"All movie bartenders, when first seen, are wiping the inside of a glass with a rag."
— Ebert's Bigger Little Movie Glossary
The Borscht is always empty at this hour. Ernest is standing behind the bar, wiping the glasses and holding them up to the light. This is an amazing thing, by the way; anytime you come in, these barmen are always wiping glasses, as if their salvation depended on it. He'll stand here all day — pick up a glass, squint at it, hold it up to the light, breathe on it, and get wiping; he'll do that for a bit, take another look, this time through the bottom of the glass, and start wiping again...
— Redrick, Roadside Picnic
