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Kirkland's Best Bartender? Travis Maples Serves a Devoted Downtown Crowd

The Crab Cracker's friendly martini-shaker mixes a fine drink and will make you feel warm and welcome.

The Friday night happy hour crowd at the  on Central Way was starting to pack out the narrow bar. Many of the mostly baby boomer crowd had ordered a draft beer that comes in a 23-ounce size for the price of a pint this time of night. I’d been promised a quintessential Grey Goose vodka martini, but advised to wait until bartender Travis Maples came on duty.

Maybe it’s the long brown curls bouncing down her shoulders or the knowing smile, but Travis Maples is a well-loved institution here in Kirkland. Regulars say it sometimes seems she knows half the folks in town.

During our interview later at , she gave friendly hugs to two customers who walked in that she knew, saying "C'mere lovey!"

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“I treat people the way I want to be treated,” says Maples, who elaborates saying that when she walks into a bar, she wants someone who is nice, makes a good drink and may or may not know her name. Maples claims she'll learn your drink long before she'l learn your name, referring to a customer as “the rum-and-coke guy.”

Travis Maples -- "Trav" to regulars at the Cracker -- grew up in Redmond and spent a year at Oregon State University. She had a “real” job when a girlfriend begged her to cover some shifts as a pull-tab girl at the . Management liked her way with customers so much that one night Travis was informed that she would be trained as a bartender.

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She spent three years at the pub before moving on to Cowboy Steakhouse (now ) in Totem Lake, under the same management as downtown Kirkland’s Crab Cracker. Many regulars followed Maples to the Cracker.

“I’ve been with this owner for about 12 years now,” says Maples, who swears her loyalty to Todd Jones, head cook and son of owner Shirley Day.

My cocktail glass was first rinsed in vermouth, then an icy cold river of Grey Goose vodka dribbled into the glass while I was treated to the “Travis Rules.”

“The last olive is mine,” says Maples, spearing a generous three olives into my martini. In addition, Maples doesn’t tolerate discussions of religion or politics at her bar, wisely observing that no one ever agrees on these subjects while drinking.

Another Maples mandate: When you've had enough, your next choices are coffee or a cab.

If you’re a regular of the Cracker crowd, be ready to present an offering of juicy gossip to Travis. She wants details of the who, what, where, when, how and why variety, particularly about other regulars. She also appreciates a generous reward for her hard work with a good (read 20%) tip.

“People think bartending is fun because the bar is where everyone wants to be,” says Maples, who knows the realities of trying to keep track of everything at once. Not only does she have to remember customer orders and tabs, but also serve bread, salad and food. Servers quickly learn to help her out with the food service if they want their drinks faster, since she can only do so much.

Maples has no qualms about standing up for herself. Customers who stiff her on their tab or take the restaurant copy of the credit card receipt with her tip might very well find themselves followed out to the parking lot for a friendly reminder. She is also known to chase after people kindly with their forgotten cell phones or coats. 

In addition to draft beers and martinis, customers rave about Travis Maples’ lemon drops, which alternate with Long Island ice teas as a favorite order. Maples was relaxing at the bar in P.F. Chang’s when she heard her name yelled from across the room.

“Travis!” hollered a customer, much to her embarrassment, “You make the best lemon drops,” after which Maples made her exit.

On her days off, Travis likes to watch movies, read books and hang out with the friends she rarely gets to see due to the difficult hours of a bartender. Her dream is to one day run her own place that she assures me will be all about “fun!”

She has seen it all while on duty: one guy choked on his food, people fall off their chairs on occasion, one woman had a mental breakdown in the bathroom. One time a guy came in bouncing a ball, which set Travis into such fits of laughter that she was reduced to rivulets of mascara on her cheeks. Travis once implored a woman crawling on her knees before Hollywood comedian Tom Greene to get up and retain some self-respect.

She’s an expert at spotting the over-served walking in the door, betrayed by “doing the pinball,” bouncing back and forth as they attempt to saunter into the bar. To these customers she gives bread and a food menu.

The Kirkland crowd tend to be good customers, she says. They pay their tabs, tip well and are generally on good behavior. For her part, Maples' personal favorite drink is the touchdown, made with Absolut Mandarin and Red Bull.

In addition to adoring customers, she gets along well with co-workers, giving them all nicknames. Fellow bartender Janice Pasa, whom Maples claims is “adorable” and gets hit on by men and women alike, is playfully referred to as “midget.” Customers often go by “sweetie” and “honey.”

There is no doubt that Travis Maples loves her job. She seems perfectly suited to bartending--cautiously guarding her real self while genuinely engaging her devoted followers. And bless you if you order a bottle of beer, her favorite and easiest drink to serve. Try the Blue Moon with a slice of orange and leave a nice tip. She won’t forget the gesture.

And that martini? Smooth, very smooth.

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