LoDa Bier Garten introduces new adult shake menu

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School is winding down. The sun is coming out. You need to cool off. LoDa Bier Garten has got your back. Its new drink menu, featuring adult milkshakes, is offering you more than a dozen ways to beat the heat (and sobriety), all made with hand-scooped vanilla ice cream.

Of course those LoDa clowns have come up with some clever names. You can guess what’s in an Oreo Speedwagon. Homer’s Hash is made with Sugar Rush donuts, raspberry liqueur and white rum for a jelly donut feel, topped with half a donut for dunking. Gimme Some Moa features coconut rum, caramel sauce and a chocolate drizzle to mimic your favorite Girl Scout cookie.

Check out its social media pages for the rest. The adult shakes are available at the downtown and West Mobile locations. They have more beer taps than you can stand, installed specifically for the lactose intolerant.

Panini Pete’s in Mobile to become Squid Ink Eats and Drinks

We’ve been fans of Panini Pete since long before he opened a Mobile location on Conception Street, which eventually moved to Dauphin Street near Royal. That restaurant is relocating in order to make room for Squid Ink Eats and Drinks! The more-than-a-century-and-a-half-year-old building will be transformed into a gastropub to serve lunch, dinner and fancy drinks to keep up with the Mobile nightlife.

“We are going to be doing crazy, eclectic food,” says Pete Blohme — “Panini Pete,” himself. “We’re going to pay homage to the French, Spanish and British heritage here.”

Mobile’s Panini Pete location has yet to find a new home, but until it does (or until Squid Ink opens) you can visit the Fairhope location or his stellar Sunset Pointe restaurant at Fly Creek Marina. If you don’t want to go all the way across the causeway, just stop in at Ed’s Seafood Shed for some of his grub.

Festing on the river

A brand new food and music festival reared its head just before deadline, and it’s scheduled for this weekend. The inaugural Mobile River Food & Music Festival (MRFMF) will take place Sunday, May 5 at Cooper Riverside Park from 2 – 7 p.m.

Food vendors listed include Villa del Rey Cocina and Chef Cecil Morris, and there will be tunes from the likes of Roman Street, Yo Jones, Sofree and The Jazz Studio. Each vendor will have food items for less than $10, and bringing two canned goods for donation will get you two tasting tickets.

Entry is $20 for general admission, kids ages 6 – 10 are $10 and 5 and under are free. There’s also a $50 Premium Admission ticket that includes two drink tokens and one promotional item, and a $100 VIP ticket that includes food by Alec Naman, special seating, two VIP drink tokens and a promotional item. The proceeds will go to support A Servant’s Love Inc.

Cinco de Mayo is Spanish for Margarita Day

I hate tequila. It’s the only alcohol that has been ruined for me by one bad experience. OK, three bad experiences. I’m a slow learner. When you say, “Let’s have a shot of tequila!” I head for the door. But when you say, “Let’s make margaritas!” I open the bottle and throw away the cap. I’ll drink the fancy ones or the cheap, crappy ones. I once had the fine staff at Hayley’s make me an impromptu marg with the worst tequila they had (my request), a handful of limes and Sprite. That didn’t count.

It’s not hard. You need three ingredients, four if your pockets are deep.

2 oz. tequila

1 oz. triple sec

1 oz. lime juice

That’s the way. Simple is better. It’s not very sweet like many of the mixes. I prefer on the rocks with no salt. Scale down your margarita making. If you want to get fancy, that fourth ingredient is a shot of Grand Marnier on top. High living!