Last week, fellow Tasting Bud Peter and I attended a small gathering at the recently open Haddingtons (Link to Menu), new restaurant in downtown Austin. Prior to the event, I looked at the restaurant website, which described it as “an American tavern with rustic cuisine”, bringing to mind hearty, season-inspired meals and a beer selection rivaling the best pubs in town. They had not yet posted a menu (see full menu below), so I was excited to see what Chef Zack Northcutt had created.
I’ve already talked about the delicious food I had on my culinary tour of South Carolina (Shrimp and Grits and Bojangles Fried Chicken), but it would be wrong to omit another South Carolina low country favorite that helps the locals beat the summer heat. I’m not talking about food on this one, but instead a delicious sweet iced tea vodka drink that was all the rage at the local bars.
Because sweet tea is a Southern favorite, it’s no wonder that this drink is so popular in Charleston. For those that don’t know, people in the deep south add a lot of sugar to their tea (almost too much for my liking), and the resulting sweetness is a perfect way to mask the strong vodka flavor. In fact, the first comment that most people make upon trying this drink for the first time is that they can’t taste any alcohol at all.
There are two temperatures in Texas, Hot and Face of the Sun HOT.
If there is one thing that is going to make this Face of the Sun season (known as summer elsewhere) bearable and it comes in the form of the Margaritaville Frozen Concoction Maker
Ingredients:
Place all of the ingredients into the blender and mix them until they resemble a chunky smoothie. Use the shave function of the Margaritaville to add about 1 cup of ice. Blend until the mixture is smooth.
I sometimes add water in small amounts if the mix gets stuck. Share with friends.
Cheers!
Photographs courtesy of Peter Tsai Photography