CHECKING IN WITH...Gretchen Connelie:

Your 401K has turned into a 201K. You’re hunting for a job and, man, do you need a drink, but you can’t afford one. How bad is that? Even the guy in that George Thorogood song, “One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer,” can afford to drown his sorrows after getting evicted. Well, don’t worry. It’s nearly Happy Hour Week. Local businesses are participating in the O.C. Restaurant Assn.’s inaugural event. So this week we checked in with Gretchen Connelie, a “mixologist” at Tommy Bahama’s Island Grille in Newport Beach.

What do you have planned for Happy Hour Week? Will you invent a new drink?

We are serving our full “Island Time” menu in the bar and offering “Island Time” pricing on drinks in the dining room. “Island Time” is Tommy Bahama’s version of happy hour with great prices on our signature drinks and appetizers. This isn’t watered-down beer and nachos either. We are talking halibut ceviche, world famous coconut shrimp and macadamia nut-encrusted goat cheese for $5 and our amazing tropical cocktails such as mojitos, sangria and mai tais for $6. We also have wines by the glass for $5 and $6. It is the best “Happy Hour” in town, usually just 4 to 6 p.m. every day, [but] all day every day for Happy Hour Week!

How did you get to be a “mixologist?”

A lot of research and development! I have been a bartender at other restaurants and always took an interest in developing new and exciting drinks. I love telling guests about new up-and-coming items, whether it is an undiscovered wine or a hip new ingredient such as yuzu. This year we have partnered with Tommy Bahama Rum to create a drink of the month and I was selected to be on the team to develop these 12 drinks. It has been a fun and challenging experience.

Besides mixing drinks, what else do you do at Tommy Bahama’s?

I wear many hats for Tommy Bahama, mostly because it is more like a family than a job. In addition to working at the Newport Beach location, I also have the pleasure of appearing on television where we have other locations (most recently in Florida and Scottsdale) to demonstrate how to make our signature drinks. There are some tricks we have here at Tommy Bahama that make our drinks very special.

What’s your favorite drink and why?

It is tough to pick a favorite but a few are:

Pineapple yuzu mojito. I developed this drink for the drink of the month and it had to be approved by a number of different people. Everyone loved the drink and that was a great feeling. The team can be very picky so unanimous approval was awesome, and I love drinking it!

Grapefruit and basil martini. This drink is so refreshing and different. I love telling people about it and seeing their skepticism. I promise that if they don’t like it, I will buy them something else and then they love it. They have discovered something new and it is so exciting. I hope they go and tell more people about this unique great drink that sounds odd but tastes great.

Baja margarita. This is my standby but it isn’t just any ol’ margarita. We make scratch sour mix every morning at Tommy Bahama’s Island Grille. Once you try scratch sour, you will be spoiled and never want to buy sour mix in a bottle again.

OK, a bunch of famous people just walked into your bar and they’re asking you to pick something out for them. Who gets what and why? Bob Dylan, Dolly Parton, President Obama, Sean Hannity and Lindsay Lohan.

OK, this is a tough one:

Bob Dylan: Tommy’s sour in the rough. It is Jack Daniels with our sour mix ... kind of like a whiskey margarita. I would try to serve it to him but I have a feeling he would just take the Jack and pass on the sour.

Dolly Parton: The Bailey’s banana colada. It is like dessert in a glass, a banana smoothie with a kick. Either that or a white wine spritzer since she seems like the type of person to watch her waistline.

President Obama: Either the Bungalow Brew, our pale ale beer or the aforementioned Baja margarita. He likes nice things but still needs to seem like a regular guy.

Sean Hannity: I actually met him once, and he was amazing at how he could multitask! He was on the air doing “Hannity and Colmes” and signing autographs and talking to fans at the same time, but he didn’t miss a single thing, still keeping up with the interview! For that, I would serve him a smooth sailing made with Tommy Bahama White Sand Rum and tonic with a lime. It is such a refreshing rum option without all of the sweet ingredients.

Lindsay Lohan: This is a loaded question. She would probably request Red Bull, which we don’t serve.

We understand you love “American Idol.” William Hung vs. Sanjaya. Discuss.

Last season was my first with AI but I did see the coverage of both. I would say Sanjaya since he was at least a “showman.” This year, I am having a hard time picking a favorite since most of my early picks have been eliminated. I still have Alison and Adam and they are doing really well.

Tell us your favorite bar joke (and keep in mind it’s a family newspaper!)

Ask anyone at work and they will tell you this is my favorite joke, and none of them think it is funny but here goes:

This guy goes to see his psychiatrist and he says, “Doctor, I keep having these dreams, first I am a tepee, then I am a wigwam. Then I am a tepee, and then I am a wigwam.”

The doctor sighs and says to the patient, “Relax, you are two tents.”

City Editor PAUL ANDERSON may be reached at (714) 966-4633 or at [email protected].