Yes, Easter was more than a week ago. But this post is about hunting for what you want (and waiting) so the time lag is fitting.
I’ve never been good at hunting for anything.
I remember being very young and lining up in a park for an Easter Egg Hunt. By “hunt” I mean bright-colored plastic eggs set in plain sight on the lawn. I plotted a complex strategy for a toddler (run straight forward and grab eggs) and visualized my empty basket filled with Easter bounty. I came up empty.
In the minutes it took the throng of kids to grab every egg in sight, I managed to collect just one, single, broken, empty egg. Where did I go wrong?
- I might not have sprinted off the start line.
- I probably should have better assessed the competition and repositioned to be in a cluster with weaker kids.
- And, it’s fair to say that between my glasses (since age 2) and my eye-patch (a constant childhood accessory), that I couldn’t tell a clump of grass from an Easter Egg.
Glasses, eye-patch, perfect. But who did my hair?
One-eyed – Is it any wonder I couldn’t find an Easter Egg?
Sometimes, even with the best of plans, reality stacks against you.
This past Easter weekend, reality topped strategy when we embarked on a hunt for a great margarita in the great state of Vermont.
We started off at SoLo Farm & Table in Londonderry, VT. Recently nominated by Bon Appetite as one of 2012 best restaurants, it was a strategically sound choice. Great restaurants have great bars, right?
The food at SoLo is worth the trip. I loved the Oxtail croquettes. They were a menu special and quite special they were. I love croquettes so much that I could probably devote a blog to them, so I’m biased. If you go and they have these on the menu, get two orders.
We also had Duck Confit Hash (this was a little weird and skip-able) and Pekin Duck Breast and Roasted Suckling Pig (amazing). If I go again, I’ll remember the portions are giant and order for sharing and more tasting. This meal was so good I was sad when I was full.
I was also a little sad because I didn’t find the margarita I was looking for at SoLo. It was off-balance with too much citrus and not much tequila. I think the flower was sad for me too.
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- SoLo Margarita
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- Even the flower cried
The margarita hunt continued in Manchester, VT at the chic and spendy Equinox Hotel.
We spa-ed and lunched and I ordered a margarita at the fancy-schmancy Marsh Tavern. I was sure the Equinox employed top-notch mixologists and my hunt would be over in moments. And then my “margarita, rocks” came “up” in a martini glass.
Marsh Tavern Marg
It looks like a gift from heaven with the sunlight glinting off the glass. But it just tasted weird. Like maybe lavender infused the home-made mix. The independent panel of judges reports that the Bloody Mary was just “meh”. So the drink ordering tip at Marsh Tavern is go for wine.
We sat at the table, pooling our mental powers to come up with a sound strategy for finding a good margarita – we Googled it.
After ruling out the option to buy a franchise to a chain called “Margaritas” we settled on a local called Gringo Jacks. A Yelp review suggested the best way to enjoy Gringos was after a long hike … we spent several hours shopping (and that’s almost the same thing) so off to Gringo Jacks we went.
Cactus Glass – ‘Nuff Said
My newly appointed Syracuse Bureau Chief has a smart rule of thumb – A margarita that comes in a cactus glass probably isn’t that good. ‘Nuff said. And with this third margarita try, I started to think that I needed to refine my search – there seems to be a tequila shortage in Vermont and someone needs to get to the bottom of that.
But if you hike or ski or don’t do either, and you’re with a big group, this is a bright, happy place to be.
I promise there is a moral to this story. And there’s a happy ending too.
Finally, I found Easter Eggs – LOTS of them.
Easter Eggs!!
We eventually did find a GREAT margarita – back in New York City at Mesa Grill. And who doesn’t want to grill and chill with Bobby Flay and this seriously good marg?
Mesa Grill, NYC
Now to the moral: Sometimes, the journey is the point and the thing you think you need, really isn’t important. Yes, I do love a good margarita and I couldn’t find one in Vermont (sorry, Vermont, it’s true). But I had something even better – good friends who were willing to humor me and help in the hunt. We also had parking mishaps and discount shopping and lots of laughter. And I know the laughter was genuine since the drinks didn’t have any tequila in them.
And mostly we had fun.
When you have friends, your molcajete is always overflowing.
Coming soon: A margarita to fall down for.
margagogo 