Drink Up!

As far as drinks go, this weekend was full of some good ones. Some were new and some are old-time favorites, but I thought that they were so delightful, it was worth sharing with you and might inspire you to treat your taste buds. Gav and I were driving quite a bit this weekend, so we would pop in to get some refreshment…

Mimosa at Black Bear Diner: This might come as a surprise, but Gav LOVES the breakfast there so we go there fairly often. While the Brut isn’t the best, what puts this over the top is that they use fresh squeezed Orange Juice, making it very citrusy and fresh. I can’t think of anywhere else that uses OJ, they made on site in their Mimosa. And, being at Black Bear they are HUGE, just like their food portions and are really yummy.

Next was the new Coke FreeStyle at Nation’s Giant Hamburgers in San Ramon. It is one of only 400 machines in the country and is really neat. With a touchscreen operation and over 100 flavors to choose from, this truly is the Fountain of all soda. Peach Fanta, Raspberry Sprite, Flavored water, all in Diet/Caffine Free options. Nation’s offers free refills so you can have the taste test of the Century of all that Coca Cola has to offer. Wow.

Over the past year or so I have heard people talk about McDonald’s Coffee, McCafe. Well, my Aunt introduced me last week and it was really good and pretty cheap. I got my usual Nonfat Latte and it was surprisingly really good. It’s easy because they always have drive up, its quick, and yummy. I still frequent my at home Keurig and Starbucks, but McCafe is definitely on the list now of somewhere to grab coffee. Especially since Starbucks doesn’t pull their own shots anymore and decreased the brew time almost in half, really the quality isn’t significantly better than McCafe. Try it out, they have most of the same basic hot and iced drinks.

I also had an Iced Nonfat Chai from La Boulange. It was really spicy and creamy, but super nutty and had little crunchy crystal sugary things in it. It was a pleasant treat and was something I ahd never had before. I will definitely get it again and fawn over the yummy pastries in the case. I was there with a friend and we just drooled as we lookd at the yummy treatsies.

Ummmm next on the list was a Malbec I had at Tomatina. Whoa, it was really smooth and rich but really light. It was from Argentina and was plumby with cherry and finished really well. Usually I pick a Barbera, which most places don’t have, but I found that the Malbec was a great alternative. It was a deep fruits, dark inky in color with a velvety smooth texture. A little astringent, but it warmed up nicely.

Last but not least is the Venti unsweetened Iced Green Tea from Starbs. It is always a crowd favorite, has no sugar and 10 calories. It is refreshing, you get a refill for 50 cents and is just enough of a pick me up and treat. The Black Tea is a good second too. It always brings me back to my Wells Fargo days, where Stuart and I would hit up Starbucks everyday (twice with a treat receipt) and chat about life. Goodtimes.