Hello My Name Is… Ryan Goodspeed, Beverage Manager

Take that, Brian Flanagan! When it comes to cocktails, we got our own a mover and Grey Goose Shaker of the Year behind the bar here at MGFD.

We are proud as peacocks that our beverage manager Ryan Goodspeed has just secured Miami Eater’s popular vote, and editors have confirmed, that 2010 is the year of the Goodspeed.   He was already is the sea salt rim to our Margaritas and the kimchi spicing up our Bloody Marys.  Mr. Bulleit Proof Manhattan himself!

Satiate your thirst for more, with Ryan’s answers to our staff questionnaire below.

Name: Ryan Goodspeed

The Wahine, Ryan's Polynesian goddess, a cocktail crafted especially for Slow Food Miami's Ark of Taste dinner celebrating the South Pacific banana-plantain, Hua Moa

Position: Beverage Manager

Childhood ambition: To be an inventor. And the ring the bell on Wall Street.

First job: Picking up drops (fallen apples) at Cook’s Farm Orchard to make cider.

I began at MGFD in  January 2008, because: I had just moved to Miami and a friend of mine wanted to bring me to the best restaurant in town.

Favorite dish at MGFD: Pork Belly on a bed of Kimchi.

Most popular food prepared in your home: French Toast

Wildest food ever eaten: Whole pickled lemon at a food stand in Cairo.

Favorite beverage at MGFD: Beer. I taste them all before they go on the menu. And the occasional homemade “Orangino” soda.

Proudest moment: The first day I first sent money home to my parents.

Biggest challenge: Myself.

Perfect day: One spent outdoors with no electronics and no multi-tasking. Usually surfing or snowboarding.

Ideal spot for your vacation home: Been jockeying back and forth between a spring fed lake in Massachusetts where I could build mini “out” cabins around a large west facing chalet or a house on Rincon Point in Santa Barbara.

Indulgence: Wanderlust….. And buying LP’s. Just can’t stop!

Inspirations: Nature and the changes it affects on me. And my mom. She never stops growing as a person.

My life: Is largely defined by my friendships and family and is seldom predictable.