Does talk about a 30-to-80-cent Metro fare hike make you want to drink? Cry? Both? Here’s our suggestion: Skip the tears and head to IndeBleu (707 G St., NW; 202-333-2538), and—while you still can—put those extra cents to better use by indulging in the ultimate city fantasy: a Metro ride that leaves you wasted rather than penniless.

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Dan Searing is used to wearing many hats. He’s been a server and worked at a newspaper, and now— depending on the day and his availability—he’s a musician, DJ, bartender, whiskey connoisseur, and history buff. Did I mention he’s also general manager at Temperance Hall (3634 Georgia Ave., NW; 202-722-7669)? In fact, it’s in his current position as head of this 1920s-inspired bar, where history is seamlessly woven in with the modern, that Searing’s talents and abilities come together.

When not searching high and low for unusual spirits or trying to get together with former bandmates, Searing tries to catch up on his music—he just bought the new M.I.A and Rilo Kiley. Luckily, he also had some time to sit down for an interview.

When did you start bartending?

I got started through my friend Kristaps Kreslins who is the owner of Pharmacy Bar. He thought I’d be good at waiting tables and invited me to work one night a week at his bar. At the time, I was working as City Lights editor at the Washington City Paper. A short time later, I left my job at the City Paper and ended up getting into the restaurant business full-time—at first kind of as a stopgap, as many people do, but I soon found myself making it my career.

You’re the general manager here. Why do you still bartend?

Well, it was kind of the brief I was given when I took the job. One of the owners here is Joe Englert, and one of the thing he likes to have his managers do, especially in the beginning, is have their finger on the pulse of the place and be more actively involved in the daily operations—down to serving drinks to customers.

Sometimes it’s a little difficult wearing the manager’s hat and the bartender’s hat at the same time, but it’s also not an uncommon thing in bars and restaurants throughout the world: The bartender is traditionally a person who has to take care of other things besides making drinks.

Lili Montoya arrives only a minute or so late to our Belly Up interview but is profusely apologetic. “I got stuck in traffic driving into the city,” she says in a way that suggests she’s a focused, organized individual. These traits help her run a tight ship as bartender at the Black Cat (1811 14th Street, NW; 202-667-7960), where she’s worked for almost ten years. The charming and outspoken Montoya talks here about her job, her musical tastes, and why not even Eddie Vedder gets special treatment.

When did you start bartending?

My first bartending job was at a place that doesn’t exist anymore called the Mountain Lodge. It was a coffeehouse in Georgetown, near Key Bridge, that used to serve liquor. It’s unclear whether or not it was supposed to serve liquor, and I was way under the age that I probably should have been, but this was at a time when people didn’t check that much.

We had a lot of punk shows and poetry readings at the Mountain Lodge. People who are old DC punks might remember some of the shows we used to have, like the Econochrist show where a guy went out onto M Street and sang to it.

How did you end up at the Black Cat?

I was friends with some of the staff and was asked to work there, which is kind of rare. Normally, the bartending system at the Black Cat is based almost completely on seniority. Only two or three people have been hired from outside, and I was one of them.

At the time, the Black Cat was pretty guy-heavy and I think they were looking for someone who was a woman, someone who was a pro-style bartender—“pro-style” in the sense of an old punk-rock word for professional—and someone who had roots in and understood the community.

At the Professional Bartending School in Arlington, martinis come stirred, not shaken. They also—if you’re lucky—come with a flourish. “This one’s for you,” says the bartender, flicking his thumb and forefinger like a gun. He winks and tosses up a martini glass. It lands upright on the back of his hand. Then suddenly the glass is on the counter, full, and he’s swiping an olive out of the air with a metal tumbler and dropping it into the gin and vermouth. He slides the drink across the bar. Ladies and gentlemen: Mr. Moe Harris.

Harris is not trying to be a rock star. He just wants to serve you a good drink. Flair bartending—throwing, flipping, twirling, spinning, rolling, and catching bottles and glasses while mixing a cocktail—is part of the package. Flair reigns in cities like London and Vegas; in Washington it’s just starting to pick up. That’s thanks to Harris and a few bottle-flipping friends. A few years ago, they formed the Pour Boys, a flair group that performs in area clubs. Their mission: to raise the bar on Washington flair.

After Hours caught up with Harris, an instructor at the Arlington school, and fellow Pour Boy Freddy B., who has bartended at Platinum and Anzu in DC, to learn a little more about the tricks of the trade.

Greg Brooks leans forward on the bar—his bar—contemplating the upcoming Redskins season. “I’m cautiously optimistic,” he says with a smile. His blue eyes twinkle as he predicts a ten-and-six record for the squad, assuming “Jason Campbell stays healthy and they can keep Mark Brunell as far from the field as possible.”

The Skins aren’t the only team Brooks supports. For 12 years, the DC native has worked closely with the group at Cafe Mozart (1331 H St., NW; 202-347-5732; cafemozartonline.com), a German restaurant, bar, and deli where he’s an invaluable member of the staff and a friend to many regular customers.

Brooks’s taproom is tucked into the center of Cafe Mozart, between the deli and the restaurant. To reach the bar, you pass by a case of gourmet meats and an aisle stocked floor to ceiling with chocolate truffles, mustards, sausages, and other German goods. What you find at the other end is cold German beer and good conversation. “I joke with my customers all the time,” Brooks says. “I have a terrible sense of humor, but I try and make people feel like they’re at home and having a good time.”

With 26 years of bartending under his belt, here’s what Brooks has to say about his job.

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With its quaint portraits of women and a Goethe-inspired staircase that reads “We are shaped and fashioned by what we love,” Nellie’s (900 U St., NW; 202-332-6335) isn’t your typical sports bar. Then again, the Foosball table, scoreboards, and multiple ESPN-tuned TVs don’t exactly spell out “gay bar”—which is what Nellie’s is as well. An earlier visit to the bar during the DC United/LA Galaxy soccer match revealed a curious collection of people, all gathered together by the love of the sport, the promise of watching Brit sensation David Beckham play, and a craving for the bar’s signature sliders.

Bartender Benjamin Gander has been working at Nellie’s since this sophisticated-looking bar—which once served as a photography studio for Addison Scurlock and is a block away from the 9:30 Club—opened in early July. Gander, an Arizona native, talks about Nellie’s unique blend of customers and fills us in on his favorite sports, drinks, and hangouts.

Walking through Arlington’s Clarendon neighborhood past Pottery Barn, Whole Foods, and Harry’s Tap Room, you wouldn’t expect to find a place as funky and original as Galaxy Hut (2711 Wilson Blvd.; 703-525-8646). This tiny space is one of the area’s smallest live-music venues and plays host to local and traveling indie rock bands on Saturday, Sunday, and Monday nights. The purple walls with quirky artwork and the candlelit tables alongside Mrs. Pacman and Galaga/Space Invaders arcade tables mark this bar and restaurant as the most eccentric on the block by far.

Bartender and Arlington resident Bill Arthur is behind the bar Tuesdays and Fridays, chatting with friends and regulars—usually one and the same—and playing rock music from his computer. He can also fill you in on any of the bar’s rotating selection of beers on tap, from Ace Pear Cider to Lucifer to Bitburger Pilsner.