Hot Flashes, Wet Spots and Tacos: Just Another Family Outing

Last evening much of my sister's family gathered at my favorite Mexican restaurant: Sadie's of Albuquerque.

I've written about Sadie's before. The food is excellent and the drinks potent. Two or three margaritas will have you sputtering Chinese.

Thirteen of us sat around a long table in the main dining room. Usually we are banished to a room in the back of the restaurant designed for large families. Kids run amuck as unaffected parents ignore them. It's like having dinner at Chucke Cheese's.

Last night was a treat as we sat among the general population. There were kids in the room, but, for the most part, they were at one- or two-family tables and under control. We could actually have conversations and hear one another. Wow, what a concept!

My sister's oldest grand daughter has a two-year old. It should be no surprise that he is a handful. He was in the hands of a sitter last night -- a situation as rare as a two-headed chicken. This not only allowed his mother to eat a hot meal in peace, we were all able to chow down without interruption. Usually assorted family members take turns attempting to wrangle him. Anyone who knows me won't have a problem believing that I am not among the folks attempting to keep him entertained.

Sadie's has become a family tradition for my visits. It is now a part of our Christmas celebration as well.

As dinner winds down, we top off our Sadie's evenings with some shots. For the past couple of years, most of us have chosen Hot Flashes as our shot. It involves sugar, lemon, bitters and Tuaca. For the uninitiated, Tuaca is an Italian orange-based liqueur along the lines of Grand Marnier, only a little sweeter.

We decided at our last Sadie's dinner that we needed a new shot to finish off future outings. I was tasked with researching and, of course, taste testing a new shot.  I can't imagine why they chose me.

Serious about my mandate, I relentlessly pursued a new family shot. This involved intensive experimentation. I am nothing if not thorough.

On my most recent trip into Greenville's Soby's last week, I asked the bar manager for her recommendation. The only qualifier was that it couldn't contain tequila. We all have someone in our sphere who has gotten sick on tequila and refuses to touch it again. A nephew fills that role in our family.

I had found a shot called a Wet Spot (one of a number of Wet Spot shots out there) that I really liked; but because it's made of Baileys and tequila, it was vetoed. Drat!

After some thought, Soby's bar manager wrote out the ingredients for the Applesauce shot. Containing Goldschlager, Apple Pucker and pineapple juice, it's a festive little liquid treat that I determined would please the entire family. I ran it by one of my nieces, who served as my sounding board as I slogged through my research; she agreed that it would be the ideal after-dinner shot.

As we waited to be seated for last night's feast, I decided to double check with the bartender that Sadie's had all the required ingredients. Much to my dismay, there wasn't a drop of Apple Pucker in the joint.

Our fall-back position was Wet Spot shots with my nephew getting a Kamikaze. My original sense was correct: Wet Spots were received with enthusiasm. So everyone lived happily ever after.

Because I promised her I'd put her name in this blog, Amy is the niece who served as my sounding board. Amy, Amy, Amy….