OC, but I miss the Green Room.

Tell us about Orange Hill.

It’s in the city of Orange in Orange County. There’s been talks about building a cocktail program similar to that of the Green Room at Orange Hill. It’s pretty similar to Castaway, it’s on a hill and you can get a panoramic view of Orange County, you can see to Long Beach and Catalina Island on a clear day.

How long have you been in the service industry?

It’s been 12 years, I started when I was 18. I started bartending in 2017 and obviously, I don’t do it full time now, but I do love shaking up some cocktails from time to time and still love creating and being part of the innovation process.

What got you into bartending?

At first, I did it to be more well-rounded in the industry. I was still building my career, I was hosting, serving, and eventually started bartending. I studied chemistry in college, so this brought me back to the lab days. Instead of elements of the periodic table, I’m playing with liquors, liqueurs, garnishes, etc.

What did you do during the lockdown phase of the pandemic when bars were closed?

I actually had a great time, I was hiking a lot. I was living in Glendale and hiked all the trails they offered. I cooked, I spent time with my friends from a safe distance. This was actually a time when a few team members and I sat around and came up with ideas for a revamp of the Green Room. We threw out movie names, cocktail ideas, and what not. Because I had so much time, I was able to open up all my books and read recipes and learn new mixology techniques to prepare for when things would reopen.

The Green Room’s cocktail menu is movie inspired and very theatrically presented, how did you and your team decide which movies to use as cocktail inspiration and how films influenced the presentation of cocktails?

How the whole process worked is that Chef Ryan Smith and I started throwing around ideas. We usually like to look at what’s coming up. So at the time we were looking at 2021 and 2022 movies. So we came up with a few ideas, then we thought of some classics and other fun things. Then it was “Oh, this vessel with this drink,” or “This drink should have smoke,” or “What about glitter?” We started looking for interesting vessels on Amazon or Crate & Barrel and then deciding if we buy this cool vessel what kind of movie and cocktail can we incorporate into that? We then start building the presentation and what the cocktail should look like.

I then would go to our bartenders Manny and Emerson, who are the true mad scientists behind all the work you see, and I’d tell them “I want this base, I want this taste, and I want it to be this color.” Then they’d get to work and we’d do a big tasting together, and finalize the cocktail by doing a roundtable tasting with the full presentation and build off of that like “This is cool, but why don’t we add cinnamon to here?” or “What if we shook matcha powder and light it on fire with dry ice?” It actually took the full two years to finalize the menu we have today.

I love that the current menu started as a pandemic project for everyone.

Yeah, prior to the pandemic, there were already cocktails, but afterwards we just built and built up on that.

What’s your favorite drink presentation at The Green Room?

My favorite is The Three Wishes. It’s inspired by Moroccan tea service. We have this golden tray and on top are spices like cinnamon, anise, cloves, peppercorn, dehydrated sage and we put that on the tray with these really cool mugs that have a floral design with little birds and butterflies everywhere. The drink comes with a golden spoon and is served in a teal teapot. In the mugs we put the gin and ice, and in the teapot we have a mix of muddled grapes, jasmine tea honey, and a splash of red wine. We’ve put all that in dry ice so smoke comes out of the teapot and then pour it into the gin mugs, mixing it together and garnishing it with bachelor button. It’s super refreshing, very light, and soothing.

How does the cocktail program at Orange Hill compare?

We don’t have our version of The Green Room yet, but we have a very talented bartender there who was part of The Green Room process. We haven’t done anything extravagant just yet, but there is stuff coming.

What is the funniest, weirdest, or most interesting thing you’ve seen on the job?

That’s a hard question. When you’ve been working for twelve years, there’s so much that you’ve seen; from weird requests to people who don’t want food to be touched with certain sauces, like steak, potatoes and sauce all on their own plates. There’s so much.

One of the things I did want to bring up is that Hendricks Gin came up with a mechanical suitcase that you’d put the gin bottle in on one side and a cup on the other. You’d turn it and it makes a cocktail for you. It looks like it was created in the 1920s. That was definitely an honorable mention. We were able to play with it for two weeks, and it didn’t work out as well as we’d want to, but otherwise we would have bought one for The Green Room.

Finally, what is your favorite cocktail, what do you like about it and how do we make it?

My favorite cocktail on the Castaway menu is the Spruce Willis. That's Makers Mark infused with peach and mint, then add agave, orange bitters and lemon. It’s super refreshing. I’m actually a little allergic to bourbon, but I can’t stop drinking this one. It’s so delicious. Another is the Buzz Off. One bite of the buzz button will enhance your taste buds and take you out of this world, then the refreshing cocktail with the creamy foam soothes and mellows all the commotion that is going on in your mouth. It’s a one of a kind cocktail and a must have every time you’re in the Green Room!

SPRUCE WILLIS

2 oz. Peach and Mint-infused Maker’s Mark

1 oz. White Peach Puree

3/4 oz. Lemon Juice

1/2 oz. Agave

2 dashes Orange Bitters

Shake with ice and then strain over ice in a rocks glass. Garnish with a thin slice of peach and a rosemary spruce.

BUZZ OFF

2 oz. Don Julio Blanco

1/2 oz. Grand Marnier

1/2 oz. Cointreau

3/4 oz. Ginger Syrup

1/2 oz. Lemon Juice

Shake with ice and then strain into a coupe glass. Top with Grand Marnier foam and a buzz button flower.

Orange Hill Restaurant, 6410 E Chapman Ave, Orange, CA 92869, theorangehillrestaurant.com; Castaway/The Green Room, 1250 E Harvard Rd, Burbank, CA 91501, castawayburbank.com, tgrburbank.com.