Nearly every Sunday I make an afternoon trip to my local Fred Meyer. Sunday dinner in my household is still a tradition, and I always try to make something new and tasty. My dear husband made a special request as I was walking out the door, “Will you pick me up a 40-ouncer so I can use my beer coozie?” Words every wife longs to hear.



Dinner this evening was going to be pasta with an amatriciana/puttanesca sauce with spicy sausage and prawns, topped with an aged goat cheese. Something I had made a long time ago, but the sausage angle gave it a new twist (more on how this dinner turned out later). After I finished my shopping, I headed for the self-checkout counter and realized I had forgotten the 40-ouncer, so I loped down to the beer aisle in search of the large format bottle.



The only 40-ouncers to be found were Old English 800 malt liquor and Schmidt malt liquor something or other. The next size down were 24-ounce cans that would no way work in the coozie. Imagine my dilemma. Well, no malt liquor is welcome in my house, so the choice was clear: a six-pack of 16 ounce Pabst Blue Ribbon. He’ll live.



If you read my column with any interest, you may have noticed that when I have the chance to make my adult beverage healthy, I will. While perusing the beer section, something interesting caught my eye: Smirnoff Raw Tea, a premium malt beverage (oops, I had to break my rule for this one) with brewed green tea.



I couldn’t help but pull one bottle from the six-pack and put it in my basket. An entire six-pack was just too risky. Rarely does an adult beverage frighten me, with the exception of white zinfandel, gin, and anything from a can that glows. However, this beverage gave me serious pause, and the temptation was too great.



I purchased “the tea” and now for the taste test: it looked like green tea, it smelled like green tea, and other than it’s just too sweet for my palate, it’s pretty darn tasty. In order for me to finish the bottle, I added some soda water to lighten-up the sugary glaze it wanted to leave in my mouth. Perhaps in the future, it could be used as a mixer, but it would be tough for me to down one of these bad boys on its own.



And then it came to me. The market for this drink is young boys who want to bag young health-conscious girls. Consume a few of these puppies, and I dare anyone to correctly say “Ashtanga Yoga” three times fast. Or if you get pulled over by a cop for drunk driving your defense can be, “Well, ossifer, I only haaad six bottles of green tea.”



SPOILER ALERT: Speaking of cops and drinking, just a little warning to you late-night hot spots around town. I have it on very good authority that a big crack-down on over-serving this way comes, so you better keep your noses clean. Not only will the owner be fined, so will the bartender or server. The WSLB fines are pretty stiff, and you do not want one of those hanging over your head or pilfering your bank account.



So, back to my Sunday dinner … it was yummy: sautéed onions and garlic, sausage, chopped tomatoes, green olives, red pepper flakes, white wine (always cook with a dry white like sauvignon blanc), fresh chopped basil and prawns topped with aged goat cheese. It doesn’t get much better than this.



On a side note, hail, hail the Puyallup Fair is over! Let the games begin or just regular good business. Back to normal.



Eat out Tacoma. We need your love.



Sandee Glib has worked in the restaurant and hospitality industry for more than 12 years as a server, bartender, cook and owner. Her opinions are expressly her own and she is always right.