Town Talk bartenders earn "Iron Bartender" title

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Town Talk Diner's Nick Kosevich and Patrick Denny eked out Richie Rivera and Jeff Weber from Eli's during last Sunday's "Iron Bartender" finale competition at Bellanotte in Minneapolis. Out of a possible 540 points, Town Talk walked away with 500 with Eli's oh-so-close behind with 493.

The competition involved three 15-20 minute rounds of drinkmaking, each with a secret ingredient, a la "Iron Chef." The first round allowed the teams two minutes to choose five ingredients or tools they wanted to work with. The second required the sous bartenders (Denny and Weber) to select a substitute for themselves from the audience, and the third round included two secret ingredients (the second being wasabi -- zoinks!) instead of one. Kosevich scores a trip to Vegas for his work. Bravo!