December 15th, 2010. I am in Palm Springs, CA. Normally it’s between 85-110 degrees. Today it is 65 and raining. Vacation spoiled? Nope. I extend my leopard print umbrella borrowed from the Viceroy Hotel where I am staying and set out on foot to the Village Pub. I need calories and beer stat! Solution? Order the Texan Platter and a Chavela. First, the Texan Platter consists of: jalapeno poppers, hell hot wings, potato skins, zucchini sticks, calamari and egg rolls. Along with all the appropriate sauces. Next, the Chavela. Best way to describe this drink is a bloody mary, made with beer. In fact it is more simple. Cheap, light Mexican beer like Tecate, a splash of  tomato juice, a squeeze of lime and then rim the glass with salt.
Fill up on the Texan because you will need the energy to dance to the pub’s house cover band that plays 7 nights a week.
Get your snack on. Get your drink on. Get your dance on.

I am a man. But I have a sensitive side. I sometimes cry at movies, I like chardonnay and I listen to Adele. But, I draw the line at tropical blended drinks! Well, I did until I met the Blended Mojito at the Cuisinart Resort in the British West Indian island of Anguilla. Jamal the quiet yet confident bartender had been blending them up all afternoon as I sit sipping my local Pyrat Rum and chuckling at the tourists ordering this foo foo bitch drink.

Somewhere, between rum # 5 and 6 Jamal dropped a small glass of excess mojito from his most recent batch in front of me and said in his cocky yet humble tone, “We grow the mint right there.” He gestures at the resorts massive greenhouse hydroponic garden. At this point it would be rude not to take a free drink from the master mixologist. So I obliged. The second it splashed my taste buds, I was hooked. Every dopamine receptor in my brain was firing full speed. It was as if this drink was scientificaly designed to quency thirst in such a humid tropical climate.

Moral of the story is. Trust your bartender.

G.W. Bush would be proud. It was a massacre. The burrito never stood a chance. I am glad no one was around to see it. Hungry and lazy today, I made the ⅛ mile walk around my block to Tacos Delta for my favorite Shrimp Burrito. It is not on the regular menu. It is written in chalk on the blackboard out front of this tiny kitchen/shack.  Shrimp, rice, beans, lettuce all brought together by a zingy chipotle sauce, simple. Oh, and you can get your dry cleaning done next door too.

No, I did not drink this entire thing from a straw by myself. I thought about it, but I decided to share. This is a pitcher of sangria at Cafe Crepe in Santa Monica. If you find yourself  getting dragged around the Third Street Promenade by your visiting European friends, this place is a good option.  The sangria is sweet, refreshing, reasonably priced and served in large quantities. Grab a sweet or savory crepe a pitcher of sangria or two and you have got yourself a win.