Food

From Bluebooking To Bistro: Lawyer Couple Hangs Out Shingle To Sommelier

Do you believe in life after law school?

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Friends toasting red wine at outdoor restaurant bar with open face mask – New normal lifestyle concept with happy people having fun together on warm filter – Focus on afroamerican guyAs progressive as being wealthy enough to support yourself dream is, I will admit that there is a fairytale appeal to becoming Mr. and Mrs. as you earn your JD. Knowing a couple of those couples from my law school run, the bitterness that would eat at my soul is partially quelled by the realization that even if you do find love at law school, the Biglaw lifestyle isn’t really the most conducive to spending time with your honey — even romance must take a backseat to billables. I say partially because some people really do get to have it all.

Mika and Ian Carlin fell in love as law students at the University of Virginia. It’s also where they fell in love with Virginia wine. After graduating a few years ago, they both started working wine and restaurant service jobs on top of their legal careers—Ian at a large corporate law firm, Mika most recently for an organization helping immigrant kids.

First off, talk about a work ethic! I’m no stranger to hearing about public interest lawyers working a side gig to help make ends meet. But to have a Biglaw gig and moonlight at a restaurant of all things? If you’ve had a job in the service industry, you know how hectic things can get when you’re on the working side of a night at the restaurant. How does one even afford to meet billables and pick up shifts at a restaurant? I’m not even talking about the mental toll — I’m talking about the temporal one. More than 80 hours a week suing a company over widgets and another job on top of that? The older I get, the less I think that time turners are a fictional device.

Then amid the pandemic, they decided to leave their day jobs altogether to pursue their passion. Mika worked as a manager at Fancy Radish and beverage director at Sonny’s Pizza, while Ian was a sommelier at Masseria and server at Oyster Oyster. Now, they are going one step further and opening their own wine bistro, Irregardless, on H Street, Northeast in September.

Talk about a JD advantage gig.

The Carlins have tapped chef Ben Browning, who most recently worked at Mintwood Place and whose resume includes Daikaya, Maydan, Obelisk, and Reveler’s Hour. His tasting menu will feature housemade pastas and breads as well as plates highlighting whatever local ingredients are in season using French and Japanese cooking techniques. At the bar, you might find Virginia cheese and charcuterie, snacks, and larger-format plates.

The pandemic (the COVID-19 one, not the Monkeypox one) has played a major role in changing labor landscapes. With work moving online and quarantine forcing folks to sit down, many have had ample opportunity to re-evaulate what they want in life. Sometimes that looks like pushing back against firms trying to return to an in-person, five-day work week. Other times, it looks like leaving firm life altogether and pouring a glass of wine. Maybe there is an affinity for lawyers switching vocation to vineyards — the Carlins join the ranks of JDs doing wine in Virginia. Could your state be next? Maybe you’ll be the one tending the vines.

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A Law School Love Story Led to DC’s Newest Wine Bistro [Washingtonian]

Chris Williams became a social media manager and assistant editor for Above the Law in June 2021. Prior to joining the staff, he moonlighted as a minor Memelord™ in the Facebook group Law School Memes for Edgy T14s.  He endured Missouri long enough to graduate from Washington University in St. Louis School of Law. He is a former boatbuilder who cannot swim, a published author on critical race theory, philosophy, and humor, and has a love for cycling that occasionally annoys his peers. You can reach him by email at cwilliams@abovethelaw.com and by tweet at @WritesForRent.

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