I’ve been obsessed with making short films recently. It’s my new favorite thing. So when we heard about Deep Eddy, a brand new sweet tea vodka from Austin, I decided to make a movie about it.

[Click here iPads and iPad minis]

The recipes are featured are straight from Deep Eddy’s repertoire. Want to try it yourself? Right now it’s available for purchase at Centennial, Majestic, and Goody Goody liquor stores in Dallas.

(If you like this watch my first movie about a sandwich.)

Stop by my favorite tea store in Dallas, The Cultured Cup, tomorrow to learn more about matcha! All afternoon they’ll be hosting complimentary tastings & demonstrations.

From The Cultured Cup:
Join AIYA America’s Shiro Nobunaga and local potter Ginny Marsh for tastes of matcha in traditional wabi-sabi style bowls. Learn about the many health benefits that allow matcha to aid in the prevention of cancer and improve your complexion.

Saturday, May 22
11 – 5 PM

The Cultured Cup
8312 Preston Center Plaza | Dallas, TX 75225
972.960.1521

Their fine print:
*April 15th offer good up to 20oz. while supplies last. Ongoing 10 cent discount at participating Starbucks in the US and Canada.

I don’t just like Hello Kitty. I consider her more of a role model. I try to be discerning in the HK merchandise I buy, only because they make so much of it now. I used to buy everything that I could find, but that was back in the days when the Sanrio store was about the only place you could get it.

Now she’s not so concerned about discretion & has put her cute little face on everything. Follow aimlessly & it’s a dangerous road for those of drinking age—one that leads straight into kiddie shower curtains, “My Room” door hangers & ankle socks. A girl has to watch out! You don’t want to be that emotionally-stunted adult with the pink fuzzy steering wheel. (Sorry to anyone if I just hit a nerve there.) 

All that being said, I have some HK stuff that I love. My wallet, my jump drive, my custom-made laptop (thanks again, T!!!), my toaster, my stationary, my knitting tote bag, my waffle iron, my lipgloss, my…. Ok. fine. I have a lot of Hello Kitty stuff. And I love it all. Now I have one more thing I need to add to my collection, although it won’t stay there for long.

Introducing Hello Kitty Wine. Their tagline: “Our Favorite Girl Has Grown Up.” The collection will feature four wines, including a sparkling brut rose, a “Sweet Pink” sparkling wine & a pair of pinot noirs: “Angel White” & “Devil Red.” (I can already tell you the brut rose is going to be my favorite & not just because it comes with the HK charm.)

If all that isn’t too much excitement for you, they’ve got a list of HK cocktail recipes on their site that are calling for you to pop the cork. The wines should be available in the US “soon”, but I wish I knew more than that. I’m going to be checking liquor stores & you do too, ok? Be a good friend to the little dish and let me know if you find it. If that plan doesn’t work out, they will be available online May 1st on their official site at HelloKittyWine.com

Shout out! I’d like to thank Nik & Shannon, two very nice friends of mine who sent the news to me this week. Raise a glass to Hello Kitty!

(Also, remember Roots Coffehouse in North Richland Hills is also offering free coffee all this month. I finally got the chance to stop by & will write about it later this week!)

Free pastry day at Starbucks! Tuesday, March 23 until 10:30 AM. Get the coupon & details at Starbucks.com

If you love bacon, then this just might be your thing. We’ve seen bacon lip balm, bacon lollipops, and now… Bakon Vodka.

A friend sent me this link today and I’m intrigued. A savory spirit made from Idaho potatoes and with an added hint of (obviously) bacon. It doesn’t appear to be available in Texas, so if you want to mix up one of their speciality cocktail recipes like a Bakon Mary, a Chocolate Bakon Martini, or a Prosciutto-Wrapped Melon Shot, you’ll have to order online and be patient.

I wonder what our friend Kevin over at Cocktail Enthusiast has to say about this?

I can’t say often enough how grateful we are for everyone who reads this blog & the nice comments we get. That’s why I’d never do you guys wrong. No restaurant promo, or freebie, or stack of dollars* could tempt me into writing a review that is more favorable than honest because I don’t want to lead anyone into a culinary sandtrap.

That being said, I should first say that I haven’t actually been to Roots Coffeehouse, but I plan on it. ASAP. On paper the place sounds fantastic: a local, independent coffeehouse with a menu comprised entirely of fair trade & organic coffees. Plus free wi-fi, homebaked sweets, & a special honey vanilla latte that is of particular interest to me. Awesome, right?

Now, if you’re the kind of person who watches a movie & is always jumping ahead of the plot to guess what’s going to happen next, you’re probably wondering: “So why are you talking about a coffee shop before you’ve actually visited?” Well, I’ve got two things to say to you. First, chill out. You should just try to enjoy the movie & let it unfold instead of always trying to guess everything. Second, I’m talking about Roots now instead of later because they are running an amazing promotion that you need to know about right now.

Visit Roots in March & they will give you a free coffee card, which is good for a 12-ounce cup of coffee. EVERY SINGLE DAY IN MARCH. No catches. No stipulations. (Although if you want to keep your “Nice Citizen” badge, you should probably tip that barista who’s pouring your free cup of coffee.)

So I’m planning on heading over to Roots and will definitely write about it when I do. But this week is crazy & I won’t be in that neighborhood for a couple of days. Until then, I don’t want to keep you from missing one precious day of free coffee (’cause I love y’all like that). If you check it out before I get there, let me know what you think—ok?

* Maybe some stacks of dollars. (Sorry.)

Roots Coffeehouse
9101 Highway 26 Ste. 101 | North Richland Hills, Texas 76180
See website for other locations.
817.503.7344

If you follow us on twitter, you might already know that we were hanging out in Atlanta this weekend. The main attraction that brought us there wasn’t the food (although that aspect ended up being quite wonderful.) It was the Georgia Aquarium. It’s actually the world’s largest aquarium & the pictures of it online look amazing. Excited by that, we decided it was time to start planning a trip to ATL…

Which brings us to the awesome trip we took to the World of Coca-Cola. Right across from the aquarium, it stands as a mecca to all things Coke. There’s a ton of vintage Coke ads & memorabilia, an example of a bottling line, a little 4D theater, & photo-op with the Coke Polar Bear… Overall it’s very cool, but the thing that makes it a place you need to visit while in Atlanta is the Tasting Room.

See, as you would probably guess, Coke isn’t just Coke & Diet Coke & Vanilla Coke etc. The company manufactures almost 400 different beverages around the world from Fanta to Vitamin Water & Odwalla. In the Tasting Room you get sip as much as you please of 60 different flavors from North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia, & Africa. Divided by continent, the fountains offered everything from familiar flavors—Fanta tastes the same in every language—to the bitter & bizarre (more on that in a bit).

On the highlights reel are two sodas from Latin America: Inca Kola (Peru) & Mazaran Lift (Chile). Tasting like bubble gum & apple respectively, they were new & interesting without being overly sweet.

Japan’s Vegitabeta had almost no taste & their unidentifiable flavor of Hi-C Ume was bland, but unoffensive.

Sugar overload definitely kicked in after tasting Africa’s Bibo kiwi and pineapple sodas. Definitely the sweetest I’ve ever tasted. I could feel my teeth cringe.

North America’s selection was as expected, however there was one surprise. Did you know that Barq’s makes a red creme soda? Like Big Red, but better! I had never seen it before, but will keep my eye out for it. Maybe it’s a regional thing we don’t have in Texas? Or maybe I haven’t spent enough time on the soda aisle.

While Latin America’s sodas were some of my favorite, unfortunately the losing flavor came from Italy. I had a feeling it was going to be a challenging taste because one of the guides told us to “make sure to try the Beverly, it’s verrrrrry interesting—our most talked about flavor.” Distinctively bitter, it’s got to be an acquired taste because I could barely finish the small amount in my glass. What I found out through research *cough*wiki*cough* that they didn’t tell us at the museum is that the bitter taste comes from the ingredient quinine, which is also found in tonic water. The amount of quinine in Beverly actually causes it to glow under ultraviolet light! If you travel with that kind of technology on you, be sure to check that out when you visit & report back, okay?

When I visited Tim Love’s new Love Shack I had to try the jalapeno and cucumber margaritas that he added to the expanded drink menu. I love a great margarita and if the man could put together drink recipes like he can deliver a burger, I knew I would be impressed. So not surprisingly, the drink was a hit. The spice mixed well with the usual tang of the sweet & sour, which made for quite the refreshing drink. My only complaint was the size and the price. It was a little on the small side for 8 dollars….whaaa….I thought this was a burger joint in Fort Worth. Maybe jalapenos are super expensive?

Well, it turns out they’re not. It also turns out it’s super easy to make your own, so I put on my bartender hat and got to work.

Juice from 1 1/2 limes
Juice from 1/2 lemon
1 jalapeno
1 slice of cucumber (1/2 inch)
1 tablespoon sugar
1 oz water
2 oz tequila

Juice the limes and lemon. Set aside. Slice the jalapeno open and de-seed. Then roughly chop the cucumber and jalapeno. Blend the jalapeno, cucumber, sugar, and water until smooth. It’s ok if there are small bits of jalapeno or cucumber left; it adds character to your drink. Also, if you are making these for a party rather than a single serving, pre-blend a batch and store it in a pouring container so you can just add this to your margaritas as the party moves along. It will save you a bunch of time. Next add the juices and tequila to a 16oz glass filled with ice. Add the blended mixture and then shake contents with a Boston shaker or any other device you use to mix drinks. That’s it. Now enjoy.

These things turned out spectacular. Let me know if you try it, would love to hear your thoughts!

EDIT: I like to add in a little bit (1 oz) of store bought sweet & sour (or margarita) mix, just to bring it all together.