I had good experiences in the pmCO days with the UC bartenders who had stable enough employment that I got to know two of their names, and saw them frequently enough that tipping worked. One of them (Joe) suggested the best response to 9/11 would be to rebuild the two towers exactly as they were, as a big middle finger to those who were trying to bend the US to their will; I thought it was brilliant. In the past handful of years, I don't think I've seen the same UC bartender twice in EWR, and I've yet to see one that is committed to their work, but maybe I've just been unlucky.

These days, the best experience in EWR is making a connection without any hiccoughs. And that is damning with faint praise, indeed.