good things are worth waiting for. good things like say, COMIDA MERCADO FRESCO. a year and a half ago, i consulted on the cocktail menu at comida, and was proud of some of my most creative libations it. unfortunately, it was only open for a few months when it burned down, due to a highly suspicious blaze. so much work… and for what? it is only now than i can finally know for what…. comida is back and it’s better than ever.

the original comida opened on march eleventh, making it a pisces. i honored comida’s sun sign by creating the ZODIACO PISCES, which called for blueberry jam and pisco.

when the fire happened, i unwittingly, and quite prophetically i might add, likened its demise to the sign of scorpio. i predicted that like a phoenix, and the invincible sign of scorpio, comida would rise again. the PHOENIX RISING, which called for mezcal and absinthe, was created in its honor.

now, one and a half years later, comida has reopened in park slope brooklyn, fulfilling it’s restaurant destiny. here’s the ironic part: comida has reincarnated back as a SCORPIO! it reopened on november fifth… what are the odds of that? i take that as a sign that all is as it’s meant to be. so in honor of comida, the scorpionic mexican restaurant, a toast to never giving up on what you want…

margaritte malfy, comida’s co-owner, concocted this scorpion bevvie. margaritte is a sun in capricorn with a scorpio ascendant! the habanero pepper in this drink belongs to none other than spicy scorpio…

MARGARITA DE FUEGO Y HIELO:
2 oz partida silver
1 oz watermelon puree
1/2 triple sec
1/4 oz fresh squeezed lime juice
3 or so slivers of chile habanero
***shake over ice. strain into glass. rim glass with chipotle salt.

(CHIPOTLE SALT: mix sea salt with chipotle powder until color is light brown)

(WATERMELON PUREE: blend watermelon with water until smooth and watery. store in fridge this goes bad quick)

this has become one of our best selling specialty cocktails at COMIDA… the habanero pisco sour. i’m a huge fan of pisco, which is a type of south american brandy distilled from white grapes. it’s delic… now the famous pisco sour hails from either peru or chili. those two heavyweights are duking it out to establish who really created this famous cocktail. apparently, if i’m correct in my research, peru’s recipe calls for a raw egg while chili’s recipe does not. that seems to the main difference between these country’s pisco sour. there is also a version i found called the “Ají Sour” which calls for a green chili pepper.

the habanero pepper is one of mexico’s spiciest. and the best thing about this versatile chili is that it is available in so many colors, as you can see from the photo below. in case you didn’t know, almost all peppers can be found in a similar spectrum of colors, it simply depends on the length of time they are aloud to ripen on the vine… that’s all!

scorpio’s ancient ruler is mars (now co-ruled by pluto), which is the red hot planet of caustic, fiery, energy. so that would have to mean that the habanero is a scorpio, or an aries (also ruled by mars). but for this post, we’ll call it scorpio.

HABANERO PISCO SOUR:
3 oz pisco
1 oz lime
1 oz simple syrup
12 dashes angostura bitters
sliver habanero chili
***shake all and strain into a martini glass. garnish with the pepper if you like.

sagittarius is not usually known for her psychic abilities, but psychic abilities she has none the less. no… i usually prattle on about her hedonistic, fun loving, generous, frank, outgoing nature, and if i do mention expansive, it’s in the capacity of travel. but, expansiveness is actually a trait manifested on many levels in sagittarius. such as physically, like gaining weight, or as in journeying somewhere on earth. but this expansiveness can also pertain to a mental, emotional, Psychological, metaphysical, and spiritual quality that sag does indeed possess. she’s quite capable of astral travel, if only she’d put her mind to it. and often, her sense of just knowing on a gut level inspires many of us to wish we were sagittarius ourselves. our lady of guadalupe is famous for her december 12th appearance as an apparition to st Saint Juan Diego. that particular image is still around today, located on that peasant’s cloak on display in Basilica of Guadalupe in Mexico City.

while the famous mexican cerveza cocktail, the MICHELADA, is made with saturn’s lime and mar’s hot sauce, it is obviously sagittarius’s lady of guadalupe who is enjoying it here! so happy cinco de mayo to this special woman, whose alter is on display at COMIDA in nyc. come check her out and experience a MICHELADA first hand…

MICHELADA:

Fill glass with ice and add:
1/2 ounce valentina sauce
1/2 ounce maggi sauce
1 ounce fresh lime juice
top with mexican beer

garnish: chipotle salt with slice of lime
***chipotle salt is a blend of kosher salt and chipotle powder. it has a nice smoky, and subtly spicy flavor.

this week, COMIDA will unveil the BEEKEEPER MARTEANI in honor of earth day. made with organic honey syrup, and chamomile tea-infused organic vodka, this is a leoan libation. yes, the sunny chamomile flower belongs to leo, the sign that loves to be loved. leo should indeed be honored with such a prestigious launch date for she wants nothing more than to be recognized for her outstanding efforts… think madonna, think obama. i have quite a few leo friends and they are all excellent, kind, and conscientious workers. similar to the honey bee, they quietly toil. but unlike the honey bee, they won’t be content to drone on without some pats on the head or a bowl of creamy honey. so give the good little leos in your life some acknowledgment… those kind words will recharge them in the most literal sense. we love ya leo! and we love the honey bee too…

albert einstein (pisces) said that without bees, mankind will have four years to live. this is because they cross pollinate our food supply and without them to do it for us, we will do it ourselves at a woefully sad pace. a.k.a. we’ll starve to death. he wasn’t a dummy, mr. einstein, so he might be onto something with his dire prediction. bee die off is a collassal problem at present, due to colony collapse disorder. we believe this illness is a form of mass bee suicide caused by A) pesticide and herbicide B) genetically modified organism crops C) cell phone signals bouncing of satellites; electro magnetic radiation D) over work (we don’t even let bees hibernate anymore but wake them up in the dead of winter and ship them out to california to pollinate almonds). you think you need a vacation? i would wanna kill myself too if i were a bee!

i hope i’ve established that colony collapse disorder is a real phenonmon, and one what we all need to concern ourselves with remedying. COMIDA is doing a little something to help… every time you order a BEE KEEPER MARTEANI at COMIDA (82nd st & columbus ave, nyc… near the children’s museum of new york and the american museum of natural history) they will donate $1 to PlanBeeCentral.com. wait, it gets better! COMIDA uses 100% organic honey to create this philanthropic cocktail and that stuff is not cheap. i do believe organic honey is one of the most expensive organic products you can possibly buy. think about it… the farmer must section off vast acreage of pesticide, herbicide and GMO-free crops. you can imagine how many flowers it takes to make just one drop of honey. but the lucky bees that get to make it… i am sure those are some of the happiest and thankful bees on the planet! i bet they get up every morning and can’t wait to get to work!

so happy earth day everyone, and please stop in at COMIDA to taste my (and leo’s) latest tipple, the BEE KEEPER MARTEANI.

BEE KEEPER MARTEANI:
(martini glass, up)

2 oz chamomile infused organic vodka
1 ½ oz chamomile organic honey tea syrup
½ oz lime
comb honey (carefully cut one square out and rest on side of glass for garnish)

***to infuse chamomile organic vodka, steep 10 tea bags in 750 ml bottle for one week.
***to make organic honey syrup, combine 1 cup organic honey with 3 cups hot water.

just in time for st paddy’s day, the lime belongs to saturn, making this little green fruit a capricorn. speaking of saturn, the world is enduring a saturnine cosmic hail storm as we speak. for hell hath no fury like the cold, ringed planet scorned. she’s spitting unripe, rock hard limes out of the sky… wacking us all in the head for not paying attention sooner. for ignoring the structure of our world and how ridiculously and artificially propped up it is… forcing us to face our rudimentary societal problems. yup, saturn (capricorn) is the zodiacal beheamoth that will bring even the strongest to their knees. (a rendez vous with mars, the warrier planet, will seem like a trip to the day spa after tangling with saturn). her spanking is not only physical, but emotional, mental, and psychological.

oh yes, those ruled by saturn are all too aware, there is no pleasure without pain. from every wrong, comes a right. so from the turmoil, chaos, and saturn’s dark days of terror will come the brightest and most euphoric light your little mind dare dream up. the light you always knew existed. the bliss you always knew was yours. it’s the getting to it that’s the hard part.

and based on the research of ancient seers, modern day astrologers, channelers, shamans, and even pundits, that day will come sometime post 2012. so until then my friends, we must all hang on to our sombreros and wait until the sun comes out. here’s a little something to make that wait easier… it’s called the CHELADA and it’s served with love at COMIDA (82nd & columbus, nyc). stop in and roll this mexican masterpiece around your mouth, and you’ll agree… lime is better when lubed with beer… cheers to the chelada.

CHELADA
fill glass with ice, add shot of fresh lime juice, fill with beer. don’t forget to rim the glass with sea salt!