845: Kenta Goto’s Bartender’s Guide Is a Must-Read for Professionals and Amateurs Alike

This Is TASTE

Bartender Kenta Goto discusses his transition from Tokyo to New York and the creation of his acclaimed bars, Bar Goto and Bar Goto Niban. He

Key takeaways

• Kenta Goto developed his professional foundation during seven years at the legendary Pegu Club under Audrey Saunders.
• The Goto Bartender's Guide features 100 recipes with specific adjustments for home environments, such as handling different ice qualities.

Main topics

• Bartending career evolution
• The Goto Bartender's Guide cookbook

Notable quotes

Bar Goto is a combination of what I learned from Pegu Club and who I am as a Japanese person.

Conclusion

A profound look at how professional discipline and cultural identity c

Transcript preview

Speaker 2 (0:07) So my bartending career started after I came to New York. So, bagoto is a combination of what I learned from PEG Club and who I am as a Japanese person. So that's why it is a New York bag with a Japanese soul. Speaker 1 (0:27) This is Taste. I'm your host, Eliza Barbanel. Speaker 1 (0:35) Kenta Goto is a bartender and the owner and operator of two acclaimed cocktail bars, Bar Goto on New York's Lower East Side and Bar Goto Niban in Brooklyn. Born and raised in Tokyo, Goto moved to New York and worked at the lauded cocktail bar Pegu Club for seven years before opening his own bar. Now he's sharing his considerable wisdom in a debut cookbook, The Goto Bartender's Guide. Today on the show, we chat about developing his cocktail skills and his signature approach towards drinks. and how home bartenders can do the same. Speaker 1 (1:08) Kenta Goto, this is Tase. Thank you for coming on the podcast. Speaker 2 (1:11) Thank you. Speaker 1 (1:12) I'm really happy to have you in the studio today. I really think that Bar Goto and the second location are two of my favorite bars in New York. So to get to talk to the person who made them is really special for me. Speaker 2 (1:24) Well, that's great to hear. Speaker 1 (1:26) I think of them as almost institutions. I guess it's been 13 years since you opened the first one? Speaker 2 (1:33) Definitely, we're going to hit 13 years. Speaker 2 (1:37) Lower East Side location is in 11 years business. And the one in Brooklyn, Bargoto Niban is going to be, yeah, it is six years now. Speaker 1 (1:48) Right. That one opened in 2020. Speaker 2 (1:51) 2020, exactly. One month before pandemic came. Bad timing. It was bad timing. I'm not... Sure, exactly how we survived, but we did. And so, yeah, it's been great. Speaker 1 (2:06) So I'm excited to talk to you about the bars and about your really beautiful new book, The Goto Bartender's Guide. But first, I want to ask you if you can tell me about the last memorable meal you had. Speaker 2 (2:17) Oh, yeah. That would be the steak that my wife and I cooked together. So a friend of mine, food chef. Yeah, kind enough to give us some nice cut. And also fresh wasabi root. Speaker 1 (2:37) Then Speaker 2 (2:37) we have this aged soy sauce that we love. You just need a little bit. But yeah, so that's what we had last week, and that was fantastic. Speaker 1 (2:47) Wow. Speaker 2 (2:47) I've Speaker 1 (2:48) heard that it's hard to find actual wasabi in New York. Do you feel like that's true? Speaker 2 (2:53) I mean, you... You can buy it at the Japanese grocery stores, but the one that I go to in my neighborhood, the price tag is like $38, almost $40, so I never buy it. So it's nice to have somebody just give it to me. Yeah, Speaker 1 (3:11) it's good to have friends that are chefs. And something I learned about you while reading this book is that you grew up in your mom's restaurant in Tokyo, and I'm curious how that kind of shaped you and the way that you work in food. Speaker 2 (3:24) Right. So, yeah, my mother had an okonomiyaki restaurant, which we serve at our Manhattan location. Although I completely changed the recipe. And then other than the fact that we serve okonomiyaki, there's nothing that my mother actually did. But so she had this restaurant for about 11, 12 years. It was not exactly my choice. But I was always helping her. Right. Because my mother told me to do so, so I did. Then when I was younger, I did not realize it. But after I came to New York, started living in New York, and then, yeah, my life in New York did not exactly start there. as I planned, so I struggle. So then there was a time that I wasn't exactly sure what I was doing in my life. And then I always remember that I had a great time working at my mother's restaurant. Just chopping cabbage and making doughs and then lots of lots of cleaning. But just witnessing very like joy. between my mother and the customers, something I vividly remember even now. So I decided to just pursue what I think I'm more comfortable with. And once I made that switch in my head, everything was clear. I just started getting into bartending. Yeah, Speaker 1 (5:07) you came to New York and you were working at a Japanese firm here, right? So you were kind of still... in the Japanese work culture even though you were in New York? Speaker 2 (5:17) Right. I did not come to... So I went to fashion school first. Yes. So that was the beginning. That was a main reason for me to come to New York. But long story short, I did not find a job in fashion that paid me enough to survive in New York City comfortably. So, yeah, so I started just, yeah, contacting a staffing agency. And then that's how I ended up spending some time in a very traditional corporate office. I mean, paycheck is paycheck, but I just knew that this is not the reason for me to come to New York. So I just had to make a change before it gets too late. Yes. Speaker 1 (6:03) Right. And then you made your way into bartending. I'm curious, like where you kind of developed your skills as a bartender. Speaker 2 (6:12) Right. I did read a lot of books, watched YouTube, and just followed very well-known Japanese bartenders in Japan. But Pegu Club, where I spent over seven years, was the place I really learned cocktail making and business. Speaker 1 (6:34) And Pegu Club is, I think, thought of as one of the kind of... forebearers of the contemporary cocktail kind of movement in New York. When you went there, what made you want to work there? Speaker 2 (6:46) I was working at a few places before I started working at Pegu Club, and I thought I was making good cocktails. But when I went to Pegu Club very first time, I tried four or five drinks on the menu, and everything just hit the spot. And then just... the way the bartender was working and just everything was like wow moment for me. Yeah, but at the same time, I also learned that all bartenders working at Pig Club at that time were... Yeah, they already knew Audrey, my mentor, old boss, Audrey personally. Speaker 1 (7:32) So Speaker 2 (7:33) they already know each other and Audrey specifically hired them. Then there was no opening spot at that time. So as much as I wanted to get a chance, but just there was no way for me to just get in. Then fast forward, maybe five, six months after that, Speaker 2 (7:55) I came across job opening ad on Craigslist. Yeah, I'm pretty sure no one use Craigslist to look for a job nowadays, but this was before culinary agent time. But anyway, I came across this ad and just reading it and all right, so this sounds good, but it did not say who posted it. But I just felt like this is probably from Peg Club or maybe Milk and Honey, Speaker 1 (8:30) which Speaker 2 (8:30) is now called Ataboy. So one of those craft cocktail bars. But I put my resume together and I sent it. And a couple of days later, yeah, Audrey emailed me and then had a job interview. And there was a second interview, which was she. made a surprise visit at one of the places that I was working at on a busy Friday night. And then, yeah, she told me, all right, why don't you make me a gin sour? But this time, cocktail was still kind of upcoming. Then most of places are just doing a vodka Red Bull or vodka cranberry and Speaker 1 (9:14) 30 Speaker 2 (9:15) vodka martini. And then that place did not even have a fresh lemon juice. But, Speaker 2 (9:22) But Audrey told me to just do your best and just make me gin sour. So I put something together, gave it to her. She didn't even try it, but she asked me, which gin did you use? And tell me why. Although I did not have any great answer, but she did offer me a job, which is just one shift a week. Speaker 2 (9:50) That's how my peg life started. Speaker 1 (9:52) Wow. That must have been so nerve-wracking to have a surprise visit from her at the bar. Speaker 2 (9:57) Yes. Still, after all these years, when she comes to Bar Goto, I just have to make sure that everything's on point. Luckily, Speaker 1 (10:10) you definitely have fresh lemon juice at Bar Goto now. Yeah. Speaker 2 (10:13) At least now, we do plenty. Speaker 1 (10:15) It's interesting to think about. such a different era of cocktail culture in New York and in the United States as a