yummmmm

Awwww, John, you're the best!!! Wednesday night Mr. Davis brought me the most delicious, most sinful treat. He made "crack pie", which is basically gooey yumminess from the Momofuko cookbook. He made it even better by adding chocolate to the original recipe. That poor piece of pie didn't last 30 seconds. John, you totally made my night. You rock!

So... Please excuse my blogging absence, I've been taking a much needed vacay (see, I've gotten so lazy I can't be bothered to spell out vacation). But I watched Julie & Julia last night and it lit a fire under my lounging, comfy ass (as well as caused said ass to eat everything in the fridge gaining 3 lbs), so here I am.

First, I want to say CONGRATULATIONS!!!!! to Amy and Mark Ford who, with 1 trimester down, are awaiting their first bundle of joy. If ever two people were destined to be great parents, it's y'all. Just don't let Mark name the baby- Hennessy Bankx?! I'm voting for Jack or Emma. Oh, and being a degenerate gambler, if y'all do a "Is it a boy vs. girl?" pool, I want in.

I also want to say Happy 30th Birthday to Sam, our resident comedian, and his twin bro Sy. Happy Birthday BFF!

Lots of other fun stuff has been going on this past week in Laurabelle Land, most notably, my first spray tan of the season!!!! It makes me so happy. I'm also on a hardcore Pho/ Bubble Tea kick (my fav is Kim Son on Guess Rd., the #11 pho and a honeydew bubble tea is heaven). Part of me wants to beg Amy for a secret blender to mix alcoholic bubble tea goodness...

Also, we just celebrated Alaina's birthday on Friday with good food, great friends, and only a few minor disasters. Love you Lainaboo!

*And now I must interrupt this irregularly scheduled program with funny breaking news* As I sit here working on this blog and Alaina sits beside me working on something infinitely more important but not nearly as fun, we hear the little Latino ice cream cart coming down the street. I excitedly run out the door screaming "Pick Me! Pick Me!" The nice man stops for the crazy white girl with an amazing spray tan, and I pick out a Chile Popsicle. As I come back in and we resume our work stations, I try my first taste of my afternoon delight- not so delightful. I say as much and hand the Popsicle for Alaina to try. She makes a similar face to mine, but then immediately demands "Mix it with Vodka!" So we do and, let me say, it wasn't the grossest thing I've ever put in my mouth but close. Moral of the story is always order the pineapple, never be scared to mix up something crazy- it's where all my drink ideas come from, and never listen to Alaina when she's been in the sun all day and facing a deadline.

Aww, Thanks Zoe!, you're the first (and only) regular to join my silly blog! You're the best :) Let Dom know I'm working on perfecting "The Lardom", but am handling it with caution- BaconBourbon could very easily take over the world... If yall out there are as Bacon obsessed as we are at Watts, check this out... Bacon Is Good For Me.

Spring Sling

Fresh local strawberries, basil, and rhubarb bitters muddled with Beefeater gin makes the perfect drink to ring in Spring. I came up with this one last summer, right after strawberry season had ended, go figure. I've been waiting a year and am so excited to have this drink finally on the menu! Big thanks to our buddy Jonah Cool for the awesome name, that is so much better than anything I was coming up with!!!

Quito Mojito

So this is the Quito Mojito, inspired by mi mejor amiga Nora. Nora's from Ecuador and grew up with a mango tree in her back yard, one of her exes even nicknamed her "Mango". This drink incorporates the sweetness of mangoes and 10cane rum, with the spiciness of fresh jalapeno, and the cooling effect of cilantro. This drink is a little different from what we typically do at Watts Grocery, priding ourselves on being a seasonal, local Southern restaurant. But as Amy likes to say, quite correctly, that even after 2 years I still have "a unique lack of all things seasonal in my head". But looord, who knows when mangoes are in season?, and come on boss, they are technically from the South.

Hibiscus Margarita

Back by popular demand! We did this guy a couple of years ago and it was just so tasty we had to bring it back! It has Herradura Gold Tequila, Cointreau, and a house made hibiscus tea shaken and served, like all our margaritas, on the rocks- no Oasis Machine on our bar! The depth of flavor from the hibiscus leaves mixed with the roundness of Herradura Gold results in a well balanced, lightly sweet, very delicioso drink. Plus it's my signature color, so when I spill it all over myself I'll just look even better ;)

Love Me or Lychee

I feel safe in saying that my first attempt at infusing vodka for Watts is a success! The Love Me or Lychee (I was listening to Nina Simone's "Love me or Leave Me") is lychee infused vodka shaken and topped with sparkling sake. The vodka has a soft, clean citrus flavor and the sake adds a fun twist. Wanna say thanks to Alaina and Mary Julia for being my guinea pigs for the trial batch, y'all are the best!