Team Spotlight: Jasmin Goldstein
Jasmin Goldstein, Lead Bartender, Bar Politan
Hometown: Queens, NY
I’m a New York City girl through and through. I also consider Carolina, Puerto Rico my hometown. I spent about 50% of time as a kid there. My mom is originally from Puerto Rico, so we had a house down there. Queens and Puerto Rico are equally home in my heart.
Favorite Sandwich: I am a Reuben girl. Give me a good old open face reuben on some nice toasty rye bread, sauerkraut, Swiss cheese, and I’m a happy camper.
Coffee or Tea: Coffee, light and sweet. As a Puerto Rican, I’m a big fan of Café Bustelo. As a kid I thought all coffee was the same because everyone in my family only drank Café Bustelo. The first time I saw a commercial for another brand of coffee and was blown away those other types of coffee even existed.
Tell us your story, how did you find yourself moving to Atlanta and working with Politan Row?
Well for me, family is a big thing. I have a very close connection with my father. My parents were both social workers and I grew up in an environment that was very catering to others, making people feel comfortable and safe. I had originally gone into athletics, but soon realized that the business mattered more than the people. Family called when my dad started to get a little older, and said, “hey, we’re in Georgia”. I feel very lucky to have found myself here at Politan Row. When I first walked into the interview, I had no idea just how amazing the people I’d be working with would be. I just got lucky. I saw the job opening and applied and I’m really glad I did.
Why hospitality? What excites you about working in our business? I genuinely and truly enjoy making people feel comfortable, making people feel at home, making memories. The memories I hold on to are very near and dear and I vividly remember the people who were instrumental in making those memories happen. Even something as silly as being a kid, I remember my 4th or 5th birthday at Roy Rogers and the thing I remember most was that our waitress was just so nice. She made it a point to talk to everybody, was super helpful, and even sat down and played with the kids at the table. So, just remembering as an adult that birthday, the customer experience has been important in every job I’ve had, the part of the job that directly affected whether someone is having a good time or not or whether a memorable experience was had.
What would you say is your favorite drink on the Bar Politan Menu? It’s one of our newer drinks called “Something About Mary”. It is a brunch special. This cocktail is near and dear to my heart because it’s my own recipe. It was inspired by the owner of Belli. He had a private dinner he was working on and was working on a Rosemary syrup so when Quinton and I were bringing in some fresh ingredients and I saw Rosemary, it reminded of the syrup Mario was making and the dish that he had made. So, thinking of that, I started with the Rosemary base, added OJ, couple dashes of bitters, Gin, topped the whole thing off with soda.
I’ve developed a newfound love for gin and all of the different ways you can play with that flavor profile. What I really love to do is pair the cocktails with the dishes in the food hall. I really think about that when I put something new on the menu. I try to think of specific dishes in the food hall that pair nicely with those flavors, so we can make recommendations. A lot of times people come to the bar and they’re looking for recommendations on what to eat, so I’ll look at what they’re drinking and make specific recommendations.
What is your favorite meal from the food hall? Zaddy’s has a pastrami sandwich and it’s reminiscent of a Reuben, with jalapenos. My love for Reuben’s is what hooked me on this sandwich. It’s like if the Reuben had a spicy cousin.
Is there anything else that you’d like to share with everyone? This is actually my first interview ever for anything like this! Probably that one thing I want to emphasize is that the reason I care about people so much is because of my dad. My parents’ love for making sure people are ok, and this is why I genuinely care about people at all times.