GUEST SHIFT: TRUDY STEIER, Savoy Taproom/The Copper Crow
Trudy Steier, bar director at Savoy Taproom on Lark Street + The Copper Crow in Albany’s Warehouse District | Photo: Victoria Sedefian/The Dishing
Trudy Steier, bar director at Savoy Taproom on Lark Street + The Copper Crow in Albany’s Warehouse District, talks teaching, travel, and building cocktail menus around movie titles + album tracks.
Interview: Susie Davidson Powell
Photos: Victoria Sedefian/The Dishing
Location: Savoy Taproom, Albany, N.Y.
Read about Trudy’s cocktails here and here.
Tastemaker: Trudy Steier | IG: @myfriendsbadmom
Business: Savoy Taproom + Copper Crow | IG: @savoyonlark @coppercrowalbany
Hometown: Poughkeepsie (a.k.a “The Last Stop on the Metro-North.”)
Current city: Albany
Personal style: Black, Earth Tones, a Dream in Denim, Statement Earrings
Listening to: girls with guitars, underground 90’s-early 00’s hiphop, Callas in “Tosca”
Favorite spirit: Rhum agricole
Favorite classic cocktail: The Last Word
Favorite bar or venue ever: The California Clipper in Chicago
Biggest cocktail influence: Danny Childs
Drink trend that should end: Please for the love of God TikTok bartending.
The Dishing talks with tastemakers in the hospitality industry + trailblazers at the intersection of food, culture + art. Today we talk with mixologist and bar director, Trudy Steier, who FINISH…..
Hey, Trudy. Thanks for talking to The Dishing! Let’s get into it! You’re originally from Poughkeepsie and moved to Albany in 2005 where you earned undergraduate and Master’s degrees in secondary English education at the University at Albany. What’s the backstory on how you got into bartending or learned your skills?
I worked at the Wine Bar and Bistro on Lark as a food runner during school and worked my way up to serving before I moved to South Korea to teach. When I came back I worked briefly at the Capital City Gastropub, but wound up back at the Wine Bar for a bit serving and doing what I would very loosely refer to as bartending – it was mostly pouring wine and muddling old fashioneds, but you won't catch me touching a muddler now. I didn't get seriously into bartending until I started at Savoy in 2017.
You went to school for secondary English education but what made you decide hospitality is where you wanted to be.
Restaurant work was always a way to pay the rent during school but wound up sucking me all the way in! I've been working in the industry on and off for about twenty years now. What I love best about hospitality is that “aha” moment — I love turning someone’s day around with the right drink or meal. There’s something really satisfying and special about it.
Is there any crossover between teaching and hospitality?
Yes definitely. Educators make great hospitality workers, I think. You use a lot of the same skill sets — some people call them "soft skills," some people call them "people skills." Whatever you want to call them you need a certain amount of empathy and patience to talk to people all day every day. And if you're a bartender, having some crowd control knowledge is an asset for sure!
You lead a pretty impressive cocktail program at the Savoy and some of those drinks also are on the menu at the Copper Crow. I know they change seasonally but you have said they are always loosely organized around a theme. Can you give us some examples and what’s the current theme?
We typically pick a band or a musician to build our theme around-but we have done Nic Cage movies before because the titles from his filmography are great. We just finished up our Lady Gaga themed menu and everyone loved it. For this season we are doing Iron Maiden which we’re all excited about.
You used to craft the entire cocktail program but now your whole staff is involved in building the menu. What’s one favorite cocktail you’ve created?
Actually — it’s always been more of a collaborative process but I do give guidelines of what I want and I’m pretty specific when it comes to balance. Pretty sure I’ve driven people nuts after some meetings demanding drinks to be made over and over again until they’re just right. I’ve made a lot of drinks I’ve loved throughout the years but my favorite right now is a naked and famous riff I did for this menu. It’s called “Be Quick or Be Dead.” I infused green chartreuse with cilantro and swapped out the aperol for a Cocchi Rosa and blood orange liqueur split. It’s bright and herbal but the smoke from the mezcal and a habanero salt rim pulls it back from reading too “summery.”
Pink Jeans - a bubbly Genever-based shrub by Trudy Steier at Savoy Taproom | Photo: Victoria Sedefian/TheDishing
Your cocktails often include kitchen herbs and spices or infusions. How would you describe your techniques, inspiration and approach to cocktail development? Do you see what the kitchen has available? How do you or the team decide which ones make the cut? We definitely collaborate with the kitchen-sometimes we use the ingredients they have on hand and if there is something we really want to use but we don’t have it, they’ll incorporate it on their end as well. Like pretty much anyone crafting cocktails right now I own a copy of Liquid Intelligence, but to me the most essential reading for anyone creating a menu in the front or back of house is The Flavor Bible. I consult it constantly. If there is an ingredient that stands out to me when I’m researching cuisines I go there first and build out from that one flavor. We have cocktail meetings to taste together and see what works and give one another feedback. It’s a good way to keep everyone involved in the process and talking about the craft.
Is there anything you’d like to create that you haven’t quite figured out yet?
I’d like to make my own amaro. Right now it really comes down to finding the time to figure it out, but between the two restaurants I don’t have too much of it!
Can you tell us the story behind the striking snake tattoo on your arm?
Sure! My friend Tony (the other half of The Pony Show, if you're at all familiar) did it. He's done a bunch of stuff for me. Most of my tattoos are marine-life related because I love the ocean, but I had always wanted a snake tattoo as well. He absolutely killed it in terms of the placement of the coils. Always a good time catching up on restaurant gossip and getting tattooed by Tony!
[Ed. note: We’re also big fans of Tony + Paula of The Pony Show! Read our tastemaker interview with them here!]
What are you seeing in terms of increased interest in non-alc or low-ABV options and how are you incorporating them into your craft cocktail menu?
I think it’s great that every place seems to have N/A options now and that they’re here to stay. We have some bespoke options at both places and I love the Lyre’s Amalfi N/A canned spritz. N/A aperitifs and spirits are springing up everywhere, but they can have very short shelf lives, so the Lyre’s is a great cost effective option without sacrificing quality. I’m a spritz girl so I make sure we have one on every menu because they’re an easy way to do low ABV as well. Who doesn’t love bubbles?
What are some of your childhood memories of food whether home cooking or dining out?
I’m one of six, so we didn’t go out to eat much. Fortunately, my mom is a great cook and isn’t afraid of flavor, so we had a lot of delicious but budget friendly meals at home. She also had a “Better Homes and Gardens” subscription and I used to pour over the baking and cooking sections. I’d go to school and try to find someone else interested in chocolate torte recipes and none of the other fifth graders had any idea what I was talking about.
When you lived in South Korea, did you travel and what influence, if any, did the experience have on your palate or the way you build cocktails?
Yes, I traveled as much as I could! The job was actually pretty demanding but I managed to get to Japan, China, Vietnam, and Cambodia briefly. When I was in South Korea there wasn't much in terms of cocktail culture — it may be different now. But, drinking in Korea really took a back seat to the food. I love it! I still think of my neighborhood barbecue spot regularly. I left the country with a deep appreciation for gochujang (and kimchi, it's unavoidable) but mostly gochujang. It's a perfect blend of spicy, sweet, savory, and funky. Much like some of my favorite types of cocktails
Where are 3 of your favorite spots in the Hudson Valley or Capital Region for breakfast, lunch and dinner?
My favorite spot for breakfast is brunch at Lost and Found on Sundays. Not only is Stephen Barrett’s food criminally underappreciated (everyone should try his eggplant ribbons) but the vibe is perfect. It’s very come as you are. I’ve seen families sitting right next to tables of industry folk doing shots at 12 PM and no one thinks twice about it.
For lunch, the Indian buffet at Dosa Grill or Four Corners Luncheonette in Delmar.
For dinner, Coray kitchen or Milas, if I’m feeling fancy. If not, probably Sheba Al-Yemen on Central Ave for fahsa or Suwun Thai Home Cooking for panang curry.
[Ed. note: Sheba Al-Yemen recently moved a couple of doors down + re-branded as Saba Al-Yemen. Upstairs, is Saba Cafe, a Yemeni-Palestinian café and hookah bar.]
Other than Savoy or The Copper Crow, where’s the best place in the 518 to get a martini? Best spot for an Old Fashioned? Most likely to serve a well-balanced signature cocktail?
As far as martinis go — for best-bang-for-your-buck no frills martinis, Black and Blue has a great happy hour. If you want something a little more bespoke, then Coray Kitchen and Albany Ale and Oyster both have a delicious house signature.
For an Old Fashioned, Joe Tersigni + Tom Blassman have created an awesome spirits and cocktail selection over at Allen Street Pub. Tom made a cocktail menu with a featured Old Fashioned called “Children of the Cornbread” which I haven’t tried yet but have heard nothing but good things about. There’s a bunch of other places I could go on about but I’m taking this moment to show these two some love.
Imagine your ideal day or night out. If you could go anywhere with no limits on costs, distance or reservations, where would you go and how would your day or night unfold?
This one is tough! Istanbul for Turkish coffee to start, Busan for Korean bbq by the beach for lunch, Tokyo to Benfiddich for drinks by Hiroyasu Kayama, then off to Hong Kong. Tim Ho Wan for dim sum first, The Chairman for dinner, then Bar Leone and Tell Camellia and whatever hole in the wall is selling baijiu after everyone is tipsy enough to try it. There’s lots of places I’d like to go, but I think Hong Kong has its own very special feel because of its location. Plus I like neon. Lots and lots of neon. Hong Kong has that.
Thanks so much for talking with The Dishing, Trudy! We’re looking forward to sampling more creations on your new seasonal menu!
